This sweet and salty, refreshing Watermelon Feta Salad with Mint is a perfect summer salad to serve for backyard parties or BBQs. Made using just 5 ingredients and in 15 minutes, this recipe is a keeper (gluten-free).
Here are some more salad recipes, that you can make for your light and hearty meals – Traditional Tabouli Salad, Mediterranean Quinoa Salad, Broccoli Apple Salad and Amish Potato Salad.
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About This Recipe
Sweet and juicy watermelon, salty feta, and a refreshing minty citrusy dressing, what’s not to love about this fabulous combination. This ripe watermelon feta salad with mint leaves is all about flavors and textures.
It is my go-to low carb salad when I want to serve something quick and refreshing. It is also a perfect side dish for my summer potlucks, weekend brunches, and BBQ parties, no matter which cuisine I am going for.
Watermelon feta cheese salad is a perfect example of how sweet and salty flavors can be best friends. I was a little skeptical about this pairing, but one bite of this salad and I was bold over.
The saltiness of feta cheese goes perfectly with the cool sweetness of the watermelon and the zesty lime dressing brings out the overall flavors.
It is an easy and refreshing summer salad that will give you relief from the scorching heat outside on a sunny afternoon. The best part is that it needs no special skills and it comes together in under 15 minutes.
One serving of this perfectly healthy, low-cal watermelon feta cheese salad is about 98 Calories. It’s gluten-free too.
Ingredients
Watermelon – Your salad will be as good as your watermelon. Choose the best!
Make sure to chill it a few hours before making the salad for the best taste.
Mint Leaves – Mint leaves add a refreshing flavor.
Feta Cheese – Feta cheese gives a salty, tangy, and lemony taste and a lovely soft texture to the salad. Choose the feat soaked in brine and not the dry one.
Dressing – I like to keep the dressing simple and use extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, lime zest, salt, and pepper. A little zest goes a long way, do not skip adding it.
How To Make Watermelon Feta Salad
Preparation
Start by chopping the seedless watermelon. It’s best to use seedless watermelon to make this salad because it’s not a nice experience to have seeds in the mouth while eating the salad. If you don’t have access to seedless watermelon, then try to remove as many large seeds as possible.
To make the salad fancier, you can use a melon baller and make balls from the flesh instead of cutting it into cubes.
Chill 6 cups of watermelon cubes for a few hours.
Make The Dressing
To make the dressing, stir together ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon lime juice, ½ teaspoon lime zest, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and ¼ cup chopped mint leaves in a small bowl.
Keep the dressing aside.
Make The salad
Add the chilled watermelon cubes to a large bowl.
Pour the dressing over the watermelon and toss everything well.
Transfer the salad to the serving plate and top with crumbled feta. Serve immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
I try to buy organic watermelons from local farmers market as they are really ripe and juicy. You can buy them from grocery stores too.
There are a few tricks which you should keep in mind while buying the watermelon
1. It should feel heavy for its size.
2. Look for the creamy yellow patch. If it’s there, the melon is ripe.
3. Tap the underbelly of the watermelon. A ripe one will have a deep hollow sound. Under-ripe or over-ripe melons will sound dull.
Almost everyone has their own way of cutting watermelon. I will tell you the way I do it at home. I always cut the entire watermelon in one go. Then use how much ever I want and store the remaining in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
1. Cut the upper and lower ends of the watermelon.
2. Then cut the watermelon from the center into 2 halves.
3. Take one-half of the watermelon and lay it on the cutting board with the flesh part down. Start peeling the rind with the knife.
4. Peel the entire watermelon.
5 & 6. Once the peeling is done, you can cut the watermelon in whatever shape and size you desire.
No white part should be remaining on the cut watermelon. 
This salad tastes great with just watermelon, mint, and cheese. You can totally skip adding the dressing or add just a bit of honey, salt, and pepper.
Variations
Add crunchy cucumbers and red onions to the salad for a nice crunch. I prefer using English cucumbers in my salads as they are seedless, have thinner skin that is not waxy, and are sweeter. However, feel free to use whichever variety you have.
If the red onions are very pungent, then soak them in water for 15 minutes. Squeeze and use.
You can also add greens like lettuce, arugula, or even kale to this salad. Blueberries, avocado, cherry tomatoes, and beetroot can also be added to it.
Try adding some apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, mustard, honey, etc to the dressing for a flavor change. I love to drizzle my homemade balsamic glaze on this salad.
You can replace mint with other fresh herbs like fresh basil leaves or parsley.
You can also replace salty feta cheese with fresh mozzarella or goat cheese.
Adding avocado or black olives to this salad is also a great idea.
You can top this salad with nuts like almonds, pecan, walnuts, or seeds like sunflower seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds, etc for a nice crunch.
Instead of cutting the watermelon, you can use a melon baller to make small balls. This salad will look much fancier.
To make it filling add some cooked quinoa or couscous.
Add some grilled protein like Paneer or Halloumi cheese.
Storage Suggestions
This salad tastes best when made fresh. But if for some reason, you have to make it beforehand, just store the watermelon and the dressing separately.
Cube the watermelon and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Make the dressing and store it too. Don’t add fresh mint in the dressing if you are planning to make it ahead.
Mix the dressing with watermelon just a few minutes before serving. Sprinkle freshly chopped mint leaves and feta cheese on top at last and serve.
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Recipe Card
Watermelon Feta Salad Recipe With Mint Leaves
Ingredients
- 6 cups cubed seedless watermelon (chilled)
- 6 ounces feta cheese (170 g)
For The Dressing
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ½ teaspoon lime zest
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup chopped mint leaves
Instructions
- To make the dressing, stir together extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, lime zest, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and mint leaves in a small bowl.
- Add the watermelon cubes to a large bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the watermelon and toss everything well.
- Transfer the salad to the serving plate and top with crumbled feta. Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!