Watermelon Jalapeño Margaritas are the perfect balance of sweet and spice. Incredibly refreshing and no fancy liquors required!
We got our first watermelon of the season at Costco recently and it was gone before the end of the day. Um!
Next time I will be snagging a portion prior to serving my children their beloved watermelon sticks to blend up and make a batch of spicy-sweet, super refreshing Watermelon Jalepeño Margaritas.
Trust me when I tell you this easy cocktail recipe — which tastes like a spicy watermelon jolly rancher!! — is perfect for hot summer nights (or days — hey, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere!)
Homemade Margarita with Everyday Ingredients
I love that Watermelon Jalapeño Margaritas are made with simple, everyday ingredients — no liquors required — plus they’re undeniably gorgeous.
All you need is fresh watermelon, lime, tequila, and jalapeño-infused simple syrup, which is just sugar, water, and a jalapeño simmered together for 2 minutes. In the summertime we almost always have all these ingredients in the house, and so these drinks come together quickly.
I am NOT a fan of sweet margaritas, so I developed this recipe to be the perfect balance of sweet and tart, plus the spice level can be easily adjusted to fit your preferences.
Grab a deck chair and let’s do this!
How to Make Watermelon Jalapeño Margaritas
Start by making the Jalapeño Simple Syrup which adds buildable warmth to each sip. The margarita recipe I’m sharing is for 1 drink, but the syrup will make enough for approximately 8 drinks, and the simple syrup will keep well in the refrigerator for a couple weeks.
Add 1/2 cup each water and sugar to a small saucepan then, if you want the margaritas on the less spicy side, remove the ribs and seeds from 1 jalapeño and add to the pan. If you want the margaritas really spicy, slice the jalapeño then add, seeds and all, into the pan.
Simmer until the sugar has dissolved then let the syrup cool off the heat. Strain the jalapeño simple syrup into a mason jar or container then refrigerate.
Next, blend or use a juicer to make fresh watermelon juice. You’ll need 2oz (1/4 cup) watermelon juice per margarita.
Strain the watermelon juice into a container through a fine mesh sieve then refrigerate. Technically watermelon juice can stay fresh up to 5 days in the fridge, though I like to blend/strain/use it fresh.
Cocktail time!
To make 1 margarita, add 2oz each watermelon juice and silver tequila, and 1oz each fresh lime juice and Jalapeño Simple Syrup into a rocks or cocktail glass then stir to combine and add ice.
Alternatively you could add the ingredients into a shaker, fill with ice, and shake to chill. Stuff a fresh jalapeño slice or 17 inside then you’re off to the races. I hope you LOVE this easy, spicy, sweet margarita recipe – cheers!
More Recipes Using Watermelon
Ingredients
- 2 oz watermelon juice, 1/4 cup
- 2 oz silver tequila, 1/4 cup
- 1 oz fresh lime juice (~1/2 lime), 2 Tablespoons
- 1 oz Jalapeno Simple Syrup, 2 Tablespoons
- fresh jalapeno slices
For the Jalapeno Simple Syrup:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 jalapeno
Directions
For the Jalapeno Simple Syrup:
- Add sugar and water to a small saucepan. For a less spicy syrup, remove ribs and seeds from jalapeno then add to the saucepan. For a more spicy syrup, slice jalapeno then add - seeds and all - to the saucepan. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, then cook until sugar is dissolved, 1-2 minutes. Remove pan from heat then let cool - the longer the jalapeno stays in the syrup, the spicier it will be. Strain syrup through a fine mesh sieve into a mason jar or container then chill. Can be done up to 2 weeks ahead of time.
Watermelon Jalapeño Margaritas:
- Add watermelon juice, tequila, lime juice, and jalapeno simple syrup to a rocks or cocktail glass then stir to combine. Fill glass to the top with ice then serve with fresh jalapeno slices. Alternatively you could add the ingredients into a shaker, fill it halfway up with ice, then shake to chill.
Notes
- Watermelon juice is simply blended or juiced watermelon that's been strained through a fine mesh sieve. Plan on roughly 1/2 cup volume loss when blending or juicing (ie, 2 cups chopped watermelon will give you approximately 1-1/2 cups watermelon juice.) I recommend making the watermelon juice no more then a few hours ahead of time so it's very fresh. Alternatively you can
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Wow! This is my drink of the summer, hands down!
Wohoo!! Thrilled to hear that, Amy! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
I made this the other night and it was fantastic! I didn’t wanna go through making jalapeño simple syrup since I already had plain simple syrup so I just muddled most of a whole jalapeño in the shaker. I took out the seeds in the membrane and this was one spicy medium size jalapeño! The drink was delicious. Thank you!
SO glad you loved it and were able to make it with what you had on hand!! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
I make these repeatedly! Making them now!
Love this drink! We’ll be making several more times this summer
I made this drink over the weekend, and it was the bomb! It was soooo good. The family just loved it, and several people took the recipe home with them. I highly recommend this margarita. It is easy to make, and has a nice contrast between the sweet watermelon and the jalapeno.
This was great. Very easy to make. Perfect summer cocktail
Made these this weekend and LOVED them! Probably going to be my Summer/quarantine drink! :)
I make a cucumber watermelon jalapeño summer salad. I’m so I intrigued by this that I’ll be making it this week.
I’m in! Haven’t put these together into margarita before, thank you
I have started seeing jalapenos in cocktails everywhere recently! Last week I had a pineapple jalapeno mule while out to dinner – so delicious!
Wow, these are going on the drink list for the 4th! Love all the flavors. Thanks!
I hope you love them, Courtney! :)
No such thing as too much watermelon. FYI :)
Hahaha, not when you can make these margs, that’s for sure!! ;)
I don’t even like watermelon but I took a chance and had this exact cocktail at a restaurant recently and it’s my new favorite thing!!! Can’t wait to make this homemade version!!
It’s such a great combo!! I hope you love it, Liz!
This sounds so amazing! I am currently pregnant with baby #3, so may try this as a mocktail this summer until I can enjoy the real thing next summer.
Congrats on baby #3, Sarah Jane! I was thinking while making these that they’d make excellent mocktails. I hope you enjoy! :)