When summer gives you watermelon, make Watermelon Lemonade! So easy and refreshing, and the best part is that it is ready in 20 minutes with just 4 simple ingredients and no artificial colors or flavors!
Trying to beat the heat on a hot summer day with a cold family-friendly beverage? Be sure to check out our Virgin Piña Coladas, Easy Brazilian Lemonade (Limeade), and Homemade Orange Julius!
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We are obsessed with homemade lemonade recipes in the summertime. The temps have been over 100 degrees F this week and nothing beats fresh squeezed lemonade during the summer months!
It's the most refreshing drink that is perfect for summer barbecues, potlucks, a pool party, and any time you are looking to beat the heat.
Our collection of lemonade recipes seems to grow every year with the classic Fresh Squeezed Homemade Lemonade, then adding flavors like Homemade Strawberry Lemonade, Blackberry Lemonade, and now this fresh watermelon lemonade recipe!
The fruity twist is a great way to use that other half of a watermelon that's sitting in your refrigerator. You can adjust how sweet or tart your lemonade is buy adding more or less of the simple syrup or more or less lemon juice. It's so good you are probably going to want to make a double batch.
This makes the prettiest pink lemonade with such a refreshing flavor, and we love eating the slivers of watermelon garnish after finishing our cup of lemonade!
Ingredients for Watermelon Lemonade
- Simple syrup - This takes five minutes to make and it's just water and sugar that you heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Lemons - You'll get much better flavor from squeezing fresh lemons for their lemon juice than using the stuff that comes in a bottle from the store. Kids love to help with this part.
- Watermelon - There is nothing like a juicy, sweet watermelon! This is what gives watermelon is real, natural flavor instead of something artificial from watermelon extract.
How to Make Homemade Watermelon Lemonade
- Make the simple syrup. Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook and stir just until the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat and cool. This can be done a week or two ahead of time and kept in the fridge so it is chilled for whenever you are ready to use it.
- Cut up the watermelon. Remove the rind with a sharp knife, then roughly cut it up into chunks and place it in the bowl of a large food processor (affiliate link) or blender. You need about 4 cups of chopped watermelon for this recipe, but it's easy to double or triple the recipe if you have a ton of watermelon or are planning to serve this to a large group.
- Squeeze lemons. Use a lemon juicer to make the job easy. Be sure to remove any seeds from the lemons so they don't end up in your lemonade. You need about 1 cup of fresh lemon juice, which usually takes about 5-6 good-sized lemons.
- Puree. Blend the watermelon and lemon juice until it turns into a juicy slush. This doesn't take very long at all and it's tempting to just drink it like that, but it will be tart since we haven't added the simple syrup yet!
- Strain. Strain the watermelon puree through a fine mesh sieve into a pitcher, bowl, or tall glass measuring cup. Discard the pulpy bits that are left behind and transfer the juice to a large pitcher.
The natural sweetness of the watermelon might mean you need less simple syrup if you prefer your lemonade less sweet. We recommend tasting the watermelon and adjusting the amount of simple syrup as needed until you have the perfect combination for your personal preference.
- Mix. Add the fresh watermelon juice and simple syrup to a large pitcher. Add cold water and stir to combine. Taste and adjust as needed with additional lemon juice or simple syrup until you get the lemonade just how you like it. I tend to like the flavor on the concentrated side so that we can pour it over glasses of ice, since the punch of the watermelon lemonade will be diluted as the ice melts.
- Garnish & pour. Fill glasses with plenty of ice, some thinly sliced lemon circles, and extra chunks of watermelon, if you like. Pour the freshly made watermelon lemonade into the glasses, serve it with a fun straw, and enjoy! Or serve the pitcher of lemonade family style with plenty of ice and lemon slices in it and let everybody pour for themselves!
Recipe FAQ's
Yes! It is best made the day of, but can be made a few hours in advance or even the
day before. If you have leftover lemonade it can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days or even frozen in an ice cube trays to make watermelon ice cubes for the next batch of lemonade you make! The simple syrup can be made a full week or two in advance though, and stored in the fridge.
Everybody has their favorite secret for picking out great watermelons! My three top tips are to look for a large yellow spot on one side of the watermelon which can indicate it was sitting in the field ripening for a good long time, pat or knock on the outside of the watermelon to listen for a hollow sound which indicates good flavor, and look for "bee stings" where the skin of the watermelon is puckered or looks like it has vein-like thin brownish lines on the outside, which supposedly shows that the watermelon has good flavor. Here's an article with even more ideas on how to pick a good watermelon!
Yes, you can use lemonade concentrate from the store and simple add the fresh fruit juice from a huge watermelon if you are looking for an easy lemonade recipe that starts with lemonade concentrate. It's the best way to doctor up a store bought ingredient for a semi-homemade delicious lemonade recipe and no one will know you didn't squeeze the lemons yourself!
Tips for Success
- Everybody loves a garnish! I like throwing the watermelon chunks and sliced lemons into the glasses or the pitcher for extra flavor, but you could also cut small watermelon wedges and lemon slices to sit on the rim of each glass if you prefer.
- Don't dilute too much with ice. If you want to add ice to a pitcher of lemonade you might want to decrease the amount of water so the lemonade is more concentrated to begin with. That way as the ice melts it doesn't dilute the flavor of the lemonade too much.
Variations
- Watermelon Mint Lemonade - Finely chop a handful of fresh mint leaves and stir them in to your pitcher of fresh lemonade along with the other ingredients, then garnish each glass with a sprig of fresh mint. You could also muddle the mint at the bottom of each glass if you prefer not to drink the chopped mint leaves.
More Perfect Summer Drink Recipes
- Horchata Mexican Drink Recipe
- Virgin Shirley Temple Recipe
- Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri
- Non-Alcoholic Mint Julep
- Homemade Blackberry Lemonade
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Fresh Watermelon Lemonade Recipe
Ingredients
Simple Syrup
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
Lemonade
- 4 cups cubed watermelon
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 5-6 lemons)
- 4-5 cups cold water
- Watermelon slices, for garnish
- Lemons, for garnish
Instructions
- In a small saucepan add water and sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely. This can be done up to 2 weeks in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use.
- Remove the watermelon rind with a sharp knife, then roughly cut up the fruit into chunks and place it in the bowl of a large food processor (affiliate link) or blender.
- Use a lemon juicer to squeeze the lemon juice from fresh lemons that have been sliced in half. Be sure to remove any seeds from the lemons so they don't end up in your lemonade. Add the lemon juice to the cubed watermelon.
- In a food processor (affiliate link) or blender, add in your cubed watermelon and lemon juice. Blend until smooth.
- Combine the simple syrup and watermelon juice mixture in a large pitcher. Add in the cold water and stir. Serve with lemon and watermelon slices!
Notes
- Storage: You can store it in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Another knock it out of the park winner, Amy!!!
Thank you!