Watermelon Feta Salad is made with crisp cucumbers, fresh mint, and a lime juice dressing that is perfect for summer! Bring this quick, easy, and healthy side dish recipe to your next backyard BBQ or poolside picnic for a refreshing fruit salad that is both sweet and tangy.
Want a few other quick picnic side dish recipes? You might also enjoy this Creamy Cucumber Dill Salad, Southern Coleslaw Recipe, and this Mexican Quinoa Salad.
Watermelon Feta Salad with Mint
Before you start turning up your nose to the idea of watermelon combining with seemingly savory ingredients, let me tell you…
I was right there with you.
That is, until I tried a bite of this epic flavor combo.
Who knew that cubes of juicy watermelon, crumbles of feta cheese, and fresh mint could be so GOOD together.
And not to mention, it’s SO very quick and easy to make. Yup, that means no more wondering what to make to bring to your next July 4th picnic or birthday party barbecue.
This watermelon feta salad will become your new GO-TO summer side dish!
Ingredients
Let’s take a look at the simple ingredients you will need to make this watermelon salad:
- Watermelon – You can either choose to buy a whole watermelon and cut it yourself, or you can skip a few minutes or prep and purchase the already cubed and pre-packaged watermelon. Just make sure you select a seedless watermelon for the best salad.
- Cucumber – An English seedless cucumber is used in this recipe.
- Feta Cheese – Often I will tell you that certain cheeses are relatively interchangeable. For this recipe I would not advise swapping out the feta cheese for any other cheese. It has the perfect texture and tanginess that will really accentuate the watermelon.
- Mint – Fresh sweet mint, not spearmint, is finely chopped and added in just before serving. If you don’t have mint on hand, fresh basil will work, too, but will give this salad a very different flavor.
- Onion – Red onion gives a beautiful pop of color and a nice bite to counteract the sweetness from the melon. Feel free to substitute with sweet onion.
- Lime – Freshly squeezed lime juice is mixed together with olive oil to make the simple dressing that this salad gets tossed in.
- Serrano or Jalapeño Pepper – This is completely optional, but if you want to add a secret kick to this salad, you can finely dice some serrano or jalapeño pepper. Just make sure to rinse and seed the pepper before mixing in so it does not overwhelm your salad!
Preparing the Cucumbers
If you don’t like the skin on your cucumbers you can choose to partially peel it (like I did!) or fully peel the cucumbers before dicing.
As you’ll see in the image, I went ahead and removed the “seeds” that still remained in the seedless cucumbers. This part of the cucumber is rather juicy and will add extra moisture to your salad that will inevitably water it down.
How to Make
The best thing about this salad is how super simple it is to prepare. You will only need a cutting board, a knife, a large bowl, and less than 20 minutes!
- Prepare watermelon by cutting into 1/2-inch cubes.
- Peel or partially peel cucumber and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
- Combine melon, cucumber, feta cheese, onion, oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
- Toss until ingredients are well combined.
- Mix in fresh mint if serving immediately.
- If storing to serve later, reserve mint and add just before serving.
Serving
This watermelon salad is best when served within 4 hours of preparing.
Over time the watermelon will start to release its juices and the salad will become very soggy and no longer crisp.
Also, it’s best to finely chop and add the fresh mint just before serving for the most flavor.
You can add additional fresh mint leaves and crumbled feta for a gorgeous presentation, too.
Storing
If you have leftover watermelon salad, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.
But please note, the watermelon and cucumber will continue to release their juices and make the leftovers pretty soggy after a few days.
Other Easy Picnic Recipes
If you enjoyed this quick salad, you might also enjoy these other cold side dish recipes perfect for a picnic:
- Italian Dressing Pasta Salad
- Cucumber Salad with Dill
- Mediterranean Couscous Salad
- Mexican Quinoa Salad
Watermelon Feta Salad with Mint
Watermelon Feta Salad is made with crisp cucumbers, fresh mint, and a lime juice dressing that is perfect for summer! Bring this quick and easy side dish recipe to your next backyard BBQ or poolside picnic for a refreshing fruit salad that is both sweet and tangy.
Ingredients
- 4 cups watermelon seedless
- 2 cups cucumber English seedless
- ½ cup feta cheese crumbled
- ¼ cup red onion thinly sliced
- 1 jalapeno finely diced, optional
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. lime juice freshly squeezed
- ½ tsp. salt to taste
- ¼ tsp. black pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup sweet mint finely chopped
Instructions
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Prepare watermelon by cutting into ½-inch cubes.
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Peel or partially peel cucumber and cut into ½-inch cubes.
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Combine melon, cucumber, feta cheese, onion, pepper (optional), oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Toss until ingredients are well combined.
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Mix in fresh mint if serving immediately.
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If storing to serve later, reserve mint and add just before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
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If you have leftover watermelon salad, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. But please note, the watermelon and cucumber will continue to release their juices and make the leftovers pretty soggy after a few days.
Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Roasted Tomato Salsa
Baked Tortilla Chips
Red Enchilada Sauce
Ariel says
The feta was a great addition! Gave the salad a great flavor mix! Never would have thought mint and feta would taste good together but they sure do!
London says
Right!? It’s such an interesting combination of flavors, but so tasty! Thanks for your comment and rating, Ariel! 🙂