Best Watermelon Margaritas (3 Ingredients!)

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Two glasses of the Best Watermelon Margarita using our simple 3-ingredient recipe

I’ve made watermelon margaritas before, but none as simple as this.

We’re talking 3 ingredients.
No sweeteners.
Just tequila.
Just lime juice.
Just blended watermelon.
THAT’S IT.

And let me tell you, it truly is the best watermelon marg on the block (pats self on shoulder).

Halved fresh watermelon for vegan watermelon margaritas

Origins of Margaritas

There are several theories of where the margarita first originated and we’re not sure which one is true! But the most popular is that it was created in 1938 by Carlos ‘Danny’ Herrera at his restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico. It’s thought that he created it for a customer who was allergic to all hard alcohol except tequila, but wanted something more than just a shot.

Based on the popularity and spread of this delicious cocktail, we’d say the creation of the margarita was a major success! You can read about other theories on the origin here.

Our inspired version varies from traditional with the addition of watermelon. Prepare for ultimate refreshment!

How to Make Watermelon Margaritas

This recipe is as easy as it gets!

To make watermelon juice simply throw a bunch of watermelon in a blender and blend into juice! Straining is optional to remove any seeds/pulp, but it’s hardly worth the fuss.

Cubed watermelon in a blender for easy vegan Watermelon margaritas

Add some lime to your watermelon and a shot (or two) of tequila and shake, shake, shake.

Line a couple of glasses with lime and sea salt and you’re golden.

Limes, tequila, and watermelon arranged as a smiley face for Watermelon Margaritas

Simple
Quick
Boozy
Refreshing
Naturally sweet
Perfectly tart
& Seriously delicious

These are the perfect margaritas for summertime. Whip up a batch of watermelon juice for impromptu happy hours all week!

I made them for a friend’s shower recently and everyone raved. I knew I had to share the recipe on the blog, no matter how simple it was.

If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram! We’d love to see what you come up with. Cheers, friends!

Glasses of Watermelon Margaritas for an easy vegan summer drink recipe

Best Watermelon Margaritas (3 Ingredients!)

The best Watermelon Margaritas with just 3 ingredients! Naturally sweet from the watermelon, tangy from the lime, and spiked with silver tequila!
Author Minimalist Baker
Print
Lime wedges around glasses of Watermelon Margaritas
4.74 from 26 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 2 (margaritas)
Course Drinks
Cuisine Gluten-Free, Mexican-Inspired, Vegan
Freezer Friendly No
Does it keep? 3 Days

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups watermelon juice (1 small ripe watermelon yields ~3-5 cups juice)
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp lime juice
  • 5 Tbsp silver tequila (5 Tbsp = 2 1/2 ounces)
  • Sea salt (optional // for lining rim)

Instructions

  • Pack a large blender full of cubed ripe watermelon (with or without seeds) and blend until you have a juice. One small watermelon should yield roughly 3-5 cups (720-1200 ml), so you will have leftover juice (as original recipe is written) for extra margaritas. You can choose to strain the juice through a fine mesh strainer to remove any seeds or pulp, but I didn’t find it necessary.
  • To make margaritas, add watermelon juice, lime juice, tequila and a handful of ice to a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously to combine. Sample a small amount and adjust flavor as needed, adding more watermelon juice for sweetness, lime juice for acidity, or tequila for booziness.
  • Line the rim of two serving glasses (amount as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size) with lime juice and sea salt (optional). Add ice and pour over margaritas.
  • Best when fresh! Leftover watermelon juice will keep covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

Video

Notes

*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without salt.

Nutrition (1 of 2 servings)

Serving: 1 margaritas Calories: 144 Carbohydrates: 15 g Protein: 1.1 g Fat: 0.3 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 3 mg Fiber: 1.5 g Sugar: 9.9 g

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My Rating:




  1. Michelle Smith says

    This sounds amazing but I have a number of friends who don’t drink alcohol. Any suggestions on making this N/A?

  2. Bianca says

    Question- do you know if using watermelon juice (ie fresh squeezed from a farmer’s market or grocer) will suffice? And if so, should it be used in the same quantifies as in the above recipe? Am so excited to try these, they sound delicious- thank you!

