This homemade watermelon mint lemonade recipe is the ultimate refresher on a hot summer day! Freshly squeezed lemonade with juicy, sweet watermelon and mint flavors.
Try my other refreshing lemonade recipes, like my strawberry lemonade!
WATERMELON LEMONADE
Fresh watermelon lemonade is my favorite flavor of lemonade! The combination from the tangy, sour lemons combined with the fresh, sweet watermelon is so refreshing and bursting with all the right flavors! Whether you are making a batch of lemonade to enjoy throughout the week, hosting a BBQ, or having a pool party, this watermelon lemonade is the best choice!
WHAT YOU NEED-
- Lemons– Fresh lemons are essential for this homemade lemonade recipe! The number of lemons will depend on the size of the lemons, but you want to aim for around 8-10 lemons. You can also do a mix of lemons and limes for a lemon-limeade vibe!
- Sweetener– To sweeten the lemonade, you can use any of your go-to sweeteners! Sweeteners like granulated sugar, brown sugar, cane sugar, stevia, honey, maple syrup, agave syrup, or simple syrup work great.
- Water– You want to make sure you are using drinking water!
- Watermelon– You want to use fresh watermelon for this lemonade! Either cut a whole watermelon or use pre-cut watermelon.
- Mint– Adding fresh mint leaves to the watermelon adds so many additional flavors. Although I highly recommend trying this recipe with mint, it is totally optional.
| Fast Lemonade Options– You can also just use store-bought lemonade, or the country time lemonade mix instead of making freshly squeezed lemonade for this recipe. |
HOW TO MAKE WATERMELON LEMONADE
You can have this refreshing watermelon lemonade ready to enjoy in no time!
- In a saucepan, heat 1 cup of water and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Remove heat and allow it to cool. (You can also just use hot water from a tea kettle to dissolve the sugar.)
- Cut the lemons in half and juice the lemons into a bowl or large measuring cup with a juicer or hand squeezer. (Remove any seeds from the lemon juice.)
- Add water, cooled simply syrup and lemon juice to a pitcher and stir until well combined. (Adjust the lemonade if you want it to be sweeter or more on the tangy/sour side.)
- Pour the watermelon juice into the lemonade and stir to combine.
- Add ice cubes, mint leaves, and additional lemon slices and watermelon chunks to the pitcher and stir to combine and serve.
WATERMELON JUICE FOR LEMONADE
When making watermelon lemonade, you can either muddle or blend the watermelon. This is based on preference.
BLEND METHOD-
If you don’t like having pieces of strawberry in your lemonade, the puree method is going to be your favorite!
- Cut and cube the watermelon into chunks.
- Add the watermelon, splash of water and mint leaves to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Place a strainer over a bowl or measuring cup and strain the watermelon juice. (Or just strain straight into the pitcher to avoid more dishes.)
- Pour smooth watermelon juice into the lemonade and enjoy!
MUDDLED METHOD-
If you like chunkier lemonade with watermelon chunks, the muddle option is for you!
- Cut and cube the watermelon into chunks.
- Add the watermelon and mint to a large bowl and with a muddler or masher, mash the watermelons, allowing the juices to be released.
- Pour the watermelon mixture into the lemonade, mix and serve.
LEMONADE VARIATIONS
There are so many different variations of watermelon lemonade that you can make and enjoy!
- Sparkling– Make this a bubbly sparkling lemonade by adding some lemon or lime sparkling water, tonic water or even sprite right before serving.
- Limeade– Switch it up and make this recipe a limeade by substituting the lemons for limes!
- Spiked– Make boozy lemonade! Add some vodka, tequila or any other preferred alcohol to the lemonade!
- Multi-Fruit– Don’t only use watermelon, add any of your other favorite fruit to the watermelon juice for a delicious fruity lemonade.
- Watermelon Mint– Although this recipe does have mint, it’s very subtle. If you love mint, add a bunch of mint leaves to the watermelon mix for a stronger mint flavor!
- Watermelon Peach– Keep it peachy and add some fresh peach slices to the watermelon mixture.
- Slushie Lemonade– Add the lemonade to a blend with ice for a delicious slushie vibe.
MAKE AHEAD
This delicious homemade lemonade is great to make ahead of time. Allowing the watermelon mixture to sit in the lemonade releases even better flavors! Here are some great tips on how to prepare lemonade ahead of time!
- Make watermelon juice and store it in the fridge for 4-5 days. Add this to homemade or store-bought lemonade and enjoy.
- If you are making the lemonade ahead of time, do not add the ice cubes or additional lemon slices. Store in the fridge, then when ready to serve add in the ice cubes and additional lemon slices.
- Store the leftover watermelon lemonade in the fridge or for up to 4-5 days.
- You can totally freeze the lemon juice from this recipe for up to 5 months!
- Combine the simple syrup, lemon juice and watermelon mixture and add to a container or freezer bag and freeze. When ready for lemonade, thaw the mixture, add to a pitcher and add water and enjoy!
QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE:
This homemade lemonade recipe will make about 7-8 cups of lemonade, a pitcher full of freshly squeezed lemonade!
Yes, you can totally just make a single or double serve! Just add the desired amount of lemon juice, sweetener and watermelon in a cup and mash. Add water and ice and enjoy!
The best way to juice your lemons is by rolling the lemons on a hard surface to break down the inside of the lemon, then juice with a hand squeezer or juicer.
No! You can totally pour the watermelon juice into the pitcher without straining. You will just have chunks, but if you don’t mind then no need to strain!
If you find that the lemonade is not sweet enough or too sweet, you can easily adjust by adding more sweetener or more lemon juice!
Yes! Adding mint leaves is totally optional!
Yes, you can double or even triple the recipe if you like! I love making a large batch when hosting! You will just need a lot of lemons or swap out the lemon and sugar for lemonade mix.
Yes, this is my go-to method when making a larger batch! I just make my lemonade by adding country time lemonade mix to water and then mix in the watermelon juice.
OTHER DRINKS TO TRY-
Nothing better than a refreshing drink, no matter the occasion!
Fresh Watermelon Lemonade
Ingredients
Lemonade-
- 6 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups lemon juice about 8-10 lemons
- 1 cup granulated sugar or other sweetener
Watermelon Mixture-
- 5 cups fresh watermelon cubed
- 1/4 cup water
- 4 mint leaves optional
Instructions
- In a saucepan, heat 1 cup of water and granulated sugar on medium heat. Cook just until the sugar dissolves. Remove heat and allow it to cool. (You can also use hot water from a tea kettle to dissolve the sugar.)1 cup granulated sugar, or other sweetener
- Cut the lemons in half and juice the lemons into a bowl or measuring cup with a juicer or hand squeezer. (Remove any seeds from the lemon juice.)1 1/2 cups lemon juice, about 8-10 lemons
- Add the rest of the water, cooled simply syrup and lemon juice to a pitcher and stir until well combined. (Adjust the lemonade if you want it to be sweeter or more on the sour side.)6 cups water
- Add the watermelon chunks, mint leaves, and water to a blender and blend until pureed.5 cups fresh watermelon, cubed, 1/4 cup water, 4 mint leaves, optional
- Place a strainer over a bowl or measuring cup and strain the puree. (Or just strain straight into the pitcher to avoid more dishes.)
- Pour in the watermelon juice into the pitcher of lemonade and mix to combine.
- Add ice cubes, mint leaves, and additional lemon and strawberry slices to the pitcher, stir to combine and serve.
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