This watermelon salad is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser at BBQs. Packed with summer flavors – juicy watermelon, cool cucumber, and salty feta – it’s light, refreshing, and easy to make. Fresh mint adds a vibrant touch and it only takes 15 minutes to make, so it’s the perfect side dish.
Watermelon and Feta Salad
Watermelon and feta is one of those flavor combinations that sounds odd but works SO well together. The sweet, fresh watermelon paired with the salty feta cheese just works!
Tossed together in a simple lime dressing, the dressing is what ties all of the flavors together and completes this delicious dish.
I love to make this salad recipe at the height of summer when watermelon and cucumbers are at their juiciest and most flavorful. I have brought this to countless summer parties and it is always the first to go!
Ingredients Notes
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh lime juice: Adds bright acidity to the simple dressing.
- Seedless watermelon: I highly recommend using a seedless watermelon so you do not have to remove any seeds.
- Seedless English cucumber: I prefer to use English cucumber in this salad because they have a thinner skin that is not waxy and they tend to be sweeter. You certainly can use any cucumber variety, but you may need to peel them first.
- Feta cheese: I always buy blocks of feta cheese for making salad instead of the pre-crumbled feta because they taste more fresh and flavorful. I love this creamy, tangy element! While I love the salty crumbles of feta, you can opt for fresh mozzarella balls or goat cheese
- Fresh mint leaves: Experiment with fresh basil or cilantro instead of the mint.
How To Make Feta Cheese and Watermelon Salad
- To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil and lime juice in a small mixing bowl and set it aside.
- Place the cubed watermelon, cubed English cucumber and mint leaves in a large mixing bowl.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad.
- Carefully toss it all together.
Pro Tip: The watermelon and cucumber will release a lot of juice, make sure you toss the salad as gently as possible. - Sprinkle the feta cheese over the top of the salad and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Tips & Variations
- Add some extra crunch to your salad with a handful of toasted walnuts or cashews.
- You can add avocado for extra creaminess or strawberries for an additional boost of vitamins.
- Due to the excess liquid, this salad should not be made too far in advance. I recommend making it just before serving.
- If you are selecting a pre-cut watermelon, be sure to choose a melon that is not too “grainy” in appearance.
- This salad makes an excellent side for grilled chicken, steak, or even hamburgers.
- You can add a ½ teaspoon of kosher or flaky sea salt, but the feta and the lime juice should add the right amount of saltiness.
- To make your watermelon extra fancy, instead of cutting it into cubes, you could use a melon baller to shape the watermelon pieces into spheres.
- Make sure to use chilled watermelon and cucumbers in this watermelon salad. It tastes great when served chilled.
Proper Storage
Watermelon salad is best enjoyed fresh. Ideally, it should be finished within a day. Leftovers stored properly will last 1-2 days at most.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is best prepared and enjoyed on the same day because as soon as watermelons are cut, the liquid slowly seeps out of the flesh, and along with it, the sweet flavor you associate with watermelon.
However, if you do need to prep the night before, you can peel and cube the watermelon and cucumber and prepare the remaining ingredients, then store each in the fridge in separate containers. Add the dressing and mix the salad together just a few minutes before serving. Also, cut the mint leaves at the last minute, because after chopping they turn brown after some time.
Watermelon season runs from May to September, depending on where you live. A good place to start is your local farmer’s market. Local watermelons tend to be sweeter and fresher than imports.
To pick the juiciest, sweetest melon, look for firm melons that smell sweet on the ends. A single yellow splotch is a sign of ripeness, but avoid melons with many splotches.
Yes, you can. Because you will get salty flavors from the cheese and sweet flavors from the watermelon, it will still taste delicious. However, I love to add dressing in my salad because it brings out all the delightful flavors.
Other Easy Summer Salad recipes
Caprese Pasta Salad | Orange Creamsicle Salad | Fruit Salad Recipe | Easy Cucumber Salad | Strawberry Pretzel Salad | Mexican Corn Salad (Street Corn) | Watergate Salad | Tomato Cucumber Salad | Tropical Cheesecake Fruit Salad | Apple Salad | Jennifer Aniston’s Salad
Watermelon Salad
Ingredients
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salad
- 4 cups cubed seedless watermelon
- 1½ cups (1 medium) cubed seedless English cucumber
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ⅓ cup chopped or torn fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil and lime juice. Set it aside3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
- Using a large mixing bowl, add in the cubed watermelon, cubed English cucumber and mint leaves.4 cups cubed seedless watermelon, 1½ cups (1 medium) cubed seedless English cucumber, ⅓ cup chopped or torn fresh mint leaves
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Carefully toss the dressing and salad together. (Do this as gently as possible, the watermelon and cucumber will release a lot of juice.)
- Sprinkle the feta cheese over the top of the salad and serve immediately.½ cup crumbled feta cheese
Jenn’s Notes
- This salad should not be made too far in advance due to the excess liquid. I recommend you make it just before serving.
- If you are selecting a pre-cut watermelon, be sure to choose a melon that is not too “grainy” in appearance.
- This salad makes an excellent side for grilled chicken, steak, or even hamburgers.
- You can add a ½ teaspoon of kosher or flaky sea salt, but the feta and the lime juice should add the right amount of saltiness.
- To make your watermelon extra fancy, instead of cutting it into cubes, you could use a melon baller to shape the watermelon pieces into spheres.
- Make sure to use chilled watermelon and cucumbers in this salad. This watermelon salad tastes great when served chilled.
YUM👏🏼👏🏼😋Thank You FOR SHARING Jennifer 👍🏼♥️This LOOKS AWESOME 👏🏼❗️AND I HAVE a couple Of Refrigerator Bowls That Have Drain Slats So They Drain The Extra liquid Off Like If You Cut Watermelon 🍉 SO It’s Not Sitting In It So It gets soggy. CANT Wait to TRY ❗️G-d♥️Bless