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This watermelon cucumber salad could not be more refreshing! It pairs sweet melon with feta cheese, fresh basil and lemon zest.
It’s summer! We’re 1,000% embracing outdoor living this year: growing a garden, fixing up our patio, and eating all our meals outside. Our latest recipe to pair with this endeavor: Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad! It’s so easy to make and goes with literally anything you throw on the grill. Sweet melon with salty feta are a genius pairing. Top them off with cucumber, fresh basil and lemon zest. Give it a taste, and you’ll agree: it could not be more refreshing!
What’s in this watermelon cucumber salad?
This watermelon cucumber salad recipe is truly easy to make and it’s one of the best watermelon recipes out there. It’s just matter of chopping a few ingredients and throwing them together on a platter. It’s a fantastic accessory for summer cookouts and potlucks. But because it’s so simple, the quality of the ingredients is key. You’ve got to have a super ripe watermelon and high quality feta cheese to make this one taste like 1 million bucks. Here’s what’s in this watermelon cucumber salad:
- Ripe watermelon
- Feta cheese crumbles
- Baby or English cucumber (or use a standard cucumber and peel it!)
- Fresh basil
- Lemon
Mix it up: other topping ideas!
For the topping of this watermelon cucumber salad, we’ve called for chopped basil, lemon zest, and some sea salt. But you can get as creative as you’d like! Here are some ideas:
- Herbs. Use a different herb like mint or oregano.
- Pepper or olive oil: You can even top with fresh ground pepper, or add a drizzle of olive oil.
- Other citrus: If you’d like it tangier, add lemon juice — or go with lime zest instead!
How to tell if a watermelon is ripe?
Here are a few tips for picking out a ripe watermelon for this watermelon cucumber salad! There’s really nothing worse than an unripe watermelon: it’s not sweet at all (we know from experience)! To make sure you get ruby red, sweet flesh inside, here’s what to do:
- Check the lighter spot where the watermelon rested in the field. It’s called a field spot. If the field spot is white, it’s unripe: if the spot is yellow, it’s ripe.
- It should feel heavy. The watermelon should feel very heavy, which means there’s a lot of juice inside.
What to do with leftover watermelon rind? Make Pickled Watermelon Rind!
Suggested wine pairing: rosé!
Of course, what’s better for outdoor living than sipping a glass of rosé? For this outdoor meal with our watermelon cucumber salad, we served it with the La Rue Côtes de Provence Rosé from ALDI. It’s dry and full bodied, with hints of strawberry. Other great drink pairings for this watermelon cucumber salad:
- Any dry white or dry rose wine
- Frose Recipe (Frozen Rosé)
- Watermelon Margarita
- Watermelon Cocktail with Gin or Watermelon Vodka Cocktail
- Watermelon Smoothie or Watermelon Juice
How to serve this watermelon cucumber salad
This watermelon cucumber salad goes with just about anything that hits your outdoor table! Alex and I created this especially as a Memorial Day recipe! Here’s what we served it with:
- Creamy Red Potato Salad
- Grilled Caesar Salad
- Grilled mushrooms and peppers
- Fresh strawberries and blackberries
- Strawberry rhubarb crisp or classic strawberry crumble
More recipes that pair well
If you need a few more ideas: there’s lots where that comes from! Here a few more summer recipe ideas that pair well with watermelon cucumber salad:
- Grilled Corn on the Cob or Mexican Grilled Corn
- Grilled Caesar Salad
- Portobello Mushroom Burger
- Easy Bean Salad or Black Bean and Corn Salad
- French Potato Salad
- Cucumber Salad with Vinegar or Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Try more Summer Salads You Need Now
This watermelon cucumber salad recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten-free.
Watermelon Cucumber Salad
This watermelon cucumber salad could not be more refreshing! It pairs sweet melon with feta cheese, fresh basil and lemon zest.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 8 cups cubed ripe seedless watermelon (1 8-pound watermelon)
- 2 organic mini cucumbers or ½ English cucumber (1 cup sliced)
- 2 ounces Feta cheese crumbles
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
- 4 basil leaves
- Sea salt, for garnish
Instructions
- Chop the watermelon into cubes. Slice the cucumbers (if using an English cucumber, slice it into half moons). Chop the basil. Zest the lemon.
- Arrange the watermelon and cucumbers on a platter. Sprinkle with feta crumbles, lemon zest, and sea salt. Taste and adjust flavors as desired. (If you’d like, you can add freshly ground black pepper or a drizzle of olive oil.) Serve immediately. If making ahead, refrigerate the cubed watermelon separately: it releases a lot of water after it is cut. Then assemble the salad directly before serving.
