Food Recipe Collections & Favorites Popular Ingredients 17 Refreshing Watermelon Recipes to Serve All Summer Long This crowd-pleasing fruit can be grilled, frozen, pickled, or tossed into a salad or salsa. By Kimberly Holland Kimberly Holland Kimberly Holland is a highly regarded food editor and content creator, sharing her knowledge on turkey basting, pizza making, and random food facts for dozens of nationally known brands. She has also been a market editor for over 10 years, highlighting exciting and new kitchen and home products. Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Updated on July 3, 2019 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Getty Images Watermelon arrives in summer like a refreshing drink on a hot day. Just as the summer sun is strongest, this delicious fruit pops up, plump and ripe in gardens. Thanks to its versatility and juicy crunch, watermelon provides cooks a plethora of opportunities for creative culinary uses as long as the season lasts. What's more, the health benefits of watermelon make squeezing in every last piece a worthy endeavor. Research shows the fruit's vitamins and nutrients can lower inflammation, protect your eyes, even help you have stronger skin and hair. This collection of watermelon recipes goes beyond salads and slices. This assortment features unique drinks, delicious grilled mains, even frozen desserts that spotlight watermelon well. Turn to these unique watermelon recipes all season long to make the most of every melon you bring home from the garden or the farmers' market. 01 of 17 Ginger-Lime Melon Salad Jennifer Causey Watermelon isn't the only melon that peaks in the summertime. Cantaloupe and honeydew come into their own, with their buttery textures and richly floral flavors, so take advantage of the spoils of melon season with a unique salad. Only a simple coating of lime zest and fresh ginger are needed to make the whole dish coherent. The fruits get to shine in this dish. Get the Recipe: Ginger-Lime Melon Salad 02 of 17 Watermelon Mojito Granita Antonis Achilleos Not much about this watermelon dessert recipe makes sense, and that's precisely what makes it so special. You'll combine watermelon, rum, and (of all things) mint jelly, and blend them together. Then, that mixture is frozen. You will stir regularly as the watermelon juice mix hardens to help turn it into a fluffy icy dessert that resembles a snow cone but with the grown-up flavors of a mojito. Get the Recipe: Watermelon Mojito Granita Recipe 03 of 17 Minted Watermelon Salad Christopher Baker Another ingredient that's highly abundant in the summer is mint. In the heat, the leafy herb is a prolific grower, so it's always a good idea to find ways to use up these summer stars together, as evidenced by this simple and understated watermelon salad. Keep this as a back-pocket recipe, one you can pull out any night you need something to round out grilled chicken, beef kebabs, or even lightly sautéed fish. Get the Recipe: Minted Watermelon Salad 04 of 17 Grilled Watermelon and Halloumi Salad With Ginger-Lime Vinaigrette Kelsey Hansen Watermelon is a great partner to grilled meats, but it's particularly excellent with the grilled cheese in this stunning summer main dish. Halloumi is no ordinary cheese, however. It's a semi-hard, unripened cheese that won't melt when heated, so it can be fried or grilled, as it is in this unique summer salad. For this recipe, it's important you know how to cut the watermelon so each slice is similarly thick and cooks evenly. Get the Recipe: Grilled Watermelon and Halloumi Salad With Ginger-Lime Vinaigrette 05 of 17 Watermelon-Mint Agua Fresca Greg DuPree Take the crisp refreshing bite of watermelon slices and turn it into an incredibly delicious beverage you can enjoy all summer. This watermelon recipe uses fresh watermelon to make a "water," then combines it with a bit of simple syrup for a sublimely simple drink you'll be eager to serve at every summer soiree. Get the Recipe: Watermelon-Mint Agua Fresca 06 of 17 Spicy Watermelon Margarita Ice Pops Emily Kinni Watermelon's sweet flavor can take a bit of heat from cayenne pepper, as this frozen watermelon dessert confirms. The balance of boozy tequila, spicy pepper, and zippy lime juice wonderfully balances the tart, fresh watermelon juice. Get the Recipe: Spicy Watermelon Margarita Ice Pops 07 of 17 Watermelon Salad With Mint and Crispy Prosciutto Kana Okada The salty kick of prosciutto makes the watermelon seem sweeter and the mint more herbaceous. Indeed, salting watermelon is a flavor trick for many cooks. A sprinkle of salt across the top of a slice makes the fruit taste sweeter at first bite, so use that trick (but with salty, dry-cured ham) in this wonderfully elegant summer dish. Get the Recipe: Watermelon Salad