Welcome summer and bring on the watermelon!
Everywhere you look, grocery stores, fruit stands, and farmer’s markets carry watermelons of all shapes and sizes. Most are now seedless but I remember, growing up, having watermelon seed spitting contests with my brother and all our friends. My grandmother loved watermelon so we had it all summer long and lots of contests.
Either I was really small or the watermelon slices she gave us were super big or both. I think it was both. I remember it taking forever to eat one slice of watermelon. Recently I tried to show my kids how we used to have these watermelon seed spitting contests but we couldn’t find any seeds in the watermelon because most are now seedless, bummer. We did find something in the watermelon that resembled watermelon seeds but they were opaque and not quite spit worthy.
If you love watermelon then this recipe is for you. Sweeten to suit your personal taste. You have all summer to make it happen and if you find some seeds in your watermelon why not have a seed spitting contest.
Agua de Sandia
Ingredients
- 8 cups cubed seeded watermelon, divided
- 1/4 cup water, divided
- 3/4 cup simple syrup, divided
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- Lime slices to garnish
- Mint leaves as a garnish
Instructions
- Puree half of the cubed watermelon, water, and simple syrup in a blender. Pour through a course strainer and into a large pitcher. Repeat with the remaining watermelon, water, and sugar. Stir in lime juice.
- Refrigerate until very cold. Before serving stir and garnish with lime slices and mint if desired.
Notes
- Makes 2 quarts.
- Make simple syrup ahead of time and use after it’s cooled. To make simple syrup combine 2 cups water with 1 cup sugar. In a saucepan heat until the sugar has melted, then remove from heat and let cool. Store extra simple syrup in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Photography by Jeanine Thurston
Yvette, thank you for sharing! I have been craving this (with a little vodka of course) ever since your cooking party!!
LOL Kirsten! We will be posting the adult recipe VERY soon. Glad it was memorable!
I cannot wait to make this!! Sounds exactlyy what the baby wants! 😉
I ate watermelon all summer during both my pregnancies — Your baby wants this, trust me! There are many health benefits associated with watermelon and it can be very beneficial during pregnancy. Stay cool amiga! I know it’s difficult in HOT Texas. Best of luck throughout your pregnancy! Besos!
Have you ever tried yellow watermelon? It’s sweeter than regular watermelon and the sweetener might not be necessary. I love this drink during carne asadas and it also reminds me when I used to buy them from the juice vendor in Mexico. He would pour them in a plastic bag and add a popote. Ah! The good ol days. 😀
Ericka, I remember having this in Mexico on our visits too. Thanks for the popote reference totally catapulted me back in time. Veronica
Not a fan of watermelon but the photos are really pretty! Makes my mouth water!
Sujeiry, glad you like the pictures…thanks for visiting our site.
Wow — yum! Great pictures, too. Especially the first one; what a lovely contrast of colors. 🙂
Aurelia, thank you!!!
I just made agua de Sandia a few days ago for a lunch I had here at my house. SO yummy…. Your recipe is a little different… I’ll have to try it. 🙂
Hola Nicole, let us know if you try our version. Happy Summer!
Agua de sandia is a staple in my house during the summer! Nice to see a different spin on the same delicious recipe! I’ll definitely try your version soon.
Maura, sandia is a staple in our home for summer too…we all love it! I love buying it at farmer’s marketsw too.
Watermelon should win the “most photogenic” award in the food world. This looks so refreshing and delicious! Thanks for sending along the recipe.
Lea Ann I agree, thanks for the sweet photogenic comments. Jeanine Thurston, our photography is truly amazing with her camera. Enjoy the recipe.
I wonder why we don’t get seedless watermelon here in Portugal. I guess it’s a different type of watermelon or something. Much like seedless grapes, which we don’t have either. Anyway, this seems absolutely delicious and so refreshing. Great post, as usual!
Joana, I don’t really think ours are seedless either. If you look closely they are still there, but they aren’t black. Thank you for visiting us from Portugal. Enjoy!
We have a giant ripe watermelon on the kitchen counter right now. Guess what today’s project is?
And by the way, I love the photography here so much!
Carrie, thanks for the generous comment. Would love to know if the watermelon on your counter made it to the blender…
Don’t make the same mistake I did.
Put the watermelon in the blender first, and then pour the simple syrup over that. When you plop 4 cups of watermelon into a liquid-filled blender bad things happen.
Amanda, you are so cute…I can only imagine…I hope you enjoyed a tall glass of agua after your mishap…
When I went to Mexico in 2007 I fell in love with the cuisine and especially the refreshing beverages. However I, and my fiance are diabetic. Do you have any ideas to reduce the sugar? I am wondering if anyone has made “simple syrup” with stevia. Any ideas would be grate! Karen
Karen, I’m sorry to say that I don’t have any suggestions for making this drink with any other sweetener. However, if you happen to get a really sweet watermelon or a canary watermelon, the yellow ones, which are extremely sweet, than try making it without any sweetener. Just add a little bit of water to get the blending started. Let me know how this works out.
Agua de sandia is the ultimate summer cooler. I’ve never tried it with a simple syrup, thanks for sharing this new addition. I must try this soon, so refreshing and Jeanine’s picutes are always a hit!
bonnie
Hola Bonnie, thanks for stopping by…we love watermelon too. I agree, it is the ultimate summer cooler. We will pass along your sweet comments to Jeanine. Happy 4th.