Fresh watermelon margaritas are the perfect summer cocktail. Bursting with sweet watermelon flavor and tartness from lime juice, this easy watermelon margarita recipe is just what you need to cool down as temperatures rise. No margarita mix or added sweeteners needed for the perfect margarita!
This recipe is for a watermelon margarita on the rocks, but you can easily make frozen watermelon margaritas if that’s up your alley. Check the Pro Tips section for exactly how to do that. For more easy tequila cocktails, try my strawberry margaritas, blood orange margaritas, and classic margaritas.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Watermelon — fresh watermelon juice is the sweetener in this recipe, so it’s important to choose a ripe one! See the FAQ section below for how to choose a good watermelon.
Salt — use coarse salt or margarita salt to salt the rim of the glasses for serving. If you don’t like a salted rim, skip it or use granulated sugar instead.
Tequila — tequila blanco (also known as silver tequila or white tequila) is the best option for these margaritas because it has a mild flavor that won’t overpower the watermelon. You can also use reposado tequila if you prefer.
Lime juice — fresh lime juice is a must for this tequila cocktail as the bottled kind doesn’t have the same brightness. You also need a few lime wedges for serving.
Triple sec — Cointreau is my personal favorite for a classic margarita flavor, but you can use any orange-flavored liqueur. And if you don’t have any triple sec, your fresh watermelon margaritas will still be divine without it.
How to Make Watermelon Margaritas
1. Add the watermelon cubes to a high-speed blender and purée.
2. If you’re not a fan of pulp, like me, strain the watermelon through a fine mesh strainer for a smoother cocktail. This is an optional step, so if the pulp doesn’t bother you, skip it! Chill the watermelon juice until ready to use.
3. To salt the rim of the glass, rub a lime wedge on it and dip it in coarse salt. Fill the glasses with ice and set them aside for the moment. Make the tequila cocktails one by one in a cocktail shaker by combining 3 ounces of chilled watermelon juice, 1½ ounces of silver tequila, 1 ounce of fresh lime juice, and 1 ounce of triple sec. Fill the cocktail shaker with ice.
4. Shake for about 15 seconds or until the outside of the shaker is frosty.
5. Pour through the shaker’s strainer into the prepared cocktail glasses.
6. Garnish with a lime wedge and sliced watermelon, and enjoy immediately.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- For a less pulpy drink: Strain the puréed watermelon through a fine-mesh strainer before chilling it.
- Use fresh lime juice. Bottled lime juice doesn’t have the bright, fresh flavor you need for this margarita.
- Use frozen watermelon. To make this tequila cocktail any time of year, even when the fruit is out of season, just use frozen watermelon! You can blend it frozen for frozen watermelon margaritas, or thaw the chunks beforehand if you prefer the cocktail on the rocks.
- For a sweeter watermelon margarita: With the abundance of fresh watermelon in this recipe for a watermelon margarita, it is usually plenty sweet. But if you taste the watermelon and feel that you need a sweeter drink, add ½ ounce to 1 ounce of honey, agave syrup, or simple syrup to the cocktail shaker with the other ingredients.
- To make a frozen watermelon margarita: Either freeze your fresh-cut watermelon for at least 6 hours or use frozen watermelon chunks. Toss the cocktail ingredients (no ice) into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth and thick. You won’t need to serve the frozen version over ice because of the frozen watermelon.
- To make spicy watermelon margaritas: If you like your margs with a bit of a kick, swap the salt rim for Tajín, a Mexican chile-lime salt. You can also add a slice or two of jalapeno to the cocktail shaker with the other ingredients for extra heat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Picking a ripe, juicy watermelon is key for the best watermelon margarita recipe. At the store, pick up a few watermelons to compare. A juicy watermelon will feel heavy for its size and will make a hollow sound when knocked on. The skin should be dark and matte, not shiny. Lastly, look for the field spot, a deep yellow spot on the melon where it rested on the ground prior to harvesting. The more yellow the field spot, the better.
Silver tequila, vodka, gin, wine, and rum all work very well with watermelon for tasty sweet cocktails. See my Moscow mule and rosé sangria recipes for ways to use watermelon in those drinks.
To start prepping the cocktails a few hours in advance, slice limes into wedges for the garnish and cut up the watermelon. Store in airtight containers in the fridge. You can also mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Don’t add any ice if you do this, or the drink will be watered down.
To make watermelon margaritas for a crowd, double or triple the ingredients and mix everything in a pitcher (except the ice). Store in the refrigerator until you want to serve them, then add ice to the glasses and serve. You pour straight from the pitcher since the margarita mix is already cold, or shake 6½ ounces of the mix with ice in a cocktail shaker, then strain into the glass.
I love serving these margaritas alongside guacamole, mango salsa for more summer vibes, and queso dip (with lots of tortilla chips, of course).
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this watermelon margaritas recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Watermelon Margaritas
Equipment
- Cocktail glasses
Ingredients
- 4 cups cubed watermelon (about ¾-pound/675g)
- coarse salt
- ¾ cup tequila blanco preferred (6oz/180ml)
- ½ cup fresh lime juice (4oz/120ml)
- ½ cup triple sec Cointreau preferred (4oz/120ml)
- ice
Instructions
- Place the watermelon cubes in a blender container and blend on high speed until puréed. I like to strain mine through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the pulp, but that is optional. Chill the watermelon juice until ready to use.
- Salt the rim of 4 glasses by running a lime wedge around the rim and dipping it in coarse salt. Fill with ice.
- For each cocktail, combine 3 ounces of watermelon juice, 1½ ounces of tequila, 1-ounce of lime juice, and 1 ounce of triple sec in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice.
- Shake until the outside is frosty, about 15 seconds. Pour into the cocktail glasses. Garnish with a lime wedge and serve immediately.
Notes
- For a less pulpy drink: Strain the puréed watermelon through a fine-mesh strainer before chilling it.
- Use fresh lime juice. Bottled lime juice doesn’t have the bright, fresh flavor you need for this margarita.
- Use frozen watermelon. To make this tequila cocktail any time of year, even when the fruit is out of season, just use frozen watermelon! You can blend it frozen for frozen watermelon margaritas, or thaw the chunks beforehand if you prefer the cocktail on the rocks.
- For a sweeter watermelon margarita: With the abundance of fresh watermelon in this recipe for a watermelon margarita, it is usually plenty sweet. But if you taste the watermelon and feel that you need a sweeter drink, add ½ ounce to 1 ounce of honey, agave syrup, or simple syrup to the cocktail shaker with the other ingredients.
- To make a frozen watermelon margarita: Either freeze your fresh-cut watermelon for at least 6 hours or use frozen watermelon chunks. Toss the cocktail ingredients (no ice) into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth and thick. You won’t need to serve the frozen version over ice because of the frozen watermelon.
- To make spicy watermelon margaritas: If you like your margs with a bit of a kick, swap the salt rim for Tajín, a Mexican chile-lime salt. You can also add a slice or two of jalapeno to the cocktail shaker with the other ingredients for extra heat.
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