Homemade Watermelon Slushie

Made from a trifecta of juicy watermelon, bright lime juice, and cooling mint leaves, this mouth-watering slushie is the ultimate refresher. It blends up in just 5 minutes and cools you down in an instant! 

I’ll level with you on this: even after years of cooking and recipe developing experience, getting blender drinks to have just the right consistency is not always an easy feat! From frozen non-dairy shakes to nutrient dense smoothies and icy slushies, my blender has rattled its way through more than its fair share of test batches and experimental concoctions. 

So when I discovered this frozen watermelon hack was the secret to a perfectly textured slushie, I swear I heard my blender breathe a little sigh of relief. The unique, airy texture of watermelon makes it easy to freeze and even easier to blend up into a perfectly smooth yet nice and icy beverage. 

Plus, unlike other assertively flavored fruits, watermelon is gentle and mild, playing nicely with all sorts of flavors and add-ins. The hardest part about this recipe? Resisting eating all of that sweet, summer watermelon before it makes its way into the freezer! If you can do that, you’re home free on this one. 

Ingredients

• Frozen watermelon cubes - Using seedless watermelon here will save you some work. If your watermelon has dark brown/black seeds, be sure to pick them out but if it has the white seed hulls those are okay to leave in. Freeze the watermelon chunks for at least 24 hours before you will be making these slushies. For more tips, check out our step by step guide to freezing watermelon! 
• Agave nectar - I love the mild sweetness and neutral flavor profile of agave nectar in beverage recipes like this one, plus, it has a naturally thin consistency which makes it blend easily into cold liquids. If you prefer an alternative, you could use light maple syrup or simple syrup. 
• Lime - If I had to choose only one citrus fruit to be my favorite, it would have to be lime (sorry blood oranges!). The flavor is just so bright and complementary to the freshness of mint and the acidity cuts the natural sweetness of all that juicy melon. You could use lemon juice instead here, but the flavor will be noticeably different. 
• Fresh mint leaves - If there’s anything that could make a frozen drink more refreshing, it’s a handful of mint leaves! This herb adds a cooling effect and the fresh leaves turn into pleasant green flecks once blended. I strongly recommend fresh mint here, as dried or extracted versions of this flavorful herb just won’t be the same. 
• Filtered water - Watermelon is not the strongest flavor, so I find that using filtered water here helps to avoid introducing any competing mineral-y flavors that tap water sometimes introduces.

How to Make Watermelon Slushies

1. Temper the watermelon. Remove your watermelon chunks from the freezer and allow them to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. This will help them to blend more smoothly and consistently. 
2. Combine the ingredients. Place your frozen watermelon chunks (and any watermelon juice that may have collected), agave nectar, lime juice, mint, and water in a high speed blender.
3. Blend the slushies. Blitz the ingredients at medium to high speed until evenly blended. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides of the blender every so often to make sure the ingredients are blending evenly,  just make sure the blender comes to a complete stop before you remove the lid.
4. Serve! Pour the slushie into two tall glasses and garnish as desired. For an extra fun touch, serve your slushie in a hollowed out watermelon rind! 

Watch Us Make Watermelon Slushies

Chef Tips

Every watermelon is unique in terms of its sugar content, so be sure to taste a piece beforehand! If your watermelon is very sweet and ripe, I recommend holding the sweetener to the side until your slushies are blended, then tasting again and deciding if you’d like to add it.

Texture can be a tough thing to get just right and depends on many factors, including the water density of the melon itself which can vary from one to the next. If your slushies wind up too thick–i.e., seem difficult to drink through a straw, add a splash of water or non-dairy milk to the blender. On the other hand if they seem too thin, you can thicken them up by adding a few ice cubes or additional frozen watermelon chunks until nice and blending again. 

Forgot to freeze your watermelon beforehand? That’s ok! Go ahead and cubed fresh watermelon and add ice cubes to the blender. The result may be a little more liquidy with bigger ice crystals, but it will be equally delicious and refreshing. 

Recipe Variations

Switch Up the Herbs: For an interesting twist on this slushie's flavor profile, swap out the mint for an equal amount of fresh basil leaves! It has a cooling, herbaceous, and very summery flavor that pairs so well with melon. 

Increase the Nutrients: To make these slushies a little more stacked in the nutrition department, add 2 tablespoons of chia seeds or a handful of leafy greens like baby spinach or kale before blending. 

Make it Into a Cocktail: Add vodka or white rum to these slushies to turn them into a cocktail hour treat! 

How to Store Watermelon Slushies

Refrigerating. As with any frozen concoction, you’re up against the clock in terms of keeping those ice crystals from melting, turning this slushie into juice! You may be able to extend your slushies lifespan for 15-20 minutes by refrigerating it, but it will never be as good as the moment you pour it from the blender. I recommend enjoying this one ASAP.

Freezing. If you have way too much watermelon slushie, you can freeze it and blend again another day. I recommend pouring it into ice cube trays to make the blending easier, or small freezer safe tupperware containers. 

📋 Recipe