Frozen watermelon and sweet rosé wine are blended up into an icy summertime treat in this simple recipe for Watermelon Frosé. It’s a pretty pink drink with an unforgettable refreshing taste, and so easy to make!
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A Sweet and Simple Frozen Cocktail – Perfect for Brunch!
Brunch is always a fun and festive meal to make (and eat), especially for Mother’s Day, birthdays, or just to celebrate the weekend. And as long as you’re serving brunch, why not make a sweet chilled cocktail to serve with it?
Mimosas, of course, are a brunch-time classic, but if you’d like something a little different, you have to try this recipe for watermelon frosé! It’s crisp, refreshing, easy to make, and beautiful. Highly, highly recommend.
And of course, it’s not just for brunch! This smooth, frozen favorite is just right for a casual lunch, a poolside treat, or a sweet sundown sip. You’ve got to try it!
What is Frosé Made Of?
Frosé is typically made with ice, rosé wine, strawberries, and a little sweetener to taste. Blended up, it’s an easy and delicious frozen drink. In this recipe, of course, we’re replacing the ice with frozen watermelon – so refreshing and sweet!
The Ingredients You’ll Need
Guys, this is such a simple drink recipe – the ingredients are absolutely minimal! Here’s the list, in detail:
- Watermelon: I used about half of a small, seedless watermelon, cubed and with the rind removed. You could also use pre-cut chunks from the store.
- Wine: About one bottle of your favorite rosé.
- Lime Juice: Just a little bit, to boost the flavor of the watermelon.
- Agave or Honey: Again, just a small amount for balancing the flavors. Simple syrup would also be fine.
- Optional Garnishes: Feel free to decorate your glasses with fresh mint, small watermelon slices, or edible flowers.
How to Pick a Good Watermelon
There are a few different ways of picking a good watermelon – I like to use them all, to hedge my bets!
- Color: A good watermelon typically has a rich green rind, not pale or discolored.
- Spot: Nearly all watermelons have a pale spot, where the watermelon was resting on the ground as it grew. Look for a melon with a golden-yellow spot. If the spot is creamy and pale, the watermelon probably isn’t very ripe or sweet.
- Finish: A shiny watermelon might look appealing, but a sweet watermelon will often have a dull, almost tacky finish rather than a shiny one. This is from the developing sugar.
- Sound: This is the hardest way to tell, but if you thump the watermelon it should sound firm, but a bit hollow.
Let’s Make Watermelon Frosé!
This drink is so, so easy to make. You literally just freeze the ingredients, and then blend the ingredients. No muddling, straining, salting… Perfection!
- Freeze the Wine (Except ½ Cup). Pour the wine into ice cube trays, and freeze overnight. The cubes won’t freeze completely because of the alcohol, but they will be cold and slushy. Make sure to set aside half a cup of un-frozen wine for blending.
- Freeze the Watermelon. Cube the watermelon, and place it in the freezer overnight as well.
- Blend the Ingredients. When you’re ready to serve the drinks, place the watermelon cubes, honey, lime juice, wine cubes, and the reserved half cup of wine into a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Serve. Pour the watermelon frosé into a glass. If it is very thick and slushy, you can use an ice cream scoop to serve it. Garnish the glasses with lime, watermelon slices, or mint, and serve immediately.
Tips for Best Frosé
There are so many amazing ways to adjust this drink to fit your tastes! Here are some of my top tips for creating the perfect drink, every time.
- Choose a Decent (Not Expensive) Wine: While you might think that the best wine would be a bottle of the really good stuff, in all honesty, this drink is great with an ordinary bottle of rosé. Since watermelon frosé is a mixed drink that’s served frozen, there’s no need to use pricey wine – save that for another occasion where subtle flavors and fragrances can really shine.
- Use a Darker Rosé: Diluting your wine with watermelon and then freezing it will dull the flavor a bit, so a darker rosé is best in this recipe – the darker the rosé, the more oomph it will bring to the table.
- Make a Virgin Frosé: All of the fun with none of the alcohol? Sure, why not? Use your favorite non-alcoholic sparkling wine to make a fabulous virgin version of watermelon frosé.
- Make a Stronger Version: On the flip side, if you’d like to make this drink a little stronger, just add a splash of your favorite vodka or tequila. Yum!
What to Serve with Watermelon Frosé
A glass of frosé is perfect on its own, a welcome treat, especially in the heat. But if you want to serve a little plate of something to go with, you can’t go wrong with a flavorful appetizer! Here are three awesome appetizer options, just for inspiration:
- Crostini: What could be more perfect than crostini and frozen rosé? These fancy little hors d’oeuvres can be made in a million ways. Check out my Strawberry Brie Crostini.
- Ranch Veggie Bars: Somewhat like a crostini, but with soft crescent dough for the base, Ranch Veggie Bars are topped with a layer of creamy ranch, plus crisp raw vegetables. Easy and healthy!
- Sliders: Any kind of slider is fine with me, but I must admit that these Turkey Sliders are really special! The fabulous tropical flavors just scream summer, and go beautifully with watermelon frosé.
Storing Extras
Believe it or not, leftover frosé is really easy to save for another time! Just like making them ahead, you can freeze leftovers for later. All you have to do is pour it into an ice cube tray, freeze, and then store the cubes in a zip-top bag. Next time you’d like to make this drink, just blend up the cubes, and there you go!
More Refreshing Summer Drinks
Looking for more bright and fruity cocktails for summer? Here are a few more of my favorites:
- Watermelon Margaritas
- Peach Bellini
- Fresh Grapefruit Paloma
- White Peach Sangria
- Aperol Spritz Cocktail
- Frozen Mango Margarita
- The Best Mojito
- Peach Moscow Mule
Watermelon Frosé
Ingredients
- ½ small seedless watermelon, cut into small cubes
- 4 cups rose wine, approximately one bottle
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 – 3 tablespoons agave or honey, to taste
Optional garnishes:
- fresh mint
- watermelon slices
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Instructions
- Pour the wine into ice cube trays and freeze, preferably overnight. They will still be a little bit slushy. Reserve ½ cup of wine for the blending mix.
- Place the cubed watermelon in the freezer overnight as well.
- Place the watermelon cubes, honey, lime juice, wine cubes, and the remaining ½ cup wine into a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Transfer to a glass. If you made it very thick and slushy, you can use an ice cream scoop to serve it.
- Garnish with lime, watermelon slices, or mint. Serve immediately.
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