The Most Refreshing Watermelon Frozen Treat Only Takes 3 Simple Ingredients

In this modern age of short-form video, each of our phones is a portal to a never-ending stream of intriguing recipes. Many food posts on social media put style above substance, focusing primarily on catching users' eyes rather than actually delivering a useful recipe, but every now and again something great sneaks in there. A simple yet elegant case in point is a three-ingredient watermelon sorbet recipe making the rounds.

According to the feed-ready recipe, all it takes to make this sweet frozen treat is watermelon, lime juice, and agave nectar. The first step is to follow the best techniques for picking a juicy, sweet watermelon, as that is the bulk of the dish — go for a heavy and firm melon with wide green stripes. Then, once you have your chosen fruit, cube it up and toss the pieces in the freezer in a bag or container. As soon as the watermelon chunks are frozen through, just toss them in the blender or food processor along with a splash of lime and a drizzle of agave. Straight out of the blender, the sorbet will be nice and soft, but for a firmer, more scoopable texture, pour it into a dish and put it back in the freezer for a while.

If you are eager to try out this recipe but don't have all of the ingredients on hand, don't worry, it's quite flexible. The sweet watermelon benefits from the acidity of a touch of citrus, but that doesn't have to be lime juice. Lemon juice works just fine as well, and even orange juice is good in a pinch, though it's a bit sweeter. The sweetener, too, is replaceable. Honey is a great substitute, as is maple syrup, or even just plain old simple syrup.

One of the nicest things about a simple recipe like this is that it's equally simple to add personal flair to it. If you want to ramp up the citrus as well as add a pop of color, just grate lime zest over the top, and you've only added one step and no new ingredients. Alternatively, to slip a bit of intrigue into this new way of eating watermelon, toss a few mint or basil leaves in the mix. Both are classic pairings with watermelon and bring a herbal complexity to the dish.

For those who prefer desserts on the more decadent side, another variation is adding something creamy. This can mean using sweetened condensed milk instead of agave syrup as the sweetener — as in this two-ingredient watermelon sherbet recipe — but for a less sweet version try mixing in yogurt or coconut milk. Extra liquid will likely mean that the mixture needs to go back in the freezer to firm up after blending, but now you have three simple options for making a watermelon sherbet as well.

Finally, while watermelon does make a delicious sorbet, it is not the only fruit that works with this recipe. Three-ingredient peach sorbet works on the exact same principle, as does mango, strawberry, and, well, just about any other fruit. The need for extra acidity and sweetness will vary as the base flavor changes, but with a bit of tinkering this simple sorbet strategy might be poised to change dessert all summer long.