  3. SaraC says

    I’m so mad, that I just discovered this now, after summer is over! We had a ton of leftover watermelon, and I was trying to figure out what to do with it. I thought “there HAS to be a way to make it into a cocktail!” (sorry, that’s just how my mind works :P ) Found this on my internet search, and I’m sooo glad I did! I did add some triple sec, but other than that, followed the recipe. It was delicious!! This will definitely be going into the summer rotation!

  4. Sally G says

    I am trying it with lemon juice tonight, as I don’t have any limes right now. I find that local ethnic restaurants frequently seem to interchange the 2 citrus fruits, so I think it will be good. Of course, limes are on the shopping list! Rating 5 stars as I made something very similar, which was delicious, and this is even easier.

  5. Adrian says

    I made this in a big jug. ~8 cups of watermelon juice (strained using metal mesh sieve). 3 limes juiced. 6 shots of reposado tequila and 2 shots of grand mariner. My guests loved it and finished the jug.

  6. Becca says

    These look amazing! We are making them for a group of 14 and I was so excited to see the option to scale up the recipe when I went to print it! That’s awesome!!!

  7. Ryann says

    Had some very ripe watermelon chunks that have been in my fridge a few days and decided get creative and try these margs out. OH MY STARS did they turn out yummy! I did add a half jigger of triple sec for a more traditional margaritas flavor, but the refreshing sweetness from the watermelon was just perfect! Definitely adding these to the pool drink roundup 🍹

  8. Ty says

    These are so refreshing. The PERFECT summer drink! But – I used gold tequila and like it better than the silver.

  9. Liz says

    These are literally the best and most refreshing margaritas I’ve ever had. They are not overly sweet and SO refreshing. Like thirst quenching. The only problem is that these are EXTREMELY drinkable and I basically chugged mine within 2 minutes. I plan on making these for every gathering – will try to make a big batch with everything mixed so people can shake themselves and pour.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Whoop! We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Liz! Thanks so much for the lovely review!

  10. Anne Murphy says

    Absolutely delish and refreshing. I had a small lime that I peeled and tossed into the ninja along w/ watermelon, tequila and ice. This is going to be my ‘go to’ drink for summer. And not sure where the ‘bland’ comments are coming from.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Anne! Thanks so much for the lovely review!

  11. Robert Berdick says

    Great cocktail and easy to make too. I don’t like cocktails that are too sweet and this is great mixture or sour and natural sweet watermelon flavor and tequila flavor. I used Jose Coqervo silver because that is what I had on hand and it turned out great.

  12. My Phung Huynh says

    I’ve made this recipe twice and each time was great. The second time, I used mezcal tequila instead and found the smokiness was a really nice addition to the subtle sweetness of the watermelon.

  13. Trish Lalyna says

    WOW!!!! I didn’t measure, just threw in what I figured would make 1.25 cups of watermelon juice/pulp. Then I squeezed in half a juicy lime, added 1.5 oz Tequila and 1 oz Patron Citronge. Shook it over ice, strained and enjoyed. This is by far the best way I’ve experienced tequila and I won’t be making margaritas other way as long as watermelons are in season! Holy moly it’s that good!!! Where have these been all my life??? Thank you!!!

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Aww thanks so much for the lovely review, Trish. We are so glad you enjoyed it! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo

  14. C says

    Loved it! We used 2 1/2 cups frozen watermelon instead of juice to make frozen ‘ritas. Added a bit more lime juice & 1 T honey. Thanks for posting the recipe!?

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerDana @ Minimalist Baker says

      Oy! I’d say your best bet would be getting a small bottle of high quality silver tequila if you can!

  15. Karen says

    It’s a great, super simple recipe, but I also found it a little on the bland side. In all fairness, I think it depends on the specific watermelon you are using. Some have more flavor and are sweeter than others. So I blame the watermelon rather than the recipe for the blandness. Next time I’m going to try the adding the mint and maybe a splash of triple sec as suggested. I’ll definitely be making this again!

  16. Frances says

    I appreciated the no-added-sugar element. But this was a little bland. Maybe some mint — or Triple Sec to add to the complexity.

