If you’re looking for a refreshing vegetarian summer treat, why not try one of these delicious watermelon ice-cream recipes? Watermelon ice-cream isn’t commonly available to buy in shops, but is surprisingly easy to make if you have the right ingredients.
The subtle, fruity taste of the watermelon blends with the cream to create a beautifully balanced flavor that is perfect for devouring on those warm August evenings with your friends.
Watermelon is exceptionally good for you – it’s packed full of nutrients that are sometimes difficult to get elsewhere, such as lycopene and citrulline. It is also a great source of vitamins A and C, to keep your body healthy and functioning properly.
What better way to get your kids eating fruit than featuring it in their favorite snacks? They’ll even want to help make their own by getting involved in the cooking process.
You can eat various frozen watermelon confections, including watermelon ice-cream, watermelon sorbet and watermelon popsicles. What’s more, these are all suitable for vegetarians, so you can enjoy them guilt-free.
They take a while to make, as they must be left to set for a few hours in the freezer, but they’re worth the wait. Here are 15 of our favorite watermelon ice-cream recipes to get your tongue tingling and your stomach rumbling.
If you’re apprehensive about your first foray into the world of homemade watermelon ice-cream, it’s a good idea to start simple. This two-ingredient recipe is ideal for people who have never made ice-cream before, since it is easy to follow and doesn’t take much to yield delicious results.
The suggested base options are coconut milk or sweetened condensed milk, but you can also use plain yogurt for a super healthy alternative. Freeze your watermelon cubes beforehand and your ice-cream will be ready to eat as soon as you’ve blended it.
Sorbet is a super refreshing frozen treat, and it’s even better when it contains only natural ingredients. This recipe can be considered paleo-friendly, since it has no added sugar or processed ingredients – watermelon is sweet enough on its own!
To get the most out of your watermelon, try and choose one that is as ripe as possible, as the fruit loses some of its sweetness when frozen. Because there is no dairy base, the sorbet takes on the natural vibrant color of the watermelon rather than the paler shade of most watermelon ice-cream.
There are two options for making this recipe: cashew base or coconut base. You can choose which one you use based on your own preferences, and each one produces a delicious watermelon ice-cream.
The cashew base requires a little more preparation than the coconut base – you have to soak the nuts in hot water for a while and drain them before you start, rather than just blending all the ingredients together straight away.
Be aware that the coconut-based ice-cream will have a somewhat more orangey color than what you might be expecting for something with a watermelon flavor.
This recipe produces ice-cream in a pretty pastel pink color that looks as good as it tastes. The honey brings an exceptional sweetness and sets this ice-cream apart from other watermelon ice-cream variants – you should only use a light honey to achieve the correct flavor.
Each ingredient listed has been carefully selected for its taste, culminating in a luxurious dessert. An ice-cream maker isn’t essential to follow this recipe, but the author highly recommends you invest in one if you want to achieve the best results.
Unlike most of the watermelon ice-cream recipes here, this one uses egg yolks, so make sure any guests are aware of this before you serve it. The heavy cream helps to create a smooth, luxurious texture that couldn’t be achieved using just milk.
The method of making the initial custard base is quite fiddly and you have to be careful to temper the mixture correctly, but hard work pays off and you will end up with a delicious ice cream that will only improve with practise.
Here is a watermelon ice-cream recipe with a slight alcoholic twist – a teaspoon of vodka. As exciting as this sounds, the main reason for the vodka is to keep the mixture from icing up completely when put in the freezer, because watermelon has an exceptionally high water content.
Nevertheless, it may be an incentive to give this ice-cream a go, and you can always add more alcohol for a real party treat!
If you’re a big fan of the current salted caramel trend (and who isn’t?!), you won’t be able to resist this salted watermelon ice-cream. A sprinkle of sea salt adds a hint of sophistication to any dessert recipe and balances the sweetness nicely.
While bottled watermelon juice works just as well for this ice cream, there’s nothing like the taste of fresh watermelon to give you that refreshing summer feel.
This ice-cream is suitable not only for vegetarians but vegans too! In fact, anyone can enjoy it without hesitation, because the only ingredients are fruit, fruit and more fruit!
As long as you have frozen watermelon and banana chunks hanging around your kitchen, you have everything you need to make a delicious dessert in just a few minutes. Simply blend them together and serve however you like – what an easy way to impress your friends and family!
You can whip this ice-cream up in just 10 minutes before committing it to the freezer to set. The recipe uses fresh cream and sweetened condensed milk for the dairy base, but you can substitute these for a non-dairy cream such as Vivian’s Vegan Whipped Cream Replacement, and coconut/almond milk.
Add slightly less condensed milk than instructed if your watermelon is particularly sweet, so you don’t overpower the ice-cream’s delicate flavor.
These popsicles are basically made of frozen smoothie that you can lick to quench your thirst. You will need wooden sticks and silicone ice pop molds to shape them as they freeze, so be sure to pick these up from your local grocery store or Amazon (some come with reusable handles which you won’t need separate sticks for).
This recipe is simple and ideal for kids to make – they can also nibble on the fruit pieces as they go along! Strawberry and watermelon work beautifully together and are balanced out by the zingy lime juice.
Although it will take a few hours to freeze before serving, the actual prep time involved in this recipe is minimal – this means you can get a load of other stuff done while you wait.
It is very simple to make, as you just place all ingredients in a blender and then freeze; however, the instructions assume you already have cubed watermelon, so take extra time into account if you need to cut up your watermelon first.
Whole milk is used for the creamy base, making the ice-cream fluffy and smooth.
Coconut is the perfect flavor to complement watermelon and create an exotic-themed dessert. Chuck in some strawberries, dates and pistachios, and this ice-cream packs a tasty punch that leaves you wondering how you ever survived the summer without it.
There’s no added sugar in sight, as the natural sugars present in the ingredients provide all the sweetness you could need. The coconut cream needs to be chilled for a minimum of 12 hours first, so make sure you plan in advance when you’re going to make it for best results.
Another vegan choice, this watermelon gelato is also sugar-free and fat-free, so you can have as much as you want without feeling bad! It is neither sickly sweet nor eye-wateringly sour like many other dairy-free offerings – instead, the delicate watermelon flavor hits just the right spot.
Adding a banana helps to achieve a creamy texture without needing any dairy products, and the flavors blend perfectly into one another.
This recipe is a cross between ice-cream and sorbet, using vanilla yogurt to create a sherbet-inspired icy dessert that is particularly healthy compared to ice-creams with a milk or cream base.
You start by preparing a sugar syrup, which you then combine with pureed watermelon, yogurt and lime juice. Once made, you may be required to blend the ice in a food processor before serving, if you have frozen it for more than the recommended 2 hours.
Here’s one for the kids to help with – this easy recipe shows you how to make ice-cream from scratch for a perfect family activity. It is gluten-free and requires a blender in place of an ice-cream maker.
You can also print out a recipe card from the website, so you can have access to the instructions at all times. Try adding different fruits such as berries or mango to bring out more fun flavors.
Hi, my name is Brett White, and I have a passion for cooking, and following a raw diet. Eating raw has completely changed how I view food, and has led me down a much healthier and happier path in life over the last three years.
Through Addicted To Veggies, I want to share with you my favorite raw recipes. From brownie recipes, to recipes containing pumpkin, my site is full of delicious and wonderful options to consider.
