Watermelon granita with rosé is a fabulous summer treat to enjoy all season long. It's elegant and impressive yet surprisingly simple to make so I love to serve it at get-togethers and rake in all the compliments. And I'm about to show you how you can do the same!
And if you enjoy this easy recipe, you'll love my margarita watermelon with tequila, too!
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What is watermelon granita?
Granita is a frozen Italian dessert made with virtually any kind of fruit, sugar, and water. In this boozy watermelon granita recipe, we're replacing the water with rosé. The texture is icy--think shaved ice or an adult snow cone.
❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Beginner Friendly - You don't need any advanced technique for this no-cook dessert recipe and no fancy tools like an ice cream maker. Just blend, freeze, and enjoy!
Fresh Watermelon Flavor - You'll taste sweetened summer watermelon with a bright twist of zesty citrus and all the fruity and floral notes of rosé wine.
Frozen fruity treats are one of my favorite things to enjoy like strawberry nice cream, ginger pineapple nice cream, and plantain ice cream or hibiscus ice cream. And even better with a lil alcohol, am I right? So don't sleep on my red wine strawberry sorbet or pear sorbet with Riesling!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Watermelon is, of course, the star of the show here. Use the ripest watermelon you can find for natural sweetness, juicy texture, and full flavor. Any variety, including yellow watermelon will work. Here are my tips for picking a good watermelon!
Rosé Wine grab whichever variety you enjoy sipping for the best taste. I like Black Girl Magic and Fall Creek Vineyards rosés best but do you. Only thing to avoid is a sparkling variety because you won't get as much liquid.
Sugar to enhance the natural sweet taste of the melon. This is optional but especially important if your watermelon is not fully ripe.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Melons - You can also make this recipe with other melon varieties like cantaloupe or honey dew either instead of watermelon or in addition! Seeded or seedless. And fresh or frozen work equally well, by the way.
More Flavors - Mix in other fruits, herbs, and spices to change up the taste to your preference. Strawberry, ginger, and mint are great additions!
Citrus Fruit - I use lemon in this recipe but you could also use grapefruit, lime, or orange. Fresh is best but bottled juice from concentrate also works!
Sweetener - Feel free to swap in other sweeteners for granulated sugar, including coconut sugar, honey, agave nectar, and your favorite zero sugar options like stevia.
Add flavor and sweetness at the same damn time with my ginger honey syrup or citrus syrup or spiced hibiscus syrup!
How to Make a Watermelon Granita at Home
- Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender.
- Pulse until mostly smooth. Some small chunks and seeds are ok in my book.
Pro Tip #1
If you want more of a watermelon lemonade vibe, add the lemon zest during step one for extra flavor.
- Transfer the mixture into a freezer-safe dish.
- Freeze until solid.
- Use spoon or scoop to scrape the surface of the granita to create shavings.
Pro Tip #2
Don't have an ice cream scooper? You can also use a regular old table spoon or fork to shave your granita!
Youtube Video
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can prepare granita up to one week in advance as long as it's stored correctly.
Store in the freezer in an airtight container until ready to enjoy and do the same with leftovers. Note that you can refreeze melted granita!
How to Serve
You must serve granita ice cold for the best results. Don't try to thaw it out!
Other than that, serving options are pretty versatile. One fun way is to pack this shaved goodness into snow cones.
For full presentation points, I like to serve my watermelon lemon granita in wine glasses with spoons since rosé is involved.
And my favorite very hands-off method for serving is to set out the whole container of granita with several spoons and let everyone shave off what they want.
Pro Tip #3
Add granita as a fun topping for other desserts like fruit salad or ice cream!
More Favorite Watermelon Recipes
Want more recipes like this one? Try these:
I hope you'll enjoy this melon granita dessert soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Watermelon Granita with Rosé
Equipment
- 1 knife
- 1 Food Processor or blender
- 1 freezer-safe dish
Ingredients
- 4-5 cups watermelon fresh or frozen
- 1 lemon for juice
- ¼ cup granulated sugar or sweetener of your choice
- 1 ½ cup rosé wine
Instructions
- Cut watermelon into one to two-inch chunks.
- Add watermelon chunks, lemon juice, sugar, and ½ cup of the rosé to food processor or blender. For extra lemon flavor, you can also add the lemon zest.
- Cover food processor and pulse a few times until the watermelon breaks down a bit then add remaining rosé wine.This step prevents a lot of splatter that I find happens when I add all of the rosé at once.
- Run food processor on low for about 30 seconds or until mixture is smooth and free of any large watermelon chunks. Small watermelon chunks are ok.
- Pour mixture into freezer-safe dish and freeze for at least two hours.
- Once frozen, scrape a spoon or fork across the surface of the frozen mixture to get the little signature granita curls. Scoop them into a glass or bowl to serve and eat with a spoon.
Chenée says
I can't wait to try this!! It looks so refreshing and light! And anything with rosé is fine with me 🙂
Christy Hoover says
If light and refreshing and "beat the heat" was a recipe... This is it! The flavors are amazing and I can't wait to make again!
Immaculate Ruému says
This looks so good and just what I needed in this summer heat
Kaluhi says
Looks so amazing!!! Can't wait to serve this for my girlies once lockdown is over!
Katrina Adams says
I can’t wait to try this Jazz!!! 🍉🍷
Desirée says
Def kicking back at home for the foreseeable future 😩 These look BOMB!!
Marta says
Guess who just bought a watermelon?!? THIS GIRL!!! I'm totally looking forward to serving these at all our outdoor events!
Erika | Black Girls Who Brunch says
These are so fun! I watched you make these on your IGTV. I like that it uses the watermelon as the "ice" giving it a little more flavor that regular ole ice.