This Watermelon Mint Lemonade is a cool, non-alcoholic summer drink bursting with watermelon flavor and fresh lemons!
It's one of our FAVORITES, right behind Blackberry Pear Lemonade, and Brazilian Limeade, some other easy summer mocktails. If you've never thought to combine watermelon and lemon flavors together, now is the time!
Benefits include eating juicy, fresh watermelon and your kitchen smelling like lemons! Then at the end, you get AMAZING LEMONADE. I use a secret ingredient to make it extra lovely.
This is the perfect watermelon summer mocktail to guzzle on a hot day. It's super refreshing, easy to dress up and customize to make it elegant.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Watermelon Lemonade is the FRESHEST tasting lemonade, and it's so easy!
- No fussy simple syrups. A little crushed or "muddled" mint in the bottom of the glass is all you need for the lovely minty flavor. Start with a little and add more if you want!
- Perfect for parties and holidays!
🛒 Ingredients
- Watermelon - seedless, so seeds won't get blended into the lemonade.
- Lemons - I prefer to use fresh lemons instead of bottled lemon juice, it tastes so much better!
- Sugar - white granulated works well; even though the watermelon juice is very sweet it needs a little help from the added sugar.
- Vanilla Extract << this is the secret to the BEST lemonade! It tastes absolutely amazing.
- Mint - muddled or crushed up into the lemonade to give it a little minty flavor.
See the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and quantities.
✏️ Substitutions & Variations
- White Granulated Sugar can be swapped out with coconut sugar.
- You can leave out the vanilla if you wish, but it really is SO nice.
- Add a few squeezes of lime juice for what I like to call a watermelon "nojito", like a mojito with no alcohol.
- Add cucumber for a watermelon cucumber lemonade!
- Add Sprite or Ginger ale for a fizzy sparkling watermelon lemonade.
🧑🍳 Instructions
Step 1. Blend about 7 cups cubed watermelon into juice, then strain through a fine mesh sieve to make 4 cups of watermelon juice.
You can throw away the pulp or compost it. I like to freeze it and eat it!
Step 2. Squeeze 5-8 lemons and strain pulp and seeds out to make 1 cup fresh lemon juice.
You can use a lemon squeezer to make this part easier!
Step 3. In a 1 gallon pitcher, combine water, white granulated sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Mix well until sugar is completely dissolved.
Step 4. Add in the strained watermelon juice and stir in.
Step 5. In the bottom of a glass add some crushed mint, then add ice to serve, lemon wedges, sprigs of extra mint, or small sliced watermelon wedges on the top of the glass. Such a perfect summer watermelon drink!
📌 Top Tips For Success
- Don't use too much mint. I know it's a watermelon mint lemonade, but too much can overpower the watermelon flavor.
- Don't skip the vanilla! It really does make it taste amazing.
- Make sure you strain the watermelon juice with a fine mesh strainer. It takes out all of the extra pulp and any extra seeds from blending it up.
- It's normal for the watermelon juice to separate a little when refrigerated, this is fine! Just give it a good stir before you serve!
❓Frequently Asked Questions
There is 1 cup of added sugar in this watermelon lemonade recipe, with the natural sugar in the watermelon and lemons.
Magic happens. Tangy, beautiful, lemony magic. Watermelon is over 90% water, with plenty of vitamins like A & C, and minerals like magnesium and potassium.
Both Watermelon and Lemons contain antioxidants, which means that even though there is quite a bit of sugar in this drink, there are some benefits (besides feeling super happy about it) to drinking it!
You can store this lemonade refrigerated for about 3 days.
You can also freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months and save it for later!
When you thaw it, be sure NOT to use a microwave, just let it thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator for a couple of days. A microwave would zap the good nutrients out of the juice, and probably some of the delicious watermelon flavor.
It's a little sweeter than normal lemonade because of the watermelon. It has enough watermelon juice in it to turn it pink, and taste it pretty well, the lemon doesn't overpower it too much. It also has a hint of vanilla in it which is really nice.
☀️ More Refreshing Summer Recipes
📝 Printable Recipe
Watermelon Mint Lemonade Mocktail
Equipment
- 1 blender
- 1 pitcher (holds 1 gallon)
- 1 lemon squeezer
- 1 strainer
- 1 long handled spoon
Ingredients
- 4 cups strained watermelon juice (about 7 cups cubed watermelon)
- 1 cup lemon juice (5-8 lemons)
- 6 cups cold water
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 cups ice to serve
- Optional, mint to garnish
Instructions
- Blend about 7 cups cubed watermelon into juice, then strain to make 4 cups of watermelon juice.
- Squeeze 5-8 lemons and strain pulp and seeds out to make 1 cup fresh lemon juice. Discard the pulp.
- In a 1 gallon pitcher, combine water, white granulated sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Mix well until sugar is completely dissolved.
- Add the strained watermelon juice last and mix it in well.
- Crush up mint and put it in the pitcher right before serving, or add a few leaves to each glass for a slightly minty taste. I like to do it in idividual glasses since not everyone likes the mint. Add ice to serve, garnish optionally with mint sprigs, lemon wedges, or small sliced watermelon wedges.
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