This Watermelon Basil Salad is mixed with fresh herbs, creamy salty feta, a sharp punch of spicy jalapeno and lime juice, with briny dressing that layers textures and flavors while coming together in just 15-minutes. I bring this ice-cold watermelon feta basil salad to every BBQ and summer cookout then watch it disappear.
It's part of my summer fruit salad lineup along with Honey Lime Fruit Salad.
A Quick Glance At Watermelon Basil Salad
- ✅Done in: 15 minutes
- 🛒Ingredients: 12
- 🍽️Serves: 8 servings
- 💪Difficulty: Easy - perfect for BBQ's + hot summer days
- 👩🍳Cook Method: No Cook
- ⏰Make Ahead Friendly: Yes! You can prepare all the parts ahead of time.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Light, refreshing, summer flavors that balance sweet, acid, heat and salt.
- Make Watermelon Basil Salad ahead for stress free entertaining.
- Low effort, high reward. Serve it with a low effort main like Mediterranean Salmon.
Why This Recipe Works
- The tangy feta balances the sweetness of the watermelon creating layers of flavor.
- The lime juice sharpens the flavor. Acid acts similar to salt as it intensifies flavors.
- Fresh herbs brighten the flavors.
- Jalapeno adds subtle heat and completes the highly sought after combination of salt, fat, acid, heat.
How To Keep Watermelon Feta Basil Salad From Getting Watery
We all love watermelon but don't want it to be watery in a salad. Use these helpful tips I've acquired after making this salad again and again over the years.
- Salt watermelon just before serving. Salt will draw the moisture out of the watermelon as it sits, instead of keeping it on the inside.
- Dress watermelon and feta salad with basil just before serving. 30-minutes or less is my recommendation.
- If making ahead, store dressing in a separate airtight container in the fridge then mix when ready to serve.
- Buy ripe watermelon and store the whole melon in the fridge until you're ready to cut. This keeps the watermelon cold and firm, perfect for making watermelon and basil salad. Same method goes for Spicy Arugula Watermelon Salad too.
Jump to:
- A Quick Glance At Watermelon Basil Salad
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Why This Recipe Works
- How To Keep Watermelon Feta Basil Salad From Getting Watery
- Recipe Ingredients
- Substitutions & Variations
- How To Make Easy Watermelon Basil Salad
- Expert Cooking Tips
- What To Serve Watermelon Feta Salad With
- Watermelon Basil Salad Recipe FAQs
- More Summer Salad Recipes You'll Love
- 📖Recipe
- Easy Watermelon Basil Salad
Recipe Ingredients
- Watermelon: I use seedless watermelon for convenience and less effort.
- Herbs: Fresh basil and mint are best for full flavor. Dried herbs won't do it justice.
- Cucumber: I like to use either Persian cucumbers, mini cucumbers or English cucumbers as they are mainly seedless. These are the same I prefer when making Mediterranean Cucumber Salad as well.
- Jalapeño: Salt, fat, acid, heat. Heat=jalapenos. Giving a full range of flavors.
- Feta: The brininess of the feta pairs so well with sweet juicy watermelon.
- Lime Juice: Fresh lime juice offers a natural citrus flavor over a concentrated flavor.
- Honey: Raw honey is my go-to. Local Hive Honey Midwest varietal is my favorite.
- Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt - Salt helps balance and bring out flavors.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- If you're not a fan of spicy things you can omit the jalapeno.
- Swap sugar for honey - use about 1 ½ times the amount of sugar than called for with honey. See how to swap sugar for honey.
- Omit cucumbers from watermelon and feta salad with basil. It's refreshing + a bit sweeter.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
How To Make Easy Watermelon Basil Salad
Step 1: Whisk dressing ingredients together.
Step 2: Toss all watermelon basil salad ingredients with dressing.
Expert Cooking Tips
- Pre-chop all the ingredients ahead of time so it's ready to mix when needed!
- Dressing can be made up to 5 days in advance, similarly to most homemade dressing like the one in Strawberry Arugula Salad.
- Dress watermelon feta basil salad about 30 minutes ahead of time so it can soak.
- Try using different shape cutters (or a melon baller) for the watermelon to make it fun! You can use different shape cookie cutters, like stars for 4th of July, to make this salad fit any holiday.
- Diamond Crystal is my favorite salt and is highly used in the restaurant world.
What To Serve Watermelon Feta Salad With
- This Watermelon Feta Salad goes well with bold grilled proteins like Chipotle Carne Asada, Air Fryer Ribeye Steak, and Chimichurri Steak Sandwich.
- It also pairs nicely with juicy roasted chicken recipes like Roasted Half Chicken.
- You can't go wrong when serving it with any summer BBQ dishes..
Watermelon Basil Salad Recipe FAQs
Once you mix Watermelon Basil Salad, it will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 24-48 hours. After that it starts to become soggy.
If you keep the ingredients separate from the dressing then you can store them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Yes, actually you can! Some fruits have seeds that contain cyanide and can be toxic but that is not the case for watermelon seeds.
Watermelon seeds actually pack nutrients and are safe for you to consume. Does that mean you want to?
That part is up to you but at least you know that it poses no risk.
To chiffonade the basil, remove leaves from the stems, stack them on top of each other then roll them up like a cigar. Hold the roll together with one hand and begin finely slicing with the other. This will leave you with thin ribbons of herbs.
Watermelon basil salad can be made ahead of time. Mix all ingredients together besides the fresh herbs and dressing. Have those prepped and ready to go then add them just before serving.
This is the fun part because many different cheeses can work! Feta is used here and combining kosher salt with sweetness, acidity, and the creamy fat from the feta is a method used by restaurants around the world for depth of flavor. Goat cheese and Manchego work well because of the strong tang of the goat cheese and the sharpness of the Manchego cheese. Fresh mozzarella or burrata are more mild options that pair well with a juicy watermelon salad.
More Summer Salad Recipes You'll Love
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📖Recipe
Easy Watermelon Basil Salad
Equipment
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 whisk
Ingredients
Dressing
- ¼ cup lime juice fresh squeezed
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
- 1½ tsp kosher salt
Watermelon Basil Salad
- 4 cups watermelon cubed or balled
- 1 pint blueberries
- 12 oz cucumbers thin circles
- 1 cup blackberries
- 8 oz feta cubed
- 1 fresh jalapeno fine dice
- ¾ oz fresh basil chiffonade
- ½ cup fresh mint chiffonade
Instructions
Making the Dressing
- Whisk all dressing ingredients together in a small bowl then set aside
Making the Salad
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl, pour dressing over the top and toss well to coat
- Refrigerate until needed. 30 minutes to overnight. Serve chilled
Notes
- You can pre-chop all the ingredients a day or two ahead of time so it's ready to mix when needed!
- Make the dressing up to 5 days ahead of time.
- Dress the salad about 30 minutes ahead of time. That way the dressing has a little time to soak in.
- Once the salad is dressed, it keeps for about 24-48 hours. Anything after that will be soggy.
- If you're not a fan of spicy things you can omit the jalapeno.
- Fresh herbs work best in this salad! Dried basil or mint won't have the same flavor.
- Try using different shape cutters (or a melon baller) for the watermelon to make it fun!
- To chiffonade the basil and mint - Remove leaves from the stems, stack them on top of each other then roll them up like a cigar. Hold the roll together with one hand and begin finely slicing with the other. This will leave you with thin sliced herbs.
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