The Best Watermelon Recipes For Summer

8 watermelon recipes to help you steamroll into summer

You can say it's for the fresh air and good company, but we know why you're really going to all those summer parties: the copious amounts of watermelon that are bound to make an appearance. Here are eight ways to get your watermelon fix this summer—seed-spitting contest optional.

 

Tomato Salad with Watermelon, Ricotta and Raspberries

This is a fruit salad that doesn't read like dessert, thanks to a tangy tarragon-raspberry vinaigrette and strategically placed drops of ricotta.

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Watermelon Lemonade

We've been drinkin' (watermelon), and so can you, armed with this recipe for the ultimate summer refresher. Spike it if you must—just don't get things mixed up at the lemonade stand.

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Boozy Watermelon-Lime-Mint Pops

It's as if you froze a watermelon margarita in its tracks then impaled it on a Popsicle stick. As a bonus, you'll have leftover watermelon juice, which means you can give the kids' table something to enjoy so they don't feel left out.

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Bucatini with Pork Belly and Watermelon

Pasta doesn't need red sauce to feel complete, especially in the throes of summer. Instead, give thick bucatini the watermelon treatment, both in its usual form and with pickled rind.

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Watermelon Granita

Somewhere between ice cream and snow cone lies granita, a syrup-sweetened dessert that hails from Italy. This five-ingredient treat is about as low maintenance as frozen desserts get: Blend everything together, strain it into a dish and prod it with a fork every once in a while as it sets.

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Watermelon Salad with Vidalia-Onion Vinaigrette

This salad requires minimal chopping, thanks to standard watermelon wedges that act as the plate for sliced avocado, basil and crumbled chèvre.

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Tropical Watermelon Fruit Salad

Let's hope this cheeky carved vessel is the only shark you see on vacation this summer. Aleppo pepper and sumac salt add spicy contrast to sweet mango and watermelon, while toasted macadamia nuts and coconut flakes give it a tropical edge.

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Watermelon Agua Fuerte

Put your melon baller to work and garnish glasses of this hibiscus tea-tequila cocktail with adorable watermelon balls. Leave the tequila out, keep it in, double the amount—just do what you got to do to celebrate summer.

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