I have been on an insane watermelon kick lately. I blame Montage Palmetto Bluff because we learned how to properly cut a whole watermelon and my life is forever changed. It’s first off, SO much cheaper to buy whole seedless watermelons than the precut option. Second, you get the best square pieces ever. Plus, watermelon is simply just delicious. It’s perfect for hot summer days. Enjoy it as a snack, blend it up into my watermelon frosé recipe, or serve it as a dessert when friends come over for a BBQ. You just can’t go wrong with it.
Since watermelon is everywhere right now I wanted to create a super refreshing drink with watermelon juice that’s ideal for summer. While lemonade is a perfect summer beverage, I thought, let’s add my favorite summer fruit for the ultimate refreshing summer drink! Insert my watermelon mint lemonade recipe. Which I can’t take full credit for. Apparently, Chick Fil A has this watermelon and lemon beverage for summer. Personally, I’ve never had it. But after doing a little recipe research, this is apparently a great copycat Chick Fil A recipe. Most of the recipes are fairly similar (found this one to reference). Now let’s get to the recipe!
INGREDIENTS
- 6 cups of cubed watermelon
- 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- Mint – bunch, chopped and frseh mint for garnish too
- Lemon rind
- Lemon slices for garnish
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
- Blender
- Fine mesh strainer
- Saucepan
- Tupperware
Step One – Make Your Simple Syrup
This will really depend on how sweet you want this, so I recommend just making a big batch and add it to your strained watermelon until you find your preferred sweetness. But either way, start by making your lemon and mint simple syrup. Place water, sugar, a few mint sprigs and lemon rind into a pot over medium heat. Let the sugar dissolve and set aside to cool.
Step Two – Chop Your Watermelon
First you want to obviously prepare your watermelon. I finally learned how to properly do this while at Montage Palmetto Bluff. Cut the ends off of the watermelon so you have a steady level watermelon. Then with a VERY sharp knife, carve off the skin of the watermelon. Then cut it in half, then dice it all up. It’s so easy and fast. Game changer!
Step Three – Put The Watermelon In A Blender
Throw all your watermelon chunks into a blender and buzz it up REALLY well until you get a smooth pureed watermelon. It shouldn’t need any liquid to get going since it’s so watery as it is, but if you run into any issues, a few tablespoons of water (or the simple syrup) will work just fine.
Step Four – Strain The Mixture
You can 100% skip this step if you want more of a thicker consistency, but I like it when it’s more juice-like and less like a blended beverage. To do this, all you have to do is place a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and strain the puree. You may need to use a spatula to push it through and mix it around to keep it moving.
Step Five – Add Lots Of Mint
Once strained, add the mixture back into your blender along with a handful of fresh mint leaves and blend like crazy. You want the mint finely chopped! Remember, you’re drinking it! Once blended, start adding your simple syrup until you get it to the sweetness you like. Do this slowly in small increments until you get to the desired sweetness. Any leftover simple syrup will be great in some tea or a mint iced coffee.
What To Serve Your Mint Watermelon Lemonade In
If you’re serving this to a crowd, which you should, they’ll love you, here are a few tips. This is such a great crowd-pleaser co*cktail or beverage and is totally more fun than iced tea. Make a big batch, put it in a large drink dispenser and fill it up with more fresh whole mint, lemon slices, and watermelon so people know exactly what’s in it. Or place a pitcher and glasses on a buffet with liquor options for folks to make their own co*cktail, or have a virgin one. The ideas are endless. A few easy liquors to add to this is simply vodka, white tequila or rum.
For any leftover watermelon juice, definitely freeze it. Just pop it into some ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, add to a freezer safe bag to keep on hand. Frozen watermelon cubes will be delicious in your water to infuse. Or blend it up with frozen rosé to make my watermelon frosé co*cktails. They’re so simple to make and having the frozen watermelon juice will make it super smooth! You can also whip up some frozen watermelon margaritas. Just add them to a blender with tequila, simple syrup and lots of lime juice. Don’t let any of it go to waste because it is basically liquid (or frozen) gold!
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