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Quickly whip up this easy watermelon sorbet in under 5 minutes. Perfect for summer, this sweet, refreshing treat is actually healthy, paleo, and vegan.
With the heat of summer come my cravings for something icy and cold. In the summer, I crave mostly fruits and vegetables, and have been drinking lots of smoothies, and eating salads and yogurt.
Watermelon has always been one of my favorite fruits, and seeing it in season just makes me happy. I like to eat it plain, but I also like to incorporate it into my frozen treats.
Watermelon sorbet is one of my favorites! An easy watermelon sorbet is even better!
Traditional watermelon sorbets
Most watermelon sorbets are made by freezing a watermelon pureé that is sweetened with a simple sugar syrup. While making the sugar syrup is easy enough, it takes some time to make and cool and then incorporate the syrup into your watermelon puree. I try to follow a low sugar diet most of the time, so I find those sorbets too sweet.
I used to make a watermelon pureé, and I'd freeze it, periodically mixing it up with a fork to keep the texture light. The problem with that was that I didn't always remember to check on it, and it would often freeze into a solid block of watermelon ice. (Not what I was looking for!) Even when I did it right, I'd usually end up with more of a slushy texture, making a sort of watermelon slush, or “granizado,” as they are called here in Spain.
Making a Quick and Easy 5-Minute Watermelon Sorbet
While this may be possible to make with a powerful blender, in general, making this sort of sorbet is easier with a food processor than it is in a blender. Food processors have a wider container, making this process much simpler. I have a Thermomix food processor that looks like a wide blender, but it's actually a great multipurpose food processor. They are very popular here in Europe. Any decent food processor should work well, though.
After seeing people online whipping up one-ingredient banana “ice cream” (aka. nice cream) by blending up frozen banana chunks, I couldn't help but think that it would be even easier with a lighter fruit like the watermelon. I hoped to make something fun and fruity.
I'm so happy I tried it because I love this easy watermelon sorbet!
The term “5-minute watermelon sorbet” may be a bit misleading because you do need to freeze your chunks of watermelon first before making this sorbet. Once you have frozen watermelon cubes ready, though, you can quickly mix up a batch of this sorbet in under 5 minutes! (So, I suggest always having some frozen watermelon chunks ready!)
Easy Watermelon Sorbet
5 Minute, Easy Watermelon Sorbet
Ingredients
- 2 cups watermelon Cubed
- 1/2 lime Juiced
Instructions
- Dice your watermelon, and place the pieces in the freezer overnight. After several hours in the freezer, you can proceed, but if the watermelon isn't completely frozen, the sorbet will have more of a slushy texture rather than be a solid sorbet.
- Place your diced, frozen watermelon into the food processor and add some lime juice. I used 2-3 cups of watermelon for each half lime, but it's a good idea to just add a little at the beginning and add more, to taste, later on. Don't add too much liquid at the beginning or it will tend to fly out of your food processor. (Don't ask me how I know that!) Start with just a few drops, and slowly add in more as you process your sorbet.
- Continue to process your watermelon and lime juice in your food processor until you get a sorbet-like texture. You can add a little more lime juice as needed for taste and texture.
- If you want a sweeter sorbet, you can add in a little honey or another sweetener of your choice. I usually just leave it plain as I prefer it without. I have tried adding honey, and it works OK, but there were a few places where the honey froze up into small drops within the sorbet. It didn't really bother me, but it's something to consider before adding it because it does change the texture somewhat. Adding liquid stevia extract doesn't usually change the texture, but I don't like the flavor as much.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutritional Information
Making a Watermelon “Slushy”
If you prefer something to sip on, rather than wat with a spoon, all you have to do is to let the sorbet melt a little.
You could even add a little vodka or rum or something to it. I won't judge. 😉
Here you can see what the slushy version looked like, after letting the sorbet melt for a while.
Other quick and easy frozen treats!
The following recipes are all based on the same idea for an easy frozen treat…
If you prefer a creamier watermelon treat, try switching things up with a bit of coconut milk. You must try my watermelon ice cream recipe! This sorbet used to be my favorite, until I tried that one!
