Watermelon Ice Cream

A simple and superbly refreshing watermelon ice cream you’ll want to eat all summer long. Made in the Ninja CREAMi, it comes together in minutes and is perfect when you want just one or two servings.

I sort of have a love/hate relationship with watermelon. See, it’s my husband’s absolute favorite fruit. I like it (although not as much as him, summer peaches win top spot for me) but I absolutely loathe cutting it and how much space it takes up whether it’s on my counter or in my fridge.

By the end of September, I’m ready to not see another one for a solid nine months. That said, nothing even comes close to its naturally quenching and refreshing ability on a hot summer day. So, I do understand the appeal.

This watermelon ice cream was born in the recent heat wave we had when our poor air conditioner was on the struggle bus trying to keep our living room/kitchen area at 74 degrees with our 26 foot ceilings and floor to ceiling windows.

I made it in my Ninja CREAMi because I honestly haven’t taken my real ice cream maker out since buying that thing. If you don’t own one, I have to say it’s one of the few countertop appliances worth the kitchen clutter. I adore the thing.

The finished texture lands somewhere between frozen yogurt and sorbet. It’s creamy enough to scoop but still light, with bright watermelon flavor and fresh lime in every bite.

Why It’s Worth Making

• Super refreshing with a whole lime juiced into the base.
• Naturally hydrating – who needs powdered electrolytes?
• Easy to make protein packed.
• Creamy, but not heavy like traditional ice cream.

Ingredient Rundown

With just five ingredients, the watermelon really shines in this ice cream recipe.

• Watermelon – pick a juicy, ripe one and chop it into small cubes.
• Yogurt – I guess this is technically watermelon frozen yogurt, not ice cream, but the recipe uses full fat yogurt which allows it to come out creamy and very ice cream-like instead of freezing into an icy block like homemade frozen yogurt often does.
• Lime – we’re juicing an entire lime into the base to really complement the hydrating and refreshing taste of the watermelon. You can zest it ahead of time and save that as garnish for the ice cream once blended or add it right into the base as well.
• Cucumber – this might sound weird but cucumbers taste like barely anything and just a small amount adds so much to the thirst-quenching vibe of this ice cream. It makes it a little sorbet-like too.
• Protein powder – this is optional and I’ll talk more about it below. For me, I’m adding protein powder to pretty much everything that comes out of my CREAMi machine.

How To Make It Protein Packed

I included the option to add protein powder to the ice cream because it’s made in the Ninja CREAMi. This machine was essentially made for this type of thing. There’s some sort of magic in the way it works that allows the protein powder to seamlessly blend in. Traditional ice cream makers don’t have the same force and capabilities.

So if you’re using your CREAMi, feel free to add your favorite unflavored protein powder. The unflavored part is important because you don’t want it to overpower the naturally refreshing watermelon taste. If you have a subtly flavored vanilla protein you like, you could try that. But even then, I’d probably do half unflavored and half vanilla. The idea is for the watermelon to shine here, not the protein powder.

You can absolutely make this ice cream without the protein powder!

My Pro Tips

How To Make It

If you own a Ninja CREAMi, you know the drill, but here are some tips so it comes out smooth, creamy and lusciously ice cream-like.

• Once all the ingredients are in the CREAMi container, use an immersion blender to puree it into a smooth texture. You can also use a regular blender and transfer the mixture to the CREAMi container afterwards.
• Blend on lite ice cream mode. You’ll want to add a few splashes of liquid once or twice and re-spin until your desired consistency. I use either coconut milk or coconut water.
• Garnish with lime zest or mint leaves and serve.

Alternative Ideas

• If you’re someone who loves tajin on watermelon, use it as a garnish on this ice cream. That would be wildly delicious!
• Mint and basil both complement watermelon really well (if you haven’t made this watermelon bacon salad with basil, it’s the perfect example). Feel free to incorporate either herb in the base or as a garnish.
• If you want to keep this dairy-free, use carton coconut milk instead of yogurt. It’s got the fat to keep it creamy and is more subtly flavored than canned coconut milk.

Storage & Leftovers

Since this is a CREAMi recipe, if you have any leftovers, just put it back in the container, smooth the top and return it to the freezer. When you’re ready to eat it again, spin it on the lite ice cream setting again. You may or may not need to add a splash of liquid and re-spin.

Need More Frozen Watermelon Ideas For Summer?

This watermelon lime slushie is the drink version of this ice cream. I could drink a gallon of it in hot weather!

The watermelon frosty is slightly different, a little more smoothie-like but also wonderful this time of year.

If you want some booze involved, jalapeño watermelon margaritas are a fun choice!