These Spicy Watermelon Margaritas are the perfect summer cocktail – so refreshing and easy to make with just 4 ingredients and a few easy steps. Plus, it's a naturally sweetened cocktail which is all the better!
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Ingredients
- Watermelon: The main ingredient! Fresh watermelon cubes blended and strained to make delicious and refreshing homemade watermelon juice.
- Tequila: Blanco tequila, my go-to for margaritas.
- Jalapeños: These bring the spice to the party. They sit in the tequila for about an hour to bring out their flavor.
- Limes: Fresh lime juice is truly the way to go!
Instructions
These spicy watermelon margaritas are incredibly easy to make. In just a few simple steps you'll have a delicious summer drink in hand.
- Step 1: Make the spicy tequila. Pour the 1 cup of tequila into a jar and add the 5 slices of jalapeño. Let sit in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Step 2: Juice your limes. Juice your limes and set aside.
- Step 3: Cut and puree the watermelon. Slice your watermelon into cubes and place into your blender, then puree until smooth.
- Step 4: Strain the watermelon (optional). If your watermelon was very fibrous or seedy, or if you just want a smoother and cleaner mixture, pour the watermelon puree from the blender through a fine mesh strainer into a large jar or bowl.
- Step 5: Assemble. Either add all ingredients into a shaker and shake to combine, or pour measured ingredients into individual cups and stir together. If you're pouring into individual cups each gets: ¾ cup watermelon juice, 1.5oz spicy tequila, and 1oz lime juice.
How to pick out and cut a ripe watermelon
To pick out a ripe watermelon, look for one that has prominent striping and a big yellow spot. The yellow spot means it was sitting on the ground in that spot for a while, indicating its ripeness. You should also knock on it, and if it sounds hollow that means it's full of juice and ripe.
To cut a watermelon:
- Cut off the top and bottom
- Slice it in half width-wise
- Going from the top towards the bottom of each half, carefully trim off the rind
- Slice across in 1-inch slices, then rotate and do the same again to create a cube design
- Finally, grab some of the slices in a bunch and lay flat, and make final cuts into cubes
With your leftover watermelon, make these Watermelon and Whipped Feta Crostini!
What tequila is best for margaritas?
Blanco tequila is typically best for margaritas. This is because it's a clear, usually un-aged tequila, which means its flavor is relatively mild, allowing the other flavors of the margarita to shine.
Tips and tricks
- Use fresh lime juice! Really does make all the difference
- Serve immediately, it will begin to separate the longer it sits. If it does separate, not a big deal though - just mix together with a spoon
- Salt rim - this is completely optional and personal preference. If you want to salt your rim, run a slice of lime across the top and dip into a shallow layer of salt
- The longer you leave the jalapeño in the tequila, the spicer the drink will be. 15-30 minutes is good for a more mild spiciness, 1 hour for a bit more bold (but still not overwhelming) spiciness
- If you want a little fizz, top them with some Topo Chico Twist of Lime and you'll have a delicious Topo Chico Spicy Watermelon Margarita
FAQs
It won't technically be a margarita anymore, but you can definitely use vodka instead.
Instead of leaving the jalapeños in the tequila for an hour, only leave them in for about 15-30 minutes.
Yes! Just combine everything in a large jar/container and it can stay in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Just make sure that you remove the jalapeños (the longer they sit the spicier it'll get) and don't put any ice in or it'll get watered down.
Sure! Just completely omit them and you'll have a regular watermelon margarita.
Tequila is made from the blue agave plant - it usually gets steamed/baked and then distilled. More about that here.
Recipe
Spicy Watermelon Margarita
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup tequila
- 1 jalapeño
- 4 cups watermelon cubed (about ¼ of a large watermelon)
- ½ cup lime juice from about 4-5 limes
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pour the 1 cup of tequila into a jar and add 5 slices of jalapeño. Let sit in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Juice your limes and set aside.
- Slice your watermelon into cubes and place into your blender, then puree until smooth. You should end with about 3 cups of liquid.Note: If your watermelon was very fibrous or seedy, or if you just want a smoother and cleaner mixture, pour the watermelon puree from the blender through a fine mesh strainer into a large jar or bowl.
- Once an hour has passed for the jalapeños in tequila, either add all ingredients into a shaker and shake to combine, or pour measured ingredients into individual cups and stir each to mix together. If you're pouring into individual cups each gets: ¾ cup watermelon juice, 1.5oz spicy tequila, and 1oz lime juice. Note: you can remove the jalapeños from the tequila at this time – leaving them in will result in the drink continuing to get spicier.
Linda Sapolsky
As soon as I saw these posted, i had to try them! They will be absolutely perfect for my upcoming 4th of July bbq! I’ve tried a lot of these recipes, and even though I’m not the best cook, they’re so thorough that I’m always pleased with the result!
Haley
Yay I'm so glad 🙂 thank you!!