Watermelon Mint Feta Salad
This refreshing Watermelon Feta Salad with Mint is perfect for summer. Sweet ripe watermelon combined with feta cheese and freshly picked mint is simply dressed with olive oil and lime juice. It’s a sweet-and-salty combination that looks just beautiful on the table for a backyard cookout or a potluck!
Watermelon was my favorite fruit as a child and continues to be something I look forward to every summer. And while mediocre watermelons are pretty unexciting, a really good watermelon is pure heaven. This Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint is the perfect way to dress it up as a flavorful side dish to serve at any summer gathering.
Table of Contents
Ingredients Needed to Make Watermelon Mint Feta Salad:
- Seedless Watermelon
- Lemon Juice
- Olive Oil
- Fresh Mint
- Feta Cheese
How to Choose a Watermelon:
Dense, richly colored, deeply aromatic, and sweet. The best method by far is to hit your local farmers market in the summer and look for vendors with opened watermelons who will let you take a taste before you purchase.
If the supermarket is your only option. Here are a few tips to help make the best of it:
- Look for watermelons that feel relatively heavy for their size. Watermelons that grow too fast or big can end up with hollow cracks and crevices, making them feel lighter. These watermelons typically also have a more watered-down flavor. Dense watermelons should taste sweeter and have a better aroma.
- Look for melons that show signs of a clean break at the stem. When they reach peak ripeness, the stem will often automatically detach, leaving a clean crater behind. When the melons are picked less ripe, the stem often refuses to break free cleanly, leaving behind a part or all of itself at the attachment site. This doesn’t mean all watermelons with some stem attached won’t be good—many still are—but a clean stem crater is generally a very good sign.
- Rap the watermelon with your knuckles. Watermelons that sound very hollow…probably are. Avoid ’em.
- Look for smaller varieties. Smaller melon varieties often (but not always) have a more concentrated flavor.
Tips for this Watermelon Salad:
Remember that soon after watermelons are cut, the liquid slowly seeps out of the flesh, and along with it, the sweet flavor you associate with watermelon. So, this watermelon salad is best prepared and enjoyed on the same day. But, if you do need to do some prepping the night before, or if you have some leftovers, here are a couple of tips for you:
- Make-Ahead: If you need to make this watermelon salad ahead of time, you can peel and cube the watermelon 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.
- Leftovers: Because this is a super watery salad, with watermelon being the star ingredient, it is best to finish it on the same day you prepare it. However, if you have some leftovers, you can store them in a tight-lid glass container for a night or two (test before serving.)
Pairings Selections:
- Wine – A nice white citrus wine
- Meat – Burger, Steak, Salmon (a must is my Sesame Salmon), Pork, or Chicken (like my Beer Can Chicken)
- Other dishes such as roasted potatoes or Roasted Radishes, Grilled Stuffed Mushrooms with Cream Cheese and Parmesan, and many more!
I’ve never had watermelon salad! I need to try this!
I’ve never had watermelon salad! I need to try this!
This looks so delicious, thanks for the recipe! Sometimes my kids don’t want salad but they won’t say no to this one!
This looks so delicious, thanks for the recipe! Sometimes my kids don’t want salad but they won’t say no to this one!
This flavor combination sounds so delicious! We are growing watermelon and mint in our garden so I am pinning this for later!!
This flavor combination sounds so delicious! We are growing watermelon and mint in our garden so I am pinning this for later!!
I’ve never tried watermelon salad before but this looks perfec for summer.
I’ve never tried watermelon salad before but this looks perfec for summer.