Watermelon Granita (Shaved Italian Ice Frozen Dessert)

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Watermelon Granita may be the easiest recipe ever! Kids of any age can make and enjoy this refreshing frozen dessert with shaved watermelon. It has just three ingredients and doesn't require any fancy equipment. Just a blender, a fork, and a little patience while it freezes.

Watermelon Granita in a glass cup topped with lime zest and a colorful towel in the background.

Let the good times roll! When watermelon season rolls around, the weekends are lazy and relaxed.

So you'll often find this recipe for watermelon Italian Ice on our cookout menu because it's the perfect make-ahead dessert.

Here's another reason to love it! Since watermelon is naturally sweet, it doesn't require a lot of sugar, and alternative sweeteners will work to make this low in carbs.

As a matter of full disclosure, the pictures below are for a half-batch of this recipe. We go big when we buy watermelon so we can eat it in slices, make watermelon basil balsamic salad, and finely dice some pieces to put in a watermelon fennel salad.

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Ingredients
How to make Watermelon Granita
Frequently Asked Questions
📋 Recipe

Ingredients

Watermelon cubes, sugar, and a lime with labels on a cutting board.

Of special note:

Watermelon - seedless and cubed. Fifteen Spatulas does a good job of explaining How to Pick a Superstar Watermelon and touches on cutting watermelon into cubes.
Sugar or alternative sweetener. I use a stevia blend and often compromise and use half sugar and half stevia. Honey and agave nectar will also work. The amount is to taste.
Lime juice - If you are using a fresh lime, use a microplane and zest it to give the final watermelon dessert even more flavor

Please refer to the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and detailed instructions.

How to make Watermelon Granita

Follow these step-by-step pictures to make this easy recipe.

Step 1: Add watermelon cubes along with sugar and lime juice to a blender and puree until smooth.
Use as much or as little sugar as you would like. I settled on an amount that is pretty sweet and still retains the natural watermelon taste, which is already quite sweet! I've seen honey used instead. Start with about 2 Tablespoons and then adjust to taste.

Step 2: Pour the puree into a shallow baking dish so that it is a thin layer and will freeze quickly. The mixture pictured is about ¾ inch thick.

Fork raking partially frozen watermelon puree.

Step 3: After about two hours, rake the partially frozen mixture with a fork and then put it back in the freezer for at least another hour. You can play around with the timing a bit. That is, freeze one hour, then for two or rake every hour. But, three hours seems to be the magic number.

Two glasses of watermelon granita with two spoons on a brown table.

Step 4: Rake again just before serving. Gently remove from dish and fluff with a fork. Garnish with lime zest if desired.

Two glass dishes with watermelon granita and two spoons.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does watermelon granita last in the freezer?

Store Watermelon Granita in a covered container in the freezer. If consistently stored in 0° Fahrenheit freezer, it will be safe to eat forever (according to the USDA Freezing and Food Saftey Guidelines). For quality purposes, it's usually best to enjoy within 2-3 months of freezing.

Watermelon granita with lime zest on top in a glass serving cup on a white doily.

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📋 Recipe

Watermelon Granita - Easy 3-Ingredient Recipe

Cool off with Watermelon Granita, an easy and refreshing frozen dessert with three ingredients you can make at home without fancy equipment.

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10

Freezer time: 3

Total Time: 3 10

Servings: servings

Author: Marjory Pilley

Ingredients

▢ 4 cups watermelon seedless, cubed
▢ ¼ cup stevia based sweetener more or less to taste. Sugar, honey, agave nectar may be used instead to equal the taste of ¼ cup of sugar or desired level of sweetness.
▢ 1 Tablespoon lime juice If using a real lime, zest it as well.

Instructions

Puree watermelon cubes, sweetener and lime juice in a blender until smooth.
Pour the watermelon puree into a shallow baking dish.
Place baking dish in the freezer for 1 hour, then remove and rake partially frozen watermelon with a fork.
Return baking dish to the freezer for another 2 hours, repeating the raking process again after 2 hours..
Serve immediately or return to the freezer until ready to serve. Rake with a fork just before serving.

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Notes

See Step-by-Step Pictures Above

Storage: Store Watermelon Granita in a covered container in the freezer. If consistently stored in 0° Fahrenheit freezer, it will be safe to eat forever (according to the USDA Freezing and Food Saftey Guidelines). For quality purposes, it's usually best to enjoy within 2-3 months of freezing.

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Nutrition

Nutritional and Food Safety Disclaimer

This recipe was originally published on July 30, 2013 and was updated to include nutritional information and more helpful tips.

Ingredients

How to make Watermelon Granita

Frequently Asked Questions

📋 Recipe