It’s Monday, and I’m making a Spicy Watermelon Margarita!

Why? Because that watermelon has been sitting on my counter for a week and, even though it’s rather large, I seem to keep looking past it.

It’s the incredible invisible watermelon.

Plus, my watermelon-loving son isn’t currently home to help me eat it.

So, time to find an alternative use for the watermelon.

Looking for More Margarita Ideas?

Check out our many margarita posts:

Juicy Vanilla Pear Margarita

Coconut Margarita

Cucumber Jalapeño Margarita

Winter Citrus Margarita (it’s also delicious in all the other seasons)

Our Super Bowl Pour Decisions Margaritas featuring a Strawberry Margarita, a Spicy Jalapeño Blackberry Margarita, and a Spicy Grapefruit Jalapeño Margarita

Our Trio of Fall-Inspired Margaritas including a Thanksgiving Margarita, a Sparkling Blood Orange Margarita, and a Plum-Thyme Margarita

Simple to Make−Spicy Watermelon Margarita

Get the recipe from: The Social Sipper

With the weather heating up, what better way to cool of than with a watermelon cocktail? And a watermelon margarita is a Simple to Make drink that comes together quickly because who wants to slave over a cocktail in the heat!

Spicy Watermelon Margarita ingredients

Eight things to know about the Spicy Watermelon Margarita recipe:

  • This cocktail requires a little extra work, but it’s worth it! It’s not a lot of work, but you do need to cut up the watermelon, blend it, and then strain it. The extra five minutes absolutely pays off.
Strain the watermelon puree for a pulp-free juice.
  • Don’t have any agave? Don’t worry. You can substitute honey or simple syrup for the agave. If you want to be bold, substitute maple syrup.
  • Watermelon simple syrup would be a great substitution for the agave. But this is one instance where you don’t want to cook your simple syrup. You can make a cold process watermelon simple syrup by placing watermelon cubes in a ziploc bag, sprinkling them with sugar, muddling them a bit, and letting them sit in the fridge overnight. You’ll also need to strain out the remaining watermelon pieces. For the full recipe, check out Cocktail Contessa’s post.
  • Play with the number of jalapeño slices to scale the heat. The recipe calls for 2-3 slices of jalapeño, but you can add more if you love heat or fewer if you only want a hint of heat.
Muddle the jalapeño in lime juice.
  • I upped the amount of watermelon juice in my drinks. After tasting my margarita, I decided to add another ounce or so of watermelon juice to each cocktail. Purely a personal preference.
  • Want to add more depth of flavor? Mix in some chili powder with the salt and lime zest for the rim of your glasses. The chili powder doesn’t necessarily add a ton of heat, but more a richness of flavors you’d find in your favorite Tex-Mex food.
Salt and lime zest for the rim of the glasses. You could add chili powder for extra flavor.
  • Can you make extra watermelon juice and save it to use later? You would think so, but no, I don’t recommend this. Even though you will have strained the watermelon puree, the juice will start to separate with the more solid portions falling to the bottom. I tried to save some juice, but it began separating within an hour. While you could probably shake it to remix it, I think I would rather puree and strain fresh juice.
  • Want a frozen Spicy Watermelon Margarita? Well, the one thing you DO NOT want to do is add ice to the the watermelon juice and blend it. Watermelon is, well, mostly water, and by adding ice, you’re going to dilute the flavor of the watermelon. So, what SHOULD you do? After you cube your watermelon, lay it out on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze it overnight. Puree the frozen watermelon cubes and use that for your base in place of the watermelon juice. You won’t be able to (or want to) strain the watermelon puree, but your margarita will still be delicious!

So, what was the verdict on the Spicy Watermelon Margarita?

My daughter, who now continually asks me to make jalapeño cocktails, thought this was “a good combination of mellow and spicy.”

What do you think? Does it make your Top 5 list?

Spicy Watermelon Margarita