Food for My Family

...one plate at a time.

Watermelon Lime Sorbet Slices

· · 154 Comments

A sweet and tangy watermelon lime sorbet is a great way to cool off in the summer. As a bonus, this recipe is frozen back in the watermelon rind and cut off into slices.

It’s hot. The type of heat where when you step outside the door and your skin is wet before the door swings shut behind you. It’s a hot that hangs in the air, letting you breathe it in, that is cured only by two things: being completely immersed in water or hiding indoors, the air conditioning cranked as far as it will go.

I find that the heat makes me very unmotivated to do things like take a walk, water and weed the garden (though I have forced that one on myself) and prepare food and eat it. However, when the promise of cooking provides ice cold watermelon sorbet, I just may be convinced. I’m fairly certain it didn’t take much convincing to get the kids to come grab a slice or sorbet either.

Start by cutting your watermelon as a simple syrup simmers on the stove. If you’re going to serve your sorbet in the rind, cut a watermelon (smaller is better) in half and scoop the watermelon flesh out. Place the hollowed-out rinds in the freezer to get cold while you make your sorbet.

When your simple syrup is cool and watermelon chunked, blend them together in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add in lime juice to cut the sweetness. The first time we made watermelon sorbet we didn’t do this, and it was much too sweet for our taste. I went with a 1/3 cup lime juice.

Cool the liquid completely in the refrigerator for a few hours. When it’s good and cold, throw it in your ice cream machine and freeze. If you saved them, take your watermelon rind out of the freezer and fill it with your sorbet, perhaps throwing in a few mini chocolate chip “seeds” along the way.

This then goes into the freezer. It really doesn’t need that long, and if you let it sit for four to five hours, you’ll be ready to slice easily. Longer freezing just requires you to take it out a bit before you want to scoop or slice. No rind? Just store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Tip: Dip your scoop or knife in warm water before scooping or slicing to make it easier.

There’s nothing like a slice of watermelon on a warm summer day, especially when your slice happens to be sorbet.

Truly, nothing.

A few tips if you want to make slices:

  1. Use a small, personal size watermelon.
  2. Freeze only long enough for the sorbet to set, or if you freeze longer, give it a good amount of time on the counter to soften up.
  3. Dip your knife (I used a large chef’s knife) in warm water in between each cut, and try to cut 2″-3″-thick slices off the watermelon. Too thin and they don’t hold together as well.

How are you staying cool in the midst of this heat wave? Are you enjoying the pool, spending time hiding indoors or heading towards museums and other air-conditioned retreats?

1 cup water
1/2 to 1 cup sugar (depending on personal preference and watermelon sweetness)
8 cups cubed fresh watermelon
1/3 cup lime juice

Place water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook until sugar is completely dissolved to create a syrup. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a food processor or blender, mix together watermelon cubes, syrup and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Add to an ice cream machine and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Serve immediately as soft serve sorbet or freeze in an airtight container and remove a few minutes prior to serving to let soften for scooping.


Makes 8-10 servings.
Copyright © Food for My Family.


Never miss a recipe! Have them delivered right to your RSS feed or to your inbox as an email!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  17. I just found this on the TidyMom.com blog and love it. What a fun idea. I would have never thought to put the sorbet back into the watermelon rind. I can’t wait to try this idea. How fun especially when the tempertures are soaring right now. I might try it with frozen blueberries instead of the chocolate chips.

    Thanks for the inspiration!

  23. If you don’t have an Ice cream machine you can freeze the cubed watermelon before you put it in the food processor. You may have to cut it into smaller chunks but it will produce the same effect

  29. Looks tasty! I tried this same presentation and put it in one of my cookbooks, but I didn’t use nearly as much lime juice in my recipe. I’m wondering–does this really taste like watermelon, or mostly like lime? I’m sure the lime would be refreshing, but does the melon flavor come through, too?

    • It tastes very much like watermelon. 🙂 The recipe uses 8 cups of watermelon, where most watermelon sorbet recipes use closer to 4. The 8 cups is necessary to fill both halves of a small melon, though, and so it makes quite a bit of sorbet. Hope that helps explain it!

  38. This looks amazing!!!!! I wish I had an ice cream machine to make this, or is it possible to make it without one, because I have a watermelon thats sitting in the fridge waiting to be made into sorbet 🙂

  39. Oh my gosh, this is such a cute idea! My kids will be amazed when I make this. We are eating lots of sweet watermelon this summer, and this is a perfect way to cool off on these very hot summer days in Texas.

  54. This looks great, but I dont understand what is heating in the pot. It does not specify. it just says “once your simple syrup is cool and watermelon chunked, blend them together in a food processor”

    Did you heat up the lime juice and some sugar?

    • If you read the recipe at the bottom, it gives the full directions and amounts. It’s a simple syrup with water and sugar, and then the lime juice and watermelon get blended together with that syrup.

