Simple Watermelon Salad
A Refreshing Side Dish
This simple watermelon salad has become a staple in our house over the last couple years. It makes for a tasty, light lunch or adds a fresh side to a summer barbecue. It’s a little sweet from the watermelon, but salty from the feta and olives. The combination of produce is incredibly refreshing and screams summer-time.
When the heigh of summer hits and all you're craving is cool, refreshing foods, come to this salad. It's cool and crunchy and incorporate so many fresh fruits and vegetable that are at their peak. Sweet summer watermelon, plump tomatoes, and crisp cucumber, build the base for a hydrating salad. It pairs great with grilled chicken, roasted chickpeas, on the side of a green salad, or all on it's own.
The number one tip I've learned in my practice with making this salad is to build the salad in a colander set inside of a bowl. When you're ready to serve, drain the extra liquid caught in the bowl and then serve. With all of these juicy fruits and vegetables, this salad can let off a lot of moisture. While it proves the freshness of the dish, it's not the most pleasant to eat!
The Recipe Details
This salad has three of my favorite summer fruits and vegetables: tomatoes, watermelon, and cucumber. Plus adding cheese and olives to make it a little salty? *chef's kiss* The dressing on this salad is purposely really simple, just olive oil and balasmic vinegar. While these produce are in season, I want to make sure I'm really tasting the fruits and vegetables themselves. They're enhanced with a little salt and basil to really spruce it up and make you feel a tad fancy.
In this version of the recipe, I only added fresh basil, but mint, chive, or dill would also be great mixed in. Essentially, whatever fresh herbs you have throw them in - I don't think you can go wrong! I think it's fun to mix and match and find a combination of herbs you love.
Let me know if you give this recipe a try and tag me in your photos! I hope this gives you all the warm-weather summer vibes you need.
A simple watermelon salad with fresh fruits and vegetables, perfect for your summer picnic or a simple dinner at home.
- 1/2 of a seedless mini watermelon, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 slicing cucumber, cut into ½-inch quarter moons
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
- 1/2 cup of Kalamata olives, halved
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta, plus more for topping
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Place a colander inside a large bowl, chop the watermelon, cucumber, grape tomatoes, and olives and place the produce in the colander while you chop the rest. Since these are water-heavy fruits and vegetables, they’ll let off a lot of moisture quickly.
Once everything is chopped, give it a quick stir inside the colander, dump any excess moisture caught in the bowl, and transfer everything from the colander to the bowl.
Mix in olive olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Add the crumbled feta and chopped basil right before serving and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Divide into bowls with any extra feta and basil on top.
Serve with a side of roasted chickpeas to make a full meal of it, a green salad, or as a refreshing side to your next barbecue.
