This may be the best use for watermelon yet! These Spicy Watermelon Basil Margaritas are sweet, refreshing with a little kick of spicy flavor that comes from homemade chili sweet syrup and the delicious salted chili rim.
Guys, this is a real crowd-pleaser. Especially ladies will appreciate! Is watermelon in season where you are now? Be sure to make these delicious summery refreshing spicy watermelon basil margaritas!
Watermelon is great and naturally sweet when in season, it also blends wonderfully with all types of alcohol - in this case with Tequila and orange liquor.
The process is very simple, but we’ll need a bit of prep on your side. First, cut the watermelon into medium chunks, remove the seeds, place it into a sealed container and freeze overnight (or at least 4 hours until watermelon becomes solid or at least halfway frozen.
When ready place the watermelon into a blender along with other watermelon margarita ingredients and blend until perfectly smooth and frozen. Rub each top of the frozen or regular margarita glass (this is what I used) thoroughly with a lime wedge and dip in a small plate with margarita salt, regular salt or crushed sea salt flakes, and tajin (or chili powder). Garnish with beautiful watermelon/lime slices, basil and serve immediately! Simple isn’t it!?
For more in depth step-by-step process of making spicy watermelon basil margaritas read below in the Instructions section.
If you like cocktails much as I do be sure to give some love to these refreshing summer drinks recipes: Strawberry Iced Tea With Mint, Skinny Watermelon Margarita, Strawberry Agua Fresca With Chili.
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Why you'll love this
- Watermelon is naturally sweetened and you only need a little bit of homemade jalapeno simple syrup to enhance the flavors even more and get that spicy accent to the margarita. Alternatively leave the syrup out, sweeten only with honey or stevia and serve with salted spicy rim.
- Made with fresh fruit and herbs!
- Vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, plant-based.
- Balanced flavors – perfect amount of sweet, spicy and sour flavors.
- Lightly sweetened.
- Refreshing summer party drink!
- Easy to make without any special bar equipment! If you have a blender, you’re good to go!
Ingredients
- Watermelon. This spicy watermelon basil margarita will have the best flavor if made with watermelon’s that are in season.
- Freshly squeezed lime juice. Fresh is always best, natural and full of flavor.
- Garnishes. Fresh basil and fresh watermelon. Optional but makes a beautiful presentation. Make the margarita garnishes ahead of the time and keep in an airtight container covered with a damp paper towel and make sure they are ready before you start making the drinks.
- The liquor matters. For absolute best flavor, use high quality spirits.
- Jalapeno simple syrup - a homemade classical simple syrup with hot peppers added!
Instructions
Prep the glasses. Salt the rim of a margarita glass. Rub it thoroughly with a lime wedge and dip the top of the glass in a small plate with salt and chili powder (or tajin) mix.
For best results use chilled glasses!
Blend. Add all the ingredients for the margarita cocktail in a blender and process until all mixed well and there are no chunks of watermelon.
Depending on your blender you’ll need to add x amount of cold water to make the blending process smooth. Also for the ice, if high power blender then, you can use ice cubes, alternatively crushed ice will blend easier.
Serve. Using a spoon divide the drink between the prepared glasses, don’t create a very high ‘’tower’’ on top as you won’t be able to transport the glasses to the table.
Also, frozen margaritas melt quickly, especially if outside in warm weather, so use your best judgment on how much you pour into the glass!
Garnish with basil leaves, watermelon slice, lime and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Tips and variations
- I recommend cutting the watermelon into medium chunks (one or two inches in size) before freezing. Watermelon should freeze solid within 4-6 hours, depending on the temperature of your freezer. For best results, freeze overnight.
- Always add the liquid ingredients to the bottom of the blender first and then follow with fruit, otherwise in some cases, it will be difficult for the blender to work.
- If you’re not a big fan of the spicy salty rim (not everyone is!) or not sure if your guests will like this, make the salt rim only on half of the glass. Or add a bit of sugar into the mix (to taste).
