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
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
- Add the watermelon cubes to a high-speed blender and purée.
- 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.
- 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.
- Shake for about 15 seconds or until the outside of the shaker is frosty.
- Pour through the shaker’s strainer into the prepared cocktail glasses.
- 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.
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!
