Recipe · Drink
Watermelon Milkshake
Frozen watermelon blended with a little cream and condensed milk into a shake that tastes like summer. Fruity, creamy, and stupid easy, four ingredients and a blender.
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The story
This might be the most underrated drink of the summer. Frozen watermelon is the whole trick. Blended straight from the freezer it turns thick and creamy like a sorbet, so you get a real milkshake texture with no ice watering it down.
From there it takes almost nothing. A little sweetened condensed milk sweetens it and adds body, half and half makes it rich, a squeeze of lime cuts the sweetness and makes it taste brighter, and a pinch of salt makes the watermelon flavor pop. Four ingredients, one blender, and it drinks like a milkshake that happens to be mostly fruit.
Method
Make it
- 01The night before, chop the watermelon into chunks and freeze it solid, overnight is best. This is the whole trick. Frozen watermelon blends up thick and creamy like a sorbet, so you get a milkshake texture with no ice watering it down.
- 02Add the frozen watermelon, condensed milk, half and half, lime juice, and a pinch of salt to the blender.
- 03Blend until smooth and thick. If it is too thick to catch on the blades, add a splash more half and half and blend again.
- 04Pour into a tall glass or mason jar and serve cold. A lime wheel on the rim is a nice touch.
Chef's note
- Freeze it solid. Fresh watermelon just blends into a thin juice. Frozen is what gives you the thick, creamy shake, so do not skip the overnight freeze.
- Condensed milk does double duty. It sweetens and adds body at the same time, so a couple of tablespoons goes a long way.
- The lime and salt matter. The lime cuts the sweetness and the salt makes the watermelon taste more like itself. They are small but they make the whole thing.
- Adjust to taste. More condensed milk for sweeter, more half and half for richer and looser.