- For the spicy – have you tried Tajin yet? Instead of chili powder use tajin spice and mix it into the salt before dipping the top of the glasses in it.
- Alcohol amount - you can always add more/less liquor as you need. Small differences will not change the texture or flavor of the drink.
- Just in case you don't like tequila flavor, another great option is to use vodka or gin, or even watermelon flavored spirits.
- Fruit variations - Watermelon goes well with most tropical fruits such as mango, pineapple, papaya, passion fruit, banana. Mix things up by adding these, also preferably frozen, or add berries that are great for this margarita such as strawberries, and raspberries.
Easy Appetizers
Margarita is traditionally a Mexican cocktail (not frozen but the classical/skinny and lime flavored) and is pretty much great to enjoy on it's own with a small spoon 🙂 However, to maintain the Mexican feel, you can prepare those easy appetizers to go along with the drinks.
- Pico De Gallo
- Strawberry Salsa
- Vegan Nacho Cheese
- Sweet Potato, Chickpea and Kale Tacos
- Creamy Chicken Tacos
FAQ
I'd say definitely not, because the average drinking time of frozen margaritas is usually longer, about 20 minutes compared to classical margaritas that are about 10-12 minutes. This way your drink gets diluted with ice and frozen fruit that results in a less strong drink. Compare this to Skinny Watermelon Margarita and you'll know the difference!
It may depend on few different factors. If you add more liquid to the frozen watermelon margarita such as more alcohol, ice, and water it may end up watery. Also, be sure to use enough frozen watermelon per drink, I wouldn't recommend using fresh fruit for this as it won't be frozen enough or you'll need to add lots of ice to achieve the texture which will result in a very flat taste and will be watery.
I hope you'll enjoy these spicy watermelon basil margaritas and if you make these, please let me know down below in the comments or by tagging @theyummy_bowl under your picture on Instagram.
Thank you for reading,
Love,
Julia
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Easy Cocktail Recipes
Recipe
Spicy Watermelon Basil Margaritas (Frozen)
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups watermelon (chunks, frozen)
- handful basil leaves (10-12 leaves)
- 3 oz Tequila
- 2 oz orange liquor ((Grand Marnier, Triple Sec, Cointreau))
- 2 ½ tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoon spicy chili sweet syrup (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder or tajin
- 1 tablespoon salt or crushed sea salt flakes
- coldwater as needed (1-2 tablespoon depending on blender)
- ½ cup crushed ice or ice cubes
INSTRUCTIONS
- Prep the glasses. Salt the rim of a margarita glass. Rub it thoroughly with a lime wedge and dip the top of the glass in a small plate with salt and chili powder (or tajin) mix. For best results use chilled glasses!
- Blend. Add all the ingredients for the margarita cocktail in a blender and process until all mixed well and there are no chunks of watermelon. Depending on your blender you’ll need to add x amount of cold water to make the blending process smooth. Also for the ice, if high power blender then, you can use ice cubes, alternatively crushed ice will blend easier.
- Serve. Using a spoon divide the drink between the prepared glasses, don’t create a very high ‘’tower’’ on top as you won’t be able to transport the glasses to the table. Also, the drink melts quickly, especially if outside in warm weather, so use your best judgment! Garnish with basil leaves, watermelon slice, lime and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Video
NOTES
- Spicy Simple Syrup recipe
- I recommend cutting the watermelon into medium chunks (one or two inches in size) before freezing. Watermelon should freeze solid within 4-6 hours, depending on the temperature of your freezer. For best results, freeze overnight.
- Always add the liquid ingredients to the bottom of the blender first and then follow with fruit, otherwise in some cases, it will be difficult for the blender to work.
- If you’re not a big fan of the spicy salty rim (not everyone is!) or not sure if your guests will like this, make the salt rim only on half of the glass. Or add a bit of sugar into the mix (to taste).
PRIVATE NOTES
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
Julia
Perfect watermelon refreshment for a hot summer evening!