“Tastes like Rita’s”–that’s what my kids said when I gave them a cold cup of freshly blended frozen drink. Yay!
Moms, if you cringe at the amount of sugar consumption in the summer and wish refreshing treats could be wholesome, you’re going to love this recipe. There’s some technique here, so pay attention the first time and you won’t need to pull out this recipe again–you’ll just pull out the blender and know what to do.
This first step needs to be done ahead. Cut up your watermelon into chunks and freeze them. Just put them in a bowl and stick it in the freezer. Better yet–keep frozen watermelon chunks in the freezer so you can make the drink in an instant when you want to.
Now, take out the blender and add those watermelon chunks.
Add a little water to get the blender blending.
Watermelon already has lots of water, so you only need a bit. The quantity will depend on the amount and size of your chunks.
Next add some fresh lime and that squeeze of honey.
Finally, add the frozen strawberries.
We found the ratio we liked best was 2:1 (4 cups watermelon to 2 cups strawberries, or 2 cups watermelon to 1 cup strawberries), but you can definitely just keep blending in the strawberries until the drink has the flavor balance you want. The amount of strawberries you’ll need will depend on the size of your watermelon.
You can also adjust the thickness – do you want it more like ices?
Or more like a frozen drink? It’s easy to adjust the thickness by adding more/less water vs. frozen fruit.
Watermelon-Strawberry Frozen Drink
Ingredients
- ¼ watermelon
- 1 (16 oz) bag frozen strawberries
- juice of 1-2 limes
- 2-3 tbsp honey or agave
Instructions
- Do Ahead: Dice the watermelon, put it in a bowl, and stick it in the freezer. You can keep frozen diced watermelon in the freezer at all times so you’re ready to make this at any moment’s notice.
- Measure 4 cups frozen watermelon cubes and add to the blender with about ¼-½ cup water (if your blender doesn’t hold this, you can make smaller batches). The watermelon themselves have enough liquid for the drink, you just need a bit to get the blender started. Blend until watermelon is smooth. You will need to stop the blender and move the chunks around a couple of times. If you need a bit more water, go ahead.
- Add a squeeze of lime and honey at any point.
- Once the watermelon is smooth, measure 2 cups of frozen strawberries. Add strawberries to the blender, a few at a time, and blend until smooth.
- Repeat with remaining watermelon and strawberries (I had 2 cups watermelon and 1 cup strawberries remaining to blend, the same ratio). Add to cold cups with lids and straws.
- If you want to make this ahead, store in the freezer. Remove from freezer about 1 hour before serving.
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We LOVE this!! Make it all the time since I saw it in Whisk.
I don’t measure anything and it comes out great every time!
Thanks for all the amazing recipes!!
Does this have to be served immediately? Any way to make it ahead and serve a couple of hours later?
We love this!!! I freeze it and defrost an hour or so before serving. A real winner!
Can I sub lemon juice?
This is a winner!! I make a large quantity at a time and divide it in portion cups and freeze until ready to use. Best treat on a hot summer day!
Love this cuz it’s also a great way to use up watermelon that’s gainy or mushy. Will definitely be trying this!
Was so refreshing and delicious! Ty!
Just made it! It was DELICIOUS and refreshing I cut up a whole watermelon and froze it. Can’t wait to make it again!
My vitamix will just stop. Is something wrong with the machine, or does it need more liquid? I found that when I add more liquid, I can’t achieve the ices consistency that I want.
Nothing is wrong with the machine and you don’t have to add more liquid. You have a few options – you can either just stop it and shake it around, and it will resume mixing. Or you can stop and and use a spoon to move it around. The most efficient way, though, to get the mixture moving again is with the Vitamix tamper stick (not included with all machines). This is the item that help keep things moving: https://amzn.to/3rAUL01
I started it in my Ninja and ended up switching to my Braun food processor and it worked much better.
I wanted to ask about this – my blender broke; can this recipe work well in the food processor?
Delicious, Refreshing!!
Growing up in Mexico City, we had an ices place called “Bing!” – this is a pretty close copy!!
A taste of childhood 🙂
Just made this but with refrigerated watermelon. Used 1.5 bags of strawberries so it had a thicker texture but it’s delicious and can’t wait to serve before the fast! Ty for a delicious recipe.
We love this! Made it for before the fast because watermelon is very hydrating.
Thanks for sharing!