Another similar creamy treat for pineapple lovers is my 5-minute pineapple ice cream. It's amazingly creamy and refreshing and makes you dream of a tropical escape.
If you are on a low carb diet, you could also try my easy mojito sorbet. Because it doesn't have any sugar sources, not even fruit like these recipes, it can even be eaten on the strict candida diet!
Very interesting & informative info ., ??
Thanks, Tim!
I made this today and it was awesome! I did not have any lemon juice so I used orange juice as a substitute, and it was awesome.
Hi Dave,
Thanks so much!
I’m happy you enjoyed it. If you like pineapple or mango, they’re probably even better because they’re very creamy!
I put the pineapple “ice cream” on the blog (as well as watermelon ice cream– which is basically this recipe with coconut milk), but I should add mango. It’s my newest favorite! 🙂
I made it just tonight, but with some small changes due to Thebes Ingredients I had on hand. I had a golden watermelon, lemon juice and coconut water. I used a couple splashes of lemon juice, about 1/4 c of coconut water, half the large watermelon. Oh and Half cup of sugar. I only have a blender, so I completed it in stages. It’s in the freezer now. Earlier in the week, I made mixed berry sorbet, and a pineapple sorbet. The kids are excited about this one too. Thx
Hi Michelle,
I hope they love it.
I make with berries sometimes too- and sometimes whip egg whites into that and it makes a creamier dessert. (I may have to post someday.) 😉
These are my favorite type of desserts in the summer.
You could come up with some more things other than one thing a give more details.
Hi Brianna,
I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what you are upset about. Does the recipe have too few ingredients?
You are welcome to add a sugar syrup or something else to it if you like. This is just an easy, basic recipe that shows that you don’t need a lot to whip up a quick, healthy dessert. I have plenty of more complex recipes on the blog, though, if you prefer those.
So I had a watermelon about to go bad, it was pretty mushy when I cut it open. So I froze the chunks not over night for a few hours. I do not have a food processor.
Instead I uses a wooden spoon and stirred it probably a good 100 strokes, and added lime juice in between stirring.
It made this perfect watermelon sorbet, and my girls absolutely loved! It really easy a very easy recip.
This a great warm weather light and healthy snack/dessert.
Hi Nelisha,
I’m so glad they loved the recipe! It’s one of my favorites. It’s also great with coconut milk for more of an ice cream/sherbet type frozen dessert. Did you see my post about making watermelon ice cream using the same method? (And I think my favorite uses pineapple 🙂 )
I can’t believe that this sorbet didn’t get a higher rating. I give it 5 stars. Although, I tweaked the recipe a tiny bit. I saved the juice that was extracted while dicing the watermelon. Then I made a simple syrup (no cooking involved) . I mixed the approximately 1/4 cup of watermelon juice with about 4 tsp. of sugar. I also added 1/2 of a frozen peach . I used a Vitamix to make the sorbet. It was delicious and the texture was perfect! Thank you for a fantastic dessert!
Thanks Cruz!
You’re very welcome!
I think if the rating isn’t as high it’s because most people are used to adding more sugar to recipes. I’m used to drinking coffee and tea without any sugar, and I prefer my desserts on the less sweet side. I purposely made it to be a dessert that was supposed to be on the healthier side and mentioned that anybody who wants a sweeter dessert can add the sugar in. You happily tweaked the recipe to suit you- as I would also do, but some people get upset when a recipe doesn’t fit their taste exactly as is. 🙂
I was looking for ideas to use my yummy watermelon as an entree and saw your recipe. I live in banana ice cream-(made with my food processor) and I don’t usually like I’ve cream! I love it plain, but have mixed in other fruits. I’ve also missed in Nutella. I was considering trying watermelon, so I’m glad to know will work. 🙂
Here’s a solution for all the people having trouble with their “blocks of watermelon.”. Before mixing the fruit in your food processor (or blender), take it from the freezer and let it sit on the counter and that a few minutes. The fruit will easily go through the blades, and your dessert will be even more creamy!
Hi Elyse,
Yes, watermelon is probably still my favorite, but you can make all sorts of great frozen treats this way. 🙂
Thanks for your tip!
