Southern Iced Watermelon Tea

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My Southern iced watermelon tea is made from scratch with wholesome ingredients! It’s the perfect way to use up leftover watermelon. We love enjoying this tea alongside meals and snacks during summer.

During the summer, we love whipping up homemade sweet teas and lemonades in our house. This watermelon tea recipe is just one of our favorites. We also love peach sweet tea and watermelon lemonade. They all hit the spot on a hot day!

This tea goes great with snacks and suppers. My favorite combo, that I can’t recommend enough, is a glass of watermelon iced tea with a plate of homemade cheese straws. It’s so delicious!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

1. Great for leftover watermelon: This recipe is the perfect way to use up uneaten watermelon!
2. A wholesome drink: It’s made from scratch without additives, dyes, or refined sugar.
3. Made from real fruit: It’s made with fresh watermelon, not concentrate.
4. Quick to whip up: it only takes 15-20 minutes to make this tea!

Ingredients

• family-sized black tea bags: Luzianne is best, you can also use regular sized tea bags
• raw cane sugar: this is a great wholesome sweetner
• water: I use filtered from our Lifestraw pitcher
• baking soda: you can use any brand
• watermelon: make sure it’s ripe and seedless

Tools You May Need

• pitcher
• fine mesh strainer
• cutting board
• knife

How to Make Iced Watermelon Tea

Add 4 cups of water and all 3 tea bags to a medium-sized pot. Bring to a boil, then immediately take off the heat. While the water is heating, occasionally move the tea bags around, up and down, gently.

After you take the pot off the heat, let the bags seep for 5 minutes (again moving around occasionally, up and down), then remove them. Do not squeeze the bags.

Add cane sugar and baking soda to the pot and stir until dissolved.

Pour concentrated tea mixture into a serving pitcher and set aside.

Add cubed watermelon into a blender. Blend on high for 1 minute. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into the pitcher of tea.

Stir to combine, and refrigerate until chilled then serve over ice. The best flavor is the next day. Enjoy!

How to Serve Watermelon Tea

This sweet tea goes really well with snacks and meals! Here are a few of our favorites to go with it:

• Sourdough Southern Cheese Straws
• Soft Sourdough Pretzels 
• Oven-Baked Buttermilk Fried Chicken Tenders
• Homemade Coney Dog Sauce
• Grilled Chicken Bites with Creamy Garlic Sauce

My Tips

1. Read the recipe before getting started so you know what to expect.
2. Wait to make any adjustments until you’ve made it once.
3. Choose a ripe watermelon: I tap the watermelon and if there’s a deep hallow sound, it’s ripe.
4. Use a glass pitcher to prevent shattering.

How to Store

Store homemade sweet tea in the fridge, covered or uncovered, for up to 5 days, although it’s best if enjoyed within 3 days.

Recipe FAQs

More Iced Drink Recipe

• Watermelon Lemonade
• Watermelon Limeade
• Southern Peach Sweet Tea
• Tennessee Fruit Tea
• Southern Sweet Tea
• Nonalcoholic Mint Julep Punch 

If you made this recipe, it would mean so much if you gave it a 5-star review below! Feel free to also share a photo on social media, tag @plumbranchhome. You can find our community on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, & Pinterest

Recipe

Southern Iced Watermelon Tea

Molly LaFontaine

My Southern iced watermelon tea is made from scratch with wholesome ingredients! It's the perfect way to use up leftover watermelon. We love enjoying this tea alongside meals and snacks during summer.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Drinks

Cuisine Southern

Servings 0.5 gallons (approximately)

Ingredients

  

• 3 family-sized black tea bags (Luzianne is best) or 12 regular-sized tea bags (4 regular = 1 family)
• 3/4 cup raw cane sugar
• 4 cups water
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 6 cups seedless watermelon, cubed

Instructions

 

• Add 4 cups of water and all 3 tea bags to a medium-sized pot. Bring to a boil, then immediately take off the heat. While the water is heating, occasionally move the tea bags around, up and down, gently.
• After you take the pot off the heat, let the bags seep for 5 minutes (again moving around occasionally, up and down), then remove them. Do not squeeze the bags.
• Add cane sugar and baking soda to the pot and stir until dissolved.
• Pour concentrated tea mixture into a serving pitcher and set aside.
• Add cubed watermelon into a blender. Blend on high for 1 minute. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into the pitcher of tea.
• Stir to combine, and refrigerate until chilled then serve over ice. The best flavor is the next day. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

You can double this as many times as you’d like.

 

Did you make this recipe? – If you loved it, I’d be so grateful if you left a comment on the blog post. It helps more than you know. You can share a photo on social media, tag @plumbranchhome

 

A Note From Molly – This recipe was developed and tested by me, NEVER AI (artificial intelligence). My recipes on Plum Branch Home are created with purpose and cherished in our own home. What you see from PBH is real, made for a reason, tested, and loved! We’re serving God by loving our families one recipe at a time.

Keyword iced watermelon tea