  17. Theresa says

    You are so right about this recipe, the sweetness of the watermellon is just enough. With couple of squeezes of lime and tequila, each flavor comes through and no sugary sweetness. This is very refreshing, and will be my new go to margarita. For the comment that thought it was bland, maybe try a couple leaves of mint… Thanks for the recipe!

  18. Suzie says

    This was bland and tasted more like lime than watermelon. I measured the ingredients and I actually put in less lime than what was called for. I couldn’t drink it.

  19. Joy says

    My husband and I bought a watermelon that turned out to have way more melon than expected. This was the perfect way to make use of it! This recipe is simple, so easy to make, and delicious! I made it as is and wouldn’t change a thing.

  20. Bean says

    So… really suddenly craved a watermelon margarita and found this recipe. When my bf and I stopped at the grocery store today on our way up to the lake cabin they had little watermelon halves so I got one, knowing exactly what to do with it. We have alot of booze on hand, but still whenever I seen to crave something specific, every recipe I’ll look up requires something we do NOT have. This was very simple. Only problem, no blender here. I muddled the cubes by hand which took a while and did not plan to strain it. Had not considered though that the shaker would do it for me! Cool. They’re good, but kinda bland… maybe cause I literally only had watermelon juice to work with?

  21. Joey says

    This is absolutely delicious. I made one and grabbed a little fresh mint from the garden through it all in a blender and mix it together. Super awesome!

  22. Lily says

    This was so simple and delicious. Since I’m on vacation with too much watermelon, I’ll be making these again tomorrow. But I’m going to try adding some mint just for kicks. Thanks for another great recipe.

  23. Rebecca says

    I made this recipe today, so light and refreshing, I added some margarita mix so its not pure alcohol and ice and tequila, and I did gold tequila (Luna zul) although silver would do well too. Fantastic recipe! I will share with my girlfriends! Great for leftover watermelon that is still tasty!

  24. Lizzy says

    Hi . Thanks for the watermelon recipe. Going to give it a trial. Can you please help me with recipes for pineapple juice. And what other fruit can be added to pineapple to give a nice taste of juice. Thanks

  25. Heather says

    I was wondering if you could use gold tequila instead of silver? That’s all I have on hand and plan on making them tonight.
    Thanks!

  26. Jill says

    This is a great drink recipe! So easy and very tasty. Served with a salt rim and added a splash of triple sec. This will definitely be going into my summer cocktail rotation!

  27. Trista says

    Made these on a whim with my friend this past week and we couldn’t believe how delicious they were with so few ingredients! A shame that it’s fall now, because we want to make these all the time.

  28. Jennifer Berkey says

    I will certainly enjoy making one because of its simplicity and the ingredients are way accessible!

  29. Eliza says

    This is so simple, I love it. Looking forward to trying a different (and probably healthier) twist on a traditional margarita.

    • Patricia says

      I made this last night . I have one margarita most nights but today we bought a good size watermelon from a local farm soo…3 ingredients as written and it was wonderful. Nothing else needed and my measurements were not exact. Now I’m glad to have that extra watermelon. Thank You!

  30. Stephanie says

    You can freeze any leftover watermelon juice into ice cubes. They make great ice cubes for gin & tonics, or you can throw them back into the blender for a frozen margarita!

  31. Jeanie says

    YUM! I’m having friends over visiting for the week and was after some juicy drink recipes for spending the summer evenings on the deck. This is fabulous!

  32. Ashley says

    Yes! I’ve been making these for years and it’s so nice to have a margarita that is relatively guilt-free. I still like indulging in the sugary ones from time to time, but these watermelon ones are so refreshing. :)

  33. Janine says

    Such a lovely and easy idea for summertime. My hubby and I thought about making waltermelon Juice with my new juicer. Love the nice Picture and how you arranged These 3 things in the photography. xoxo Janine

    • Laura ~ Raise Your Garden says

      Weekends and continued summer…..as much as I like fall recipes too, just not ready for pumpkin spice. Want to still enjoy summer and all that watermelon scrumptiousness just a tad longer!!! Just not ready for that 4 feet of snow we get where I live.