Eight Refreshing Watermelon Desserts You Need to Try This Summer

Summer of 2022 is coming, and boy will it be a hot one! This is the kind of weather when all you want to do is hang out at the pool and keep cool with chilled, refreshing beverages and light food fare, and watermelon, one of the most iconic and popular summer fruits, is great for pulling off both of these traits because of how juicy it is. It’s also a healthy food that is a great source for Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin C.

Although buying a giant watermelon, or growing your own crop, to cut up for backyard cookouts during the summer is a pretty standard tradition, there are many other great ways to incorporate this juicy, refreshing fruit into your summer desserts, whether it’s a dessert made with watermelon or if it’s infused into fun summer favorites. So, grab a watermelon of your own and come along with us as we take a look at some awesome watermelon desserts as well as some desserts that are infused with watermelon goodness. As a bonus, we’re also going to include a few tips to help you pick out the best watermelon at the farmer’s market, grocery store, or right out of your garden!

Chocolate-Dipped Watermelon Slices On a Stick

Although simple, this dessert is not only refreshing but also incorporates chocolate; plus, since the watermelon slice is on a stick, wrapping a paper towel around the stick to avoid messy fingers is a great bonus! Simply cut your watermelon into regular slices, cut a hole for a popsicle stick in the rind of each slice, insert the stick, then dip in chocolate and throw on some sprinkles for some extra fun.

Sicilian Watermelon Pudding

This is a cool, silky, and lean treat that will really help you beat the summer heat! Known as gelo di melone in Italian, it’s usually also infused with jasmine, and garnished with either shaved chocolate or pistachios, depending on taste. It is quick and easy to whip up, making it a great option for a last-minute dessert, and only requires pureed watermelon, corn starch, cane sugar, vanilla bean seeds or vanilla bean paste, and lemon juice.

Watermelon Cupcakes

If you’re a cupcake lover as well as a watermelon lover, then this will be right up your alley! With this recipe, you get the watermelon flavor in both the cupcake itself as well as the frosting for double the infusion. The frosting is a buttercream frosting infused with pureed watermelon, while the cupcakes call for a white cake mix and pureed watermelon in its ingredients. These would be great for a summer birthday party being thrown for a watermelon lover!

Grilled Watermelon

This is another simple watermelon recipe that isn’t a recipe so much as an idea. The watermelon remains juicy, but you get some great grill marks on it, caramelizing the sugars in the fruit, thus enhancing its sweetness. Serve with whipped cream for a little something extra!

Watermelon Popsicles

Make your own watermelon popsicles at home with pureed watermelon and popsicle molds, or do it the old-fashioned way with a popsicle stick and a cup. Freeze them for a few hours and you’ve got the ultimate cool, refreshing summer treat that’s great for hot days spent outside or just relaxing by the pool.

Watermelon Salsa and Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

This awesome dessert takes the watermelon as a dessert game to a whole new level. It’s yet another quick and easy dessert to whip up, with the salsa calling for watermelon, strawberries, mint leaves, and lime juice, and the cinnamon tortilla chips are made with tortillas, butter, sugar, and cinnamon. This is one that both kids and adults will like, so be sure to make plenty!

Watermelon Italian Ice

This is a recipe that you don’t need an ice cream maker for, and it is quick and easy to whip up with only two whole ingredients! Freezing the watermelon is key to making this simple recipe, and you can add lemon juice, pineapple juice, or whatever sort of one hundred percent fruit juice you like. Or if you want to make this more of an adult dessert, add a sweet wine such as Moscato.

Salted Watermelon Sherbet Bars

For this watermelon dessert, we present a cool and creamy three-layer cake that will be a hit at pool parties and summer barbecues! All you need is watermelon sherbet, crushed waffle cones and whipped cream. The watermelon sherbet itself is easy to make with an ice cream maker, and consists of fresh watermelon, lime juice, sugar, salt, and half-and-half. Garnish each bar with a slice of lime for an extra pop of color and refreshing flavor!

How to Pick the Best Watermelon

When you’re trying to pick out the juiciest and sweetest watermelon possible, there are a few things that you need to look for:

Make sure it’s uniform in size, either round or oval-shaped
The heavier the watermelon is for its size, the better
Flip it over and look for a large, creamy spot, called the field spot, that is orange in color; if it’s white, it’s not ripe yet
The more webbing the watermelon has, the more sugar it has in it
If the watermelons are light and bright in color, they aren’t quite ripe yet, whereas dark and dull is an indication of ripeness

Try These and Other Watermelon Desserts for Yourself!

So, whether you’re planning to go to a lot of cookouts this summer, or if you’re just planning to lounge by the pool, then we hope that these fun watermelon and watermelon infused desserts will go a long way in keeping you cool and being a hit at the barbecue!