With Mint and Crispy Prosciutto 08 of 17 Watermelon-Lime Cooler Maura McEvoy If you're hosting a backyard party this summer, consider this watermelon drink your go-to signature beverage. Everything is blended together, then chilled with ice. There's no need to strain. It couldn't be easier. If it's an adults-only event, certainly vodka is a welcome addition. Get the Recipe: Watermelon-Lime Cooler 09 of 17 Tomato-Watermelon Granita Greg DuPree Alongside watermelon, tomatoes are a star of summer, and they can be used in myriad ways, from sandwiches to casseroles. But if you thought they didn't belong in a frozen dessert, this granita, or refreshing Italian shaved iced, is here to prove you wrong. You won't need an ice grinder or any special equipment. Granita is made by freezing juices—tomatoes and watermelon in this case—and then stirring regularly to create a light and icy texture. Get the Recipe: Tomato-Watermelon Granita 10 of 17 Asian Pork Burgers With Minted Watermelon Christopher Baker The semi-sweet flavor of fresh watermelon and crisp juiciness of cucumber takes the bite off the tangy sauce of this unique burger spin. Make the watermelon salad ahead of time so the vinaigrette has a few minutes to soften the fruits and infuse them with more flavor. You might even find a reason to make this watermelon side dish again for another occasion, sans burger if you want. Get the Recipe: Asian Pork Burgers with Minted Watermelon 11 of 17 Summer Shrimp Salad Philippa Brathwaite Against the heat and kick of jalapeños, watermelon stands sweet and firm. Against buttery avocado, the tart fruit breaks through. But altogether, these ingredients make for a truly special summer salad. What's more, this whole dish is ready in 30 minutes, so you can get a presentation-worthy dinner on the table for company in a blink when the need arises. Get the Recipe: Summer Shrimp Salad 12 of 17 Watermelon Jelly Quentin Bacon Watermelon may not preserve well, the way beans and berries do, but you can use the fruit to make a treat that will last you through fall and possibly even until next watermelon season (if you use judiciously). Watermelon jelly is a delightful way to preserve the flavors of this sweet fruit long after the growing season has ended. You can use it as a spread on toast, a drizzle over angel food cake, or even sandwiched between two halves of a hot and buttered biscuit. Get the Recipe: Watermelon Jelly 13 of 17 Three-Melon Mozzarella Salad Christopher Baker Watermelon, like many fruits, pairs well with cheese because of the stark sweet-floral versus salty-tangy flavor profiles of the foods. Mozzarella, because of its mild, milky flavor, works well with melons like cantaloupe, watermelon, and honeydew. These fruits aren't as biting as pineapple, apples, or even some berries, so the cheese helps mellow out the meal. Get the Recipe: Three-Melon Mozzarella Salad 14 of 17 Watermelon-Mint Cooler Yunhee Kim Toss up your heels and settle in for a night of watching the sunset with a glass of this refreshing watermelon beverage in hand. Pureeing watermelon turns it into a thick, rich beverage, and adding lemonade layers in a bite of tartness for a well-rounded summertime sipper. Get the Recipe: Watermelon-Mint Cooler 15 of 17 Watermelon Slices With Mint and Lime Christopher Baker This wonderful watermelon recipe is one of the simplest ways to delight in the joys of fresh watermelon, as well as its beautiful contrast to a host of so many other great fresh food. A simple mint-lime sugar adds herby flavor with a just-right tart kick to make the fruit seem bright and sweet. Topping watermelon slices with a fancy mix of ingredients may look complicated, but guests won't know how easy it actually is. That can be your secret. Get the Recipe: Watermelon Slices With Mint and Lime 16 of 17 Watermelon-Basil Iced Tea Philippe Desnerck/Getty Images There may come a time during your watermelon-eating phase each summer when you're running low on ideas of how to use up extra watermelon, and this recipe helps fill that void: Instead of making a watermelon-flavored drink, you can make refreshing tea, and simply add a bit of fresh watermelon and basil to the tea for a subtle but beautifully balanced beverage. Get the Recipe: Watermelon and Basil Iced Tea 17 of 17 Watermelon, Lime, Ginger Ice Pop Jens Mortensen If you're in charge of the neighborhood backyard barbecue, plan to make several batches of these watermelon frozen pops. The pairing of bright lime juice and tangy ginger offsets the watermelon's natural sweetness. The result is a one-of-a-kind treat that may soon be your most famous calling card in the neighborhood social circles. Get the Recipe: Watermelon, Lime, Ginger Pops Was this page helpful? 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