Hi. This recipe works for me nicely. Tried with blender firat, got frustrated because it wouldn’t break and the blender blade stopped working despite me scrapping and only putting very small amount of watermelon chunks. Tried with the food processor/chopper. Worked like magic.. 10 seconds only to crush about 200 grams of the watermelon chunks. Thanks for the recipe. The lime juice added a nice zing of freshness 🙂 will share this on Facebook soon.
Thanks Janny!
Yes, the shape of the blender makes it impossible to use for this sort of thing. Using the food processor is the key!
I love making all sorts of frozen fruit desserts using this method, but this is one of my favorites. 🙂
This recipe was a total nightmare. After struggling with both my food processor and blender for over 30 min, I was left with MAYBE a cup of actual sorbet-type substance. The watermelon would NOT break down. It was so frustrating that I ended up breaking down and giving up. So not only did I waste 30 min and a bunch of watermelon/lime, but all I have to show for it is a semi-slushy drink and a sink full of dishes 🙁
Hi Jesseka,
I’m sorry the recipe didn’t work for you.
This definitely wouldn’t work in my blender either. Because of the shape of the blender container, you end up needing to add liquid to get the fruit down to the blades in order to get it to break it down, meaning that you will end up with a slushy or smoothie consistency in the end.
As for it not working in your food processor, the only thing I can think is that your food processor wasn’t potent enough for the size of the fruit chunks you were using. I have made this many, many times in a variety of food processors (some being very inexpensive ones), and have never had any issues with the watermelon sorbet. I did have a hard time getting the frozen cucumber to break down for my mojito sorbet in one of my older food processors, but even then it did eventually break down. Perhaps with older, less powerful food processors, you would need to cut the watermelon into much smaller pieces before freezing the fruit. I will try to update the recipe with those tips when I get home from vacation to help save anybody else from having any issues.
This is really the first time I’ve heard of anybody having issues with this recipe, though.
I only post recipes that I’ve made myself successfully several times and that I have enjoyed enough to want to share with others, but since we all use different machines, it’s impossible for me to know if it will work out the same way for everybody else.
We made this last night, but had a very difficult time getting it to break down. I had frozen the pieces overnight, and added a little lime juice, but only the bottom layer would get mixed up in the food processor, and the top layer would just sit at the top, not reaching the blades – even when I scraped the sides down and tried to mix the contents before starting the food processor again.
We tried using a blender, which worked, but only if we did a couple very small pieces at a time, and then scraped them into a bowl to mix (by hand) with the lime juice. I also ended up using a pastry blender to break down some of the chunks by hand when I got too frustrated with the blender/food processor not working. The five-minute sorbet turned into a half-hour ordeal (but a very tasty one, once all was said and done!).
Any tips on getting the watermelon to cooperate with the mixing device?
Hi Jet,
I’m really sorry to hear that!
I guess it really must depend a lot on each particular food processor. Some are more powerful than others and some have the blades higher or lower than others. In my case, my blender would never work for this type of thing despite it running on the same motor as my food processor. The one I have isn’t known as a particularly powerful one, so I assumed that it would work as well (or better) for pretty much everybody. For me it works quick and easy, and I follow the same process with lots of fruits. With frozen cucumber it does take my food processor a little longer because it is more solid than the watermelon, but even that works pretty well for me. Maybe I should make a video.
I guess if I were in your situation, I would either try cutting the watermelon into smaller pieces before freezing and blend it in smaller quantities at a time, adding more in little by little, or perhaps try not letting it freeze as solid. The only problem with the latter is that you probably would end up with more of a slushy texture than a sorbet. You could always freeze it for a short time afterwards, but I’m very bad with freezing sorbets and they always end up freezing into a solid block. 😛 That’s why I like the food processor method so much- that, and because I can quickly make myself a treat at the last minute.
I hope that helps a little.
I LOVE sorbet! I’ll try this, and I just might add the vodka. 😉
Haha,
Thanks, Byron!
I’m sure you’ll like it even more after a couple of them, then. 😉
Found this through Pinterest. Sharing tomorrow on my FB page. LOVE it!!! 🙂
great refreshing dessert!