There’s no need to load your blender up with a ton of green vegetables if you’re craving a healthy smoothie. Don’t get me wrong — I’m all about making delicious green smoothies that are full of healthy ingredients. However, it’s still perfectly possible to make a super healthy smoothie using just a handful of tasty ingredients and some fresh basil leaves for added flavor and nutrition. Take the recipe I’ll be sharing today for example. It makes hands down the best basil watermelon smoothie ever. Not only is this smoothie recipe ridiculously easy to make, but it’s also unbelievably yummy thanks to the use of tasty ingredients like watermelon and basil.

Refreshing, Nutritious, & Oh So Delicious

What I love the most about this recipe is the fact that you can make it with only three simple ingredients (plus water and ice). Since the smoothie is so easy to make, I thought it would be a good idea to focus on each of the three main ingredients that go into making it such a refreshing drink.

It all starts with 1 ½ cups of watermelon cubes. During the warm months of the summer, I’m particularly fond of making watermelon smoothies. About 92 percent of their content is water, making them a fantastic choice for staying hydrated. In addition, they’re a rich source of citrulline, an essential amino acid that your body converts to arginine, another amino acid. Arginine then plays a role in the synthesis of nitric oxide in your body, which in turn plays a vital role in your cardiovascular and immune function. (1) On top of all that, watermelon are one of the tastiest, most enjoyable fruits that I can think of — the perfect smoothie ingredient!

Along with the watermelon, fresh basil leaves are used in this recipe and the two ingredients are definitely a perfect pair. The basil provides a depth to the taste of the smoothie, especially when combined with the naturally sweet taste of the watermelon. It’s also an incredibly rich source of several essential vitamins and minerals. Basil leaves have the added benefit of being packed full of disease-fighting antioxidants as well, and it’s been found to be especially useful when it comes to helping prevent cancer thanks to some potent anti-carcinogenic properties. (2)

The third and final main ingredient used in this recipe is also an optional one — one tablespoon of honey. Despite the fact it’s optional, I will always strongly recommend mixing in a bit of honey with your smoothies. It’s one of my favorite all natural sweetening options that always adds a ton of great taste to recipes. Honey is also a nutritional powerhouse as well — research has found it to be particularly useful in modern medicine thanks to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties. (3)

The only other things that you’ll need to add in are ¼ cup of water and ½ cup of ice. However, if I could make one final recommendation, it would be to use coconut water in place of water and up the amount to one full cup. Even though the watermelon provides plenty of benefits when it comes to staying hydrated, I find the taste of coconut water fits in perfectly with this recipe and it’s an excellent source of electrolytes as well.