This refreshing Watermelon Feta Salad with Mint is perfect for summer. Sweet ripe watermelon salad combined with feta cheese and fresh 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, a potluck, or even a Sunday brunch!
My husband loves watermelon salad. During the summer, one of his favorite snacks is freshly sliced chilled watermelon with crumbly slices of feta. The saltiness of the cheese is a perfect compliment to the cool sweetness of the watermelon. He introduced me to the flavor combination, and now I’m hooked, too. Nothing says summer like fresh watermelon and feta!
A few weeks ago we had some friends over for dinner. The weather was just starting to warm up, so we decided to make it an outdoor dinner in our back yard. As I grocery shopped for the meal, my mind was on all the summery foods we’ve been missing. I browsed the produce section and noticed that ripe seedless watermelons were on sale. Of course, my mind went to watermelon and feta! I decided to create a simple summer salad with seedless watermelon chunks, crumbled feta cheese, fresh mint, and a homemade lime juice dressing.
After a little experimentation with the dressing, this is what I came up with! The salty citrus dressing really brings out the flavor of the watermelon, the mint is refreshing, and the feta adds a perfect touch of creaminess. Even those of you who don’t like sweet, fruity salads may appreciate this one– the flavor is truly unique.
It was a big hit with our friends, and I’m guessing it will be making regular appearances on our summer menu. It would might just be the perfect side-salad for your 4th of July barbecue. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
If at all possible, try to find goat or sheep’s milk feta– preferably the larger chunks sold in delis or cheese markets. I personally prefer the flavor of block feta to pre-crumbled feta. Enjoy!
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Food Photography and Styling by Kelly Jaggers
Watermelon Feta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 pounds whole seedless watermelon, chilled (about 12 cups of cubed fruit)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 whole limes, juiced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese (sheep’s milk feta preferred)
Instructions
- Note: This salad is best made just prior to serving. Prepare one hour or less before your meal.Cut rind from the watermelon, then chop the fruit into 1 inch chunks. Place chunks in a colander to drain as your chop.
- In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, fresh lime juice, salt, and black pepper to create a dressing.
- Place watermelon in a large salad bowl. Pour dressing and chopped mint over the watermelon and toss gently to coat. Pour the crumbled feta into the salad bowl and stir gently to integrate the cheese into the salad. Serve.
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I made this for potluck in my office and It was a hit!!! I was a little apprehensive about it in the beginning, but its my best summer thing to eat now… The simple dressing was great….While many other recipes called for Balsamic Vinegar, I just did not want to spend money on something without knowing if I would ever use it again….
Thankyou
I made this for the 4th of July yesterday. I added lime zest and blueberries to make it red, white, and blue.
I AM CURRENTLY GROWING WATERMELON IN MY GARDEN AND I LOVE FETA! I WILL HAVE TO TRY IT. IT SOUNDS SO GOOD!! I WOULD HAVE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THE TWO TOGETHER. I WILL THINK OF THIS UNTIL I HAVE IT! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING SOMETHING THAT SOUNDS SO GOOD, AND LOOKS SO BEAUTIFUL TOGETHER! THANK YOU AGAIN!
Served this for a dinner party . What a hit!!!! Men and women just loved it. making it again for the 4th.
I have lemon mint growing in my flower bed. Have wild spearmint in the fields around me? What store bought mint did you use? Peppermint or spearmint pr something else? Thanks!
Hi Karen, I used peppermint. 🙂
Hello from Greece!
Feta with watermelon brings me back to my childhood. We used to have it as a snack in the evening, or even for a light dinner. In fact, it’s so common here in Greece that I am amused that people are surprised by the idea. I never thought of it as a salad. What a great idea!
Hi Tori, I just cut up a huge watermelon and don’t know how much it weighed to begin with. About how many cups of chopped watermelon does a 7-8 pound watermelon yield when the rind is removed?
I’m not sure Amanda, what I would do is make the dressing and add a little at a time to the watermelons, mixing and tasting till it tastes right. If you need more dressing you can whip up another batch. Good luck!
When in Israel, I often order a slice of watermelon that comes with a hunk of Feta. I always loved the salty and sweet together. I never thought to make a salad of it. I have to try it…looks so yummy!
I never ever tried feta with watermelon..i love both but never together..Looks great, I have to try before season ends:))
Oh by the way I’ve tagged you in a 7 link Challenge game..I hope you can find time to present some of your fabulous dishes..more info on my blog!
I am so happy to find this website on Zabars!
I love this salad. I had a slightly different version of this at an Italian restaurant the other day. It added some melon balls, and sweet tiny cherry cut-up tomatoes, as well as the watermelon, feta and mint. It was wonderful. Diana
I love this refreshing salad. it is very IN to right now, I have had it at 3 parties thus far this summer.
Wow, this looks amazing. I just recently found your facebook and web page and am so thrilled! The only problem is what recipe do I try next? I’m making the watermelon salad and the baba ghanoush today!
Have all the ingredients and will give it a try. Sounds really good
Tori thanks for stopping by, your blog is amazing and beauty I suscribe to your blog, see you, x gloria
Arefreshing salad of watermelon is best for the summer and mint is a delight, hugs and affection.
Found your site tonight and this recipe jumped out at me. Sounded very interesting and from your description and the reviews, sounds extremely delicious as well.
I plan on trying this recipe as soon as I can as a surprise for my fiancee who loves feta and loves watermelon, no opposed to mint either so… we shall see!
Your site looks very good Shiksa!
Awesome Craig! Let me know how your fiance likes the salad, it’s one of my personal favorites.
I made this for a group of friends last weekend. I had made enought for 20+ and there were only a dozen of us. Every drop disappeared. Even the kids loved it. This will be my “go to” receipe for the rest of the summer. Todah rabah!
Donna I’m thrilled to hear that! Thanks for trying and reporting back, it means a lot to me. 🙂
Hey, I have found that queso fresco is a good sub for feta, as my husband LOATHES feta — can I perhaps use a bit more salt (oh, I have smoked salt on hand) to get a similar effect, or am I simply out of my mind?
Hi Matti! If your husband doesn’t like feta, I would recommend halloumi cheese as a substitute. Halloumi has the salty taste, but it’s quite different form feta. Halloumi is best grilled/seared, so what I would do is cut it up into chunks and fry it in a skillet (no oil) until the chunks gets golden brown. Let the chunks cool and then add them to the salad. It will taste amazing, no extra salt needed! Do not use smoked salt, it will taste super strange in this recipe. Let me know how it turns out for you! 🙂
This is my favourite summer salad! Thanks for commenting on my blog so I could find you!! 😀