How to make watermelon popsicles with only 3 fruit ingredients and in 10 minutes. This watermelon popsicle recipe with no sugar makes the perfect snack to cool and hydrate you on a hot summer day.
These easy watermelon popsicles are refreshing, sweet, hydrating and are very customizable, kind of like a watermelon fruit salad in popsicle form. Adding lime with skins adds a tangy flavor and nutrients from the skin. Adding a fruit like strawberries deepens the red fruity flavor, and I explain how to make the popsicle look like a watermelon slice by adding yogurt and kiwi at the top.
Healthy homemade popsicles, like many of my frozen desserts as well as my cookies and cream popsicles and my chocolate popsicles, are easy to customize by adding things to the mixture in the popsicle mold. Here I added slices of lime and shredded coconut for a tropical flavor.
Why You'll Love These
Fruity and fresh. Just cut up watermelon, blend with fruit and you have your popsicles, free of additives and sweeteners.
Easy to make ahead. Wrapped in a sealed container, homemade popsicles last for 3-6 months in the freezer. For ease of eating, wrap each popsicle in its own container or bag, and keep them all in a large sealed bin in the freezer. Then grab and go.
Customizable. I added lime juice and strawberries to mine, but you can choose your favorite juices, fruits and even additional treats to push into the popsicle mold. I provide you a variety of options below.
Highly nutritious. Watermelon used to be considered high in sugar, and while it is sweet, it doesn't raise blood sugar so it is considered low glycemic. It is also full of electrolytes we need to replace after sweating, and rich in antioxidants especially lycopene which is credited for heart support, skin support and some disease prevention.
Ingredients
Watermelon. Choose a ripe sweet watermelon, and seedless if possible.
Lime chunks. Choose organic limes to be sure the skin is pesticide-free, and chop without peeling, just add directly to the blender. Lime skin is edible, and nutritious, high in vitamin C and fiber. Sometimes a lime can be a little bitter though, so you might want to remove some peel. Or try to buy sweeter limes such as key limes, yellow limes or Mexican limes.
Strawberries. Use fresh if possible, and very ripe so they are sweet. Frozen is okay in a pinch however you might have to add date paste or maple syrup to the popsicles to sweeten.
Substitutions
- Lime. Use lemon chunks instead.
- Strawberries. Instead use pitted cherries, plums (sweet, not peeled) or kiwi (peeled)
Equipment Needed
- Blender
- Measuring cup
- Popsicle Mold
How to Choose a Sweet Watermelon
You'll need a sweet watermelon to be sure your popsicles are sweet, so here are aspects to look for that indicate sweetness in a watermelon.
- Round shape
- Heavy Weight
- Yellow spot, which indicates ripening on the field
- Hollow sound
Step by Step Instructions
Here are general steps to make this recipe. For specific measurements and instructions, scroll down to the bottom of this post for the printable recipe card.
Step 1: Wash your watermelon on the outside, slice off the rind and chop into chunks. Wash and remove stem from strawberries, and wash and chop a lime. No need to peel lime.
Step 2: Add watermelon, strawberries and lime chunks to a blender.
Step 3: Blend the mixture until you have a liquid. Taste the popsicle mixture and add maple syrup if necessary. Add 1 teaspoon at a time and blend between and taste to get up to the flavor you want.
Step 4: Use a measuring cup to pour the liquid into each popsicle well. This recipe makes 8 popsicles. To add fruit at the bottom, add before you pour.
Step 5: Put on cover if your mold has it, insert popsicle sticks and freeze watermelon popsicles for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Step 6: Remove your frozen watermelon popsicles from the mold according to the type of mold you have. One way is to hold the base under running hot water and tug the popsicles out. If they seem melted slightly, lay them on parchment paper in the freezer so they solidify. Then store them in a sealed container.
Storage
If possible, store these watermelon popsicles individually in their own bag, and then store the bags in a sealed container in the freezer. The popsicles should stay fresh for up to 4 months.
Recipe Tips
Choosing a popsicle mold. I used this traditional plastic popsicle mold. However, this new silicon popsicle mold is easier to remove popsicles from.
Leave a gap. When you pour the watermelon puree into the popsicle molds, leave a 1-inch gap at the top of the popsicle well above the watermelon mixture to allow for expansion.
Look for sweet limes. If using a traditional lime, remove some of the peel. Or keep the peel on sweeter limes such as key limes, yellow limes or Mexican limes.
Avoid seeds. Either choose a seedless watermelon or pick out the black seeds when cutting the watermelon. The black seeds don't blend well and leave a bitter taste. It is fine to leave in white seeds.
Taste-test for sweetness. If your strawberries and watermelon are not sweet enough, you can add maple syrup or your favorite liquid sweetener. Be sure to taste the mixture to assess before you pour it into the molds.
Variations
Make it look like a watermelon slice. When you fill the mold, leave space at the top and add a layer of white yogurt and then a layer of chopped kiwi to make the popsicle mimic a watermelon slice.
Make watermelon creamsicles. Add ¼ cup of canned coconut milk (shaken, full fat) or use sweet condensed milk.
Make watermelon cherry popsicles. Replace the strawberries with pitted fresh or frozen cherries.
Add-ins. To add fruits or other add-ins to the base, add them to the bottom of the popsicle well before filling or leave 1 inch at the top and then add mix-ins such as chopped fruit, cookies, or shredded coconut flakes.
FAQS
Cut it into chunks and freeze, and store in freezer friendly containors. Frozen watermelon can be used to make these watermelon popsicles, as well as watermelon slushies, and watermelon ice cream.
Instead of making blended watermelon popsicles, you can also just cut a watermelon into slices, and cut each of the rounds into pie slices, and insert a popsicle stick into the rind. Freeze and enjoy!
This popsicle has 25 calories and only 7g of carbs.
I don't strain the watermelon puree when making popsicles to keep the nutrition high and to give the popsicles a soft crunchy bite. I do however strain the puree when making watermelon juice.
More Watermelon Recipes
If you tried this Watermelon Popsicle recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Recipe
How to Make Watermelon Popsicles (no sugar)
Equipment
- measuring cup
Ingredients
- 2 cups watermelon seeded and chopped
- ½ cup strawberries
- 1 lime
Instructions
Prep
- Chop watermelon into chunks. Remove the green stem from strawberries. Wash the lime. Sometimes a lime can be a little bitter, so you might want to remove some peel but keep most on for fiber and flavor.
Make Popsicles
- Blend up the fruit ingredients in a high speed blender until pulverized and smooth.2 cups watermelon, 1 lime, ½ cup strawberries
- Expert tip: Pour the mixture from the blender into a measuring cup to more easily pour the liquid into the molds.
- *Check notes for instructions on how to make popsicles look like a watermelon slice with the addition of yogurt and chopped kiwi at the top.
- Insert sticks and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- To remove the popsicles from the mold, run the base only under warm tap water for 30 seconds, then gently pull on the popsicle sticks. If they seem melted slightly, lay them on parchment paper in the freezer so they solidify. Then store them wrapped individually in a sealed container.
Bianca Zapatka
Watermelon is my absolute favorite kind of summer fruit 😍
These popsicles look so fresh and delicious! A perfect summer treat!
Lots of love,
Bianca ❤️
Debbie
Awww Bianca, thank you so much! That is really sweet to say, Dee xx