Love and Olive Oil

Tequila Watermelon Popsicles

Tequila Watermelon Popsicles

Sometimes, you find yourself with way too much watermelon.

Seriously. We’re just two people. Do you really expect us to eat an entire watermelon all by ourselves?

We’ve been able to pick and choose the cantaloupe-sized melons from our CSA most of the summer, which, although they always made fun of us and our puny melons, were really the perfect size for two.

And then… the little melons turned into bigger melons and then even bigger melons the week after that. And, well, I wasn’t NOT going to take a watermelon just because it was a little on the big side.

We ended up with two big melons, just sitting there, taunting us.

Time for action.

I cut and seeded and blended and strained; boiled and gelled and canned and froze.

And what do you know, I managed to eat/use/preserve every last bit of those melons.

Go me.

These popsicles used up the last of it. It was an “oh crap I made too much watermelon juice” kind of thing. Tossed with some sugar syrup and lime zest and, oh yea, some tequila (for good measure, you know), into the freezer they went.

Don’t ask me where the layers came from. I still have yet to master the whole suspended-evenly-throughout-the-popsicle technique (if there IS such a thing, if so, please share!). My lime zest sunk and the water separated completely from the melon (or something?), but you know what? They were still delightfully refreshing.

When life gives you melons… just add tequila. Apparently.

Tequila Watermelon Popsicles

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Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup watermelon juice (from about 1/2 a small watermelon)
  • 1 lime, zested and juiced
  • 2 tablespoons tequila

Directions:

  1. Combine water and sugar in a microwave safe container or glass measuring cup. Heat on high for 30 seconds to 1 minute, and stir until sugar is dissolved and mixture is clear. Set aside to cool.
  2. To make watermelon juice, roughly chop watermelon. You’ll need about 3 cups of chopped melon to produce about a cup of juice. Run melon through a food mill (if you have one), or crush and then strain through a fine mesh sieve.
  3. Combine watermelon juice, sugar syrup, lime juice and zest, and tequila in a small bowl or pitcher. Pour into popsicle molds. Insert sticks and freeze until solid.
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32 Comments

  1. I tried to make a Tequila Watermelon Popsicles from another recipe, and it was so hard to gather all the ingredients. The popsicle did not fully freeze after one whole night in the freezer.

  2. Looks delicious!

  3. Try leaving the watermelon “pulp” in the mixture when you freeze it. It won’t completely prevent separation due to the different freezing points of each component but it can help suspend the lime pulp a bit and doesn’t distract from the popsicles themselves.
    Perhaps even partially freeze the mixture, mix it up, then put into molds to freeze completely.
    Also, using gelatin/jello could be an idea?

  4. These are just so pretty! Love the photo.. makes me want to jump right in and have one.

  5. I couldn’t help but admire your watermelon paletas or pops!! They looks superb! Thank you for sharing.
    Jackie

  6. Too fabulous for words! So glad to be in nashville for Food Blog Forum!

  7. Oh my god, these almost brought tears to my eyes. Watermelon and Tequila…we’re having a girls’ night tonight. You’re invited ;)

    And I love the layers, before I read that they were an accident I was wondering how you got them! They’re beautiful. I dont know if they can be avoided though, I think they’re from everything freezing at a different temperature i.e. water, watermelon solute, and alcohol. Wow, I just nerded out…

  8. These look great! Bookmarking them for next summer. And even though it wasn’t what you intended, the layers sure look beautiful! :)

  9. Where did you get your popsicle mold? I can never find the nice ones!

  10. This is so much better than a jello shot!

  11. Adult popsicles… they’re always a hit!

  12. You had me at tequila! Even though I can’t drink the stuff myself — a Cinco de Erin birthday party 5 or 6 years back — I’d make these with vodka or rum and be pleased as punch! Great recipe!

  13. I could do with some popsicles right about now. It’s been so hot in here (Portugal) and I wish the temps would cool down. Another thing I love about this recipe is that my favourite fruit is watermelon, so it’s a win-win :D

  14. tequila makes everything better!

  15. Wow those look amazing I will be making them!

  16. OMG..i am drooling.

  17. You are a mad scientist. I love it. I’ve been lurking for over a year, but I had to comment on this! Tequila and watermelon in a popsicle. What will you think of next!

  18. Watermelon works so well with tequila…so refreshing! It’s boiling in London at the moment – would love one of those right now!

  19. You know what? I love your layers! I think the tequila really helps make it work. It’s like you look forward to hitting that layer, so eating them becomes part of the experience! To “homogenize” my watermelon/lime pops, I just stir them a few times while freezing. They never come out completely homogenous, but it helps a lot. Next time I’ll just throw in some tequila and let them do their thang! :)

  20. I’m pretty sure I need at least 3 of these. RIGHT NOW! :)

  21. I had a bunch of watermelon a couple of months ago that the kids suddenly decided they didn’t like, so I put some water, lemon, and mead in it and made sorbet!

  22. It seems like everyone is focused on pumpkin recipes this time of year, so I’m happy to see a watermelon recipe, as we just got our first CSA watermelon yesterday! The fact that you’ve combined tequila and watermelon just makes it that much better :)

  23. Hi Lindsay,
    Same thing happened to us! We made agua fresca. (a lot of agua fresca!) I think I’ll take it over to Hayden and Melissa’s to make popsicles for the kids! (They have one of those fancy popsicle makers that freezes them in 8 minutes.) We’ll add some tequila for the ones from H&M…after a long day with those kids, they’ll need it!

  24. I thought that effect was deliberate – they look so pretty! We’re right in the middle of a heatwave at the moment and I could really go for one of those right now. Yum!

  25. These look like a yummy treat for adults!! We too have the trouble of too much watermelon. It seems like they were the last plant to take off in the garden and then they all ripened at the same time!! I found an AWESOME watermelon salsa and I use it in my morning smoothies!

  26. This look good! I recently attempted a similar popsicle but without the tequila and with fresh lime and jalepeno juices. I had the water separate too! And on top of that, the bottom of the popsicle was super concentrated with the watermelon and jalepeno juices. I too would like to know the secrete for the suspended-evenly-throughout-the-popsicle technique.

  27. anddd…this is just a fabulous idea :)

  28. those sound really yummy!

  29. Great idea: popsicles for grown-ups;) They would be perfect for a party too!

  30. YUM! I think adding tequila to any melon is a good way to go!

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