Watermelon Mimosas

Summer brunch calls for Watermelon Mimosas! These bright and bubbly cocktails are colorful and full of sweet melon flavor.

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Watermelon Mimosa recipe

Summer produce is some of the best food all year, including those precious jewels of watermelon.

Hard as a rock on the outside but filled with juicy, rutilant treasure on the inside.

Watermelon is so good on its own, sprinkled with salt and pepper or used in recipes like this watermelon salad.

But in a drink —with its pulp blended and strained out to leave behind pink juice — the melon flavor is unmatched.

With champagne added, you can make a Watermelon Mimosa, the most perfect drink for summer brunches.

Why you’ll love this recipe

Mimosas are the quintessential brunch drink, vying for first place alongside the Bloody Mary. Here’s why you should try them with watermelon instead of orange juice:

• Juicy watermelon brings summery touch to the classic mimosa.
• They are easy to make. You’ll need a blender and a strainer to separate the pulp of the fruit of the melon, but it’s a simple process!
• Mimosas can be made with or without alcohol for everyone’s enjoyment.

Mimosas are the perfect party drink too. Set up a mimosa bar with different juices and garnishes for summer celebrations like bridal showers, baby showers and engagement parties.

What is a mimosa?

Traditional mimosas are cocktails made with orange juice and champagne. Mimosas are similar to bellinis, which are made with peach puree and champagne.

Mimosas are easy to customize, because you can switch up the type of juice mixer, or you can add more alcohol.

Sometimes mimosas have an additional ingredient — triple sec or orange liqueur, like Grand Marnier or Cointreau.

While traditionally served at breakfast or brunch, mimosas can be served any time. This summery watermelon mimosa is simply a twist on the classic that’s bubbly, zesty and fun.

You can mix up the OJ part of mimosas with other fruit juices and purees. These strawberry mimosas are made with the juice of strawberry puree and these cranberry mimosas are made from cranberry juice.

The best way to make watermelon mimosas is to blend up watermelon chunks with a little bit of juice to make watermelon puree, then strain off the solids to get juice.

Ingredients

Fresh watermelon

You will need fresh watermelon juice for these cocktails. I recommend using a small or medium seedless watermelon. You will only need to use part of it, so you can slice up the rest for eating.

Watermelons can be yellow or orange inside, but they still taste so good and would be fun for mimosas!

To get watermelon juice, you’ll cut it up into chunks, then blend it up in the blender with some liquid. You can use orange juice, lime juice, lemon juice or even water. (I used orange juice.)

Then strain out the pulp so you are left with a tasty watermelon juice.

Store the juice in a pitcher in the fridge until you’re ready to make mimosas. It is best made the day of, and it might need a shake or stir if any settling has occurred.

Champagne

Champagne can be expensive, so any kind of sparkling wine, such as cava or prosecco, will work.

A sparkling wine that’s drier works well with the sweetness of the watermelon. Look for “brut” on the label.

My guide to sparkling wine can help you pick out a bottle, but if it helps, my go-to bottle is Freixenet which is in the $12-15 range. It’s a good quality yet doesn’t break the bank.

If you want to make non-alcoholic mimosas, you can substitute something clear and bubbly such as:

• ginger ale
• ginger beer
• lemon-lime soda
• sparkling lemonade
• sparkling cider
• club soda.

Triple sec

For top-shelf mimosas, guests can add 1 ounce of Grand Marnier, Cointreau or triple sec to their glass for some extra orange flavor.

But if you want to keep things simple (and less expensive), feel free to skip this step.

For non-alcoholic mimosas, you can add a splash of non-alcoholic triple sec. It’s not totally necessary but it adds an extra layer of flavor to these refreshing drinks.

Garnishes

Garnishes are always optional but they sure take drinks to the next level. Here are some suggestions for garnishing this summer cocktail:

• watermelon wedges
• orange wedges
• lime wedges
• melon balls (made with a melon baller)
• fresh mint, thyme or basil

How to make Watermelon Mimosas

Watermelon mimosas are fruity cocktails that are so easy to make! Here’s what to do:

1. Cut watermelon into cubes. (Here’s a tutorial for cutting watermelon.) You will need about X cups.
2. Add the watermelon cubes and orange juice to the blender and blend well. Strain out the pulp until you have juice. You may have to strain a couple of times to get all the pulp out.
3. Add the juice to a pitcher and get ready to make mimosas!
4. To make a mimosa, fill a champagne glass halfway with watermelon juice (about 3 ounces). If adding triple sec, use 2 ounces juice and 1 ounce triple sec.
5. Then top with champagne. Garnish with a wedge of watermelon and a sprig of thyme or mint if you like. Cheers!

I used bamboo skewers to hold up each watermelon wedge in the champagne flutes and use sprigs of thyme.

Variations and substitutions

Top-shelf mimosas: Add 1 ounce of Cointreau or Grand Marnier to your cocktail.

Non-alcoholic mimosas: You can make virgin mimosas with a clear bubbly liquid like ginger ale or sparkling lemonade.

More mimosa recipes

If you liked this watermelon mimosa cocktail recipe, check out these similar mimosas you can enjoy all year long.

• Pomegranate Mimosas
• Guava Mimosas
• Blood Orange Mimosas
• Green Mimosas
• Pineapple Mimosas

More watermelon cocktails

Next time you’re craving a melon drink for a hot summer day, try one of these summer drinks:

• Watermelon Sangria
• Watermelon Agua Fresca
• Watermelon Margaritas or Watermelon Margarita Punch
• Spiked Watermelon Limeade
• Watermelon Frosé