Fresh Watermelon Margarita

This fresh watermelon margarita is the perfect cocktail for summer! It’s ready in about 5 minutes, made with fresh, homemade watermelon juice and is perfect served on the rocks (or frozen!) with a little salt. This skinny margarita is perfect for a crowd!

Margaritas are forever my drink of choice and this watermelon margarita never fails to hit the spot! It’s made with fresh watermelon juice (not the bottled stuff!), and takes all of 5 minutes to prepare.

I like to serve it on the rocks with fresh lime wedges and salted rims, but you can also make a frozen margarita by blending in some ice or using frozen watermelon!

Either way, this is the perfect refreshment for a hot summer day and has absolutely no added sugar! These are EASY to make and can easily be scaled to feed a crowd!

Key ingredients

Watermelon. We’ll be using fresh watermelon for this recipe and since it’s the only sweetener we’ll be using, the redder and more ripe you can get, the better! I used fresh watermelon since I was serving this on the rocks, but you can use frozen watermelon if you want a frozen margarita!

Tequila.I recommend a white tequila, something like Espolon, Patron or Casamigos

Orange Liqueur. A key ingredient to get that classic margarita flavor! You can use anything like Triple Sec, Grand Marnier or Cointreau.

Lime Juice. Always use fresh! The bottled lime juice will work in a pinch, but in any margarita, and definitely in this watermelon margarita, fresh lime juice is the way to go.

Ice and salt. I use the ice just for serving, but you can blend it in to the margarita for a frozen version (or just use frozen watermelon). I actually prefer no salt with my margaritas, but I always salt the rims for the photos : )

Optional: To make these spicy margaritas, you can add a sliced jalapeño to your cocktail shaker and shake for about 30 seconds before serving. Then, mix some chili powder with the salt to salt the rims!

How to make a watermelon margarita

Add the cubed watermelon to a blender and blend until smooth.

Run through a fine mesh strainer to remove the pulp/any seeds. You should be left with about 1 1/4 cup of fresh juice, if you have a little more, you can just use it in this recipe or drink it plain!

Add the watermelon juice and all ingredients to a large cocktail shake with ice.

Salt the rim of two glasses (optional) and fill with ice. Pour the margarita over ice and enjoy!

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between a margarita and a skinny margarita?

A skinny margarita is just a regular margarita but without the added sweetener, which is usually agave. It will usually still have the orange liqueur which adds some sweetness.

Do I have to use triple sec?

You don’t need to specifically use triple sec, but this recipe does call for orange liqueur. You can use Grand Marnier or Cointreau instead of triple sec. If you’re in a pinch you can leave it out, but traditional margaritas always contain orange liqueur, so I recommend it for the best flavor!

How do I salt the rim?

There are a few ways to do this, but what I usually do is add the margarita salt to a plate, run a lime wedge across the rim of the glass to get it wet, then run the rim of the glass around the salt so all sides are covered. Easy!

Should I use seedless watermelon?

Yes, for best results I recommend seedless watermelon. It’s not the end of the world if you only have seeded, it will get strained through after blending anyway. But you may want to run it through the strainer 2-3 times to ensure all seed pieces are gone.

Other cocktails to try!

• Blueberry Mojito
• Blackberry Margarita
• Watermelon Vodka Cocktail

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