  55. How much would the the recipe be compromised by switching out the water with say, vodka? Making it an adult treat? Might be worth a try! 😉

  57. Looks wonderful. Just wondering, though, is it put in the ice cream machine then the watermelon rind or skip the ice cream machine and put directly in rind?

  59. I don’t know about the chocolate chips… Doesn’t sound like it’d go well with watermelon to me :] I’d rather use blueberries! But otherwise, this is adorable and I love it so much :]

  63. I would love to make this but dont have an ice cream machine. Are there alternatives that anyone knows? Dont want to buy one just for this 🙁

  68. This looks fantastically refreshing (Especially for June in Georgia!)!! My only issue is, I don’t have an ice cream machine. Can this just go in the regular freezer?

    • You could make it, but it’d be best as granita. Put the blended mix into a tub and every 2-3 hours you scrape down the sides with a fork to create a sort of slush. Still refreshing and delicious, but a different texture.

      I hope that helps!

  72. even with the lime juice it is waaaay too sweet for me….i like the idea, tho, and may play with it to get it suit me….it does look so pretty when it is cut into slices….and i like the idea of the chocolate “seeds”, altho i did not do that this time

  77. Just made this (it is watermelon season in New Zealand!). Used 2 tblsp of Orange Blossom Water (mediterranien ingredient). No chocolat chips because of taste clash, and hard enough to remove the seeds anyway. THE GUESTS LOVED IT! Very refreshing!

  81. I really want to make this sorbet – but I don’t have an ice cream machine. Is there another container in which the blended ingredients can be frozen (prior to filling the watermelon rinds with the sorbet)? Thank you.

    • I am not sure if this would work, but I have seen other recipes that tell you to put itin the freezer and, every 20 minutes, take it out and “mix it” with a fork. That would keep it moving, and primitively, do the same thing as the ice cream maker. I hope it works for you if you decide to try it!!!!

  83. I hope you can still read this?
    Um, I’d like to ask what difference an ice cream maker will make – is it the texture difference? Because I don’t think there will be difference with or without it. Thanks.

    -Christabel

    • Hi, Christabel. The ice cream maker helps the sorbet freeze quickly and evenly. The faster the mix freezes, the smaller the crystals. If you simply place the mix in the freezer, it will freeze into a hard block with large crystals. You can do this and scrape it with a fork to create a granita, or you can pour the mix into a zip-top bag and smush it every hour or so as it freezes to create a similar effect. They are still delicious, but you won’t get that smooth sorbet-like nature to it.

  88. Just freeze the pieces of watermelon and mix it with the cold syrup. After this you can just place it in the watermelon. No need for an ice cream machine ;-).

Trackbacks

  5. […] I find that the heat makes me very unmotivated to do things like take a walk, water and weed the garden (though I have forced that one on myself) and prepare food and eat it. However, when the promise of cooking provides ice cold watermelon sorbet, I just may be convinced. I’m fairly certain it didn’t take much convincing to get the kids to come grab a slice or sorbet either. Start by cutting your watermelon as a simple syrup simmers on the stove. Watermelon Lime Sorbet Slices | Food for My Family […]

  9. […] Watermelon Lime Sorbet Slices A sweet and tangy watermelon lime sorbet is a great way to cool off in the summer. As a bonus, this recipe is frozen back in the watermelon rind and cut off into slices. It’s hot. The type of heat where when you step outside the door and your skin is wet before the door swings shut behind you. It’s a hot that hangs in the air, letting you breathe it in, that is cured only by two things: being completely immersed in water or hiding indoors, the air conditioning cranked as far as it will go. Easy Quinoa Recipes February 19, 2012 First I want to give everyone who has taken the time out of their busy schedule to fill out the survey a heartfelt thank you. The volume of responses has been overwhelming and I have to say that I have read every single one! And I’m pretty sure it didn’t even start with me eating coconut one day and loving it; but actually began with that scene in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ when Young Mary tells Young George that she doesn’t like coconut, and him totally appalled at such an ignorant statement, retorts with, “Say brainless, don’tchu know where coconuts come from?” He tells her how they come from Tahiti and the Fiji Islands, and goes on about how when he grows up he’s gonna go exploring and travel the world and go to islands that no one in Bedford Falls had ever even dreamed could exist. And with that nerdy response about coconuts, Young Mary falls in love. […]

Leave a Reply

Some of My Favorites

Potato Leek Casoncelli Pasta with Walnut Pesto #recipe | FoodforMyFamily.com
Grilled Turmeric Ginger Shrimp and Mango Avocado Slaw with Cilantro Lime Dressing Recipe: Food for My Family
Homemade Salted Nut Rolls with Bourbon Caramel #recipe | FoodforMyFamily.com
Galete Waffle Cookies recipe | FoodforMyFamily.com
Curry Cauliflower Quinoa and Lentil Salad Recipe | FoodforMyFamily.com
Roasted Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream with Graham Cracker Waffle Cones \ FoodforMyFamily.com