This cherry lemon granita is an easy, refreshing summer treat that’s super simple to make at home.
As if there weren’t enough reasons to love summer already (flip flops, heat waves, swimming pools, tank tops, tans…need I go on?) sinfully sweet, juicy (and cheap!) fruit comes along right in the height of it. Fruit that tastes so close to perfection it can easily pass as dessert all by itself.
Doctor it up a bit, freeze it and scoop it into a bowl and you have the most refreshing way to cool down after a long hot day outside (or in front of your computer if you’re one of the unlucky ones working this week).
Adding vodka might be necessary in that case.
Live it up, it’s Friday.
Cherry Lemon Granita
Ingredients
- 2 cups cherries, pitted (frozen is ok too)
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon agave
- 2-4 tablespoons vodka, optional
Instructions
- Place cherries in a food processor and pulse until almost pureed. A few chunks is ok.
- In a small bowl combine lemon, agave and vodka if using with a whisk.
- Add cherries to bowl and stir together.
- Pour mixture into a shallow metal dish or pan.
- Freeze for 1.5 hours scraping with a fork every 15-20 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
this is quite timely since I have about 12 lbs of cherries left from our camping trip. :)
do it!!
Oooo that color is gorgeous! Cherries aren’t cheap here unfortunately so I could probably mix fresh with frozen, right?
They just started getting cheap here but yes, frozen is fine! I actually used half frozen, half fresh for this b/c I didn’t want to give up all my fresh ones! haha
Yup, definitely necessary on a hot day like today…vodka included!
Oh my this looks refreshingly delicious. Such a great color, too. I have never made a granita, looks like I need to get on that ASAP!
Love cherries! But they’re still not cheap here. Like $3.99 a pound so for a normal sized bag, a little over 2 lbs, it’s like…$10 bucks. And we can take that down in a day. So….I haven’t been buying cherries but I want to! Such pretty pics, too!
The colour of this is gorgeous!! What a great combo.
Looks so refreshing – and such a beautiful color!!
Beautiful! Definitely on my summer bucket list.
Yum, that sounds delicious- and so easy too! Yes, one of the best parts of summer is the fresh in-season fruit. Definitely worth taking advantage of it as much as possible!
I love the deep red color. This sounds perfect for a Friday!