Each crunchy bite of this watermelon feta salad with fresh herbs is sweet, salty, and tangy — a celebration of summer’s fresh melon bounty.
It’s what summer cooking is all about: peak-season produce, minimal prep, big flavor.
Watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, crenshaw, canary, casaba, sugar melon — it’s an equal-opportunity melon situation.
Why this Watermelon Feta Salad Recipe Works
- Quick & easy. This watermelon feta salad comes together in 20 minutes or less.
- Sweet-Salty Balance of Flavor. Juicy melon pairs with creamy, briny feta for a classic Mediterranean flavor combination.
- Lime zest & juice. Bright citrus enhances the watermelon flavor, making it taste brighter, more complex, and more refreshing. A little zest goes a long way.
When is Watermelon Season?
iWatermelon season peaks in the warm summer months, when melons are sweetest, juiciest, and bursting with flavor. California grows dozens of varieties in all shapes, colors, and sizes — including watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, crenshaw, canary, and casaba.
Although melons are grown throughout the state, most of California’s crop comes from the San Joaquin and Imperial Valleys.
Culinarily a fruit, melons are botanically considered veggies. They belong to the cucurbit family, related to cucumbers, squash, zucchini, and pumpkins.
There are two main families of melons: those with rough, netted, or reticulated rinds (muskmelons, cantaloupes, etc.) and those with smooth rinds (such as honeydew).
This recipe is inspired by the sweet-savory watermelon and feta served on the beaches of Tel Aviv, where I live throughout my 20’s. A summer staple in Israel that’s often topped with herbal spearmint and toasty za’atar. Although the feta-melon combo doesn’t need anything else, I spiced it up and added a zesty vinaigrette.
How to make this Watermelon Feta Salad
Cut the watermelon and feta into bite-size pieces. Whisk the vinaigrette, toss everything together, and finish with fresh herbs and spices. Enjoy.
The beauty of this colorful dish is in its simplicity.
Notes on Ingredients:
This salad is will ONLY be as good as your watermelon & feta.
Watermelon: To find thesweetest and juiciest melons, hit up your local farmer’s market. Look for dense, richly colored and deeply aromatic melons in the summer. They’ll be in a whole different league than the bland ones often found at the supermarket.
Tips for selecting watermelons:
- Look for watermelons that feel relatively heavy for their size
- Avoid watermelons that sound hollow or feel light (they’ll have a more watered-down flavor).
Pro Tip: Save your watermelon rinds and pickle them!
Feta: Look for true Greek or Bulgarian sheep's-milk feta at the market, which tends to be creamier and tangier than domestic cow's-milk versions.
- Haloumi works as well.
- If you’re vegan, simply omit or swap for a salty vegan cheese counterpart.
Pro Tip: Buy your feta in blocks! They’re much more flavorful and will consistently be a higher quality than the pre-crumbled stuff. And it really doesn’t take long to crumble!
Fresh Herbs: such as mint, basil, and/or cilantro, always add extra pop of color and freshness.
Honey: adds a wonderful mild sweetness and floral notes to the vinaigrette. Or swap in another sweetener of your choice.
Lime Juice & Zest: The acid in the vinegar is entirely from lime, which enhances the flavor of both the watermelon and feta, making each of those ingredients basically taste more like themselves. A little zest goes a long way.
Za’atar: a popular Middle Eastern herbal and nutty blend.
Sumac: This deep red tangy and sour spice, essential in Mediterranean cooking, packs in a tangy and sour punch that bursting with freshness.
Other additions: To make this salad heartier, even a meal, simply add other chopped ingredients like arugula, kale, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, black olives, corn, pistachios, sunflower seeds, chili peppers and more!
More colorful summer salads:
Cooks Tips
- When possible, buy local and organic melons.
- Look for dense, richly colored and deeply aromatic summer melons at the local farmer’s market.
Pro tip: Save your watermelon rinds and pickle them. - Look for true Greek or Bulgarian sheep’s-milk feta. It’s creamier, tangier, and more flavorful than most domestic cow’s-milk versions.
Pro tip: Buy feta in blocks — it’s fresher and much better than pre-crumbled. - The salad will only be as good as the quality of your watermelon and feta.
- Salad is best served immediately, or within the hour, of dressing.
- Leftover salad will keep in the fridge for 1-2 days.
Have ya tried this recipe? I’d love to hear about it and see it too! Please leave a comment below and take a pic and tag it on Instagram with @DanielaGerson. You can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest to see more colorfully delicious food and awesome adventures!
Let's make waves in the kitchen!
Watermelon Feta Salad
Ingredients
- 2.5-3 pound melon any kind or a combo, sliced or scooped into melon balls
- 8 oz feta cubed or crumbled
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/4 cup freshly torn or chopped herbs, such as mint, basil and/or cilantro cut or torn into small pieces
- 1.5 teaspoon za'atar
- 1.5 teaspoon sumac
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Whisk together the lime juice and zest, honey, za'atar, sumac and salt while slowly pouring in the olive oil until emulsified.
- Toss melon balls with the sumac vinaigrette. Top with feta and scatter with fresh herbs (optional).
Notes
- When possible, buy local and organic melons.
- Look for dense, richly colored and deeply aromatic summer melons at the local farmer’s market.
Pro tip: Save your watermelon rinds and pickle them. - Look for true Greek or Bulgarian sheep's-milk feta, tends to be to be creamier and tangier than domestic cow's-milk versions.
Pro Tip: Buy feta in blocks. It's much more flavorful and consistently higher quality than pre-crumbled. - The salad will only be as good as the quality of your watermelon and feta.
- Salad is best served immediately, or within the hour, of dressing.
- Leftover salad will keep in the fridge for 1-2 days.
I can't think of a more refreshing salad for the summer, and I love how the salty, briny feta contrasts from the sweet watermelon. Thanks for such a delicious yet easy recipe!
Absolute pleasure Amanda!!! It's so insanely easy and so insanely good! Really appreciate the sweet feedback :)!
I’ve made this recipe a few times and everyone loves it! It was soo easy and very refreshing!
So stoked to hear that Fran! It's def a summer favorite of mine + so fun to add all the different colors of melons around. Thanks so much for the sweet feedback!
This Watermelon & Feta Salad is really moth watering! Love the combination of watermelon and salty feta so much.
Thank ya so much Maggie! I first had this watermelon-feta combo in Israel and it's so mouth waveringly delicious indeed :)!
I would eat this every day if I could! Love all the flavors here! It's a great summer recipe!
Hehehe stoked to hear that Leslie! Thanks so much for the super sweet feedback! Can't wait to make this again over the summer!
You have opened my eyes to a whole new type of fruit salad, ones made with basil oil!
Yessssss!!!! So stoked to hear that Sharon! Made any exciting basil oil salad combos :)? One of the best feedback I can get is to open someone's eyes to new flavor combo's.... really appreciate it!
A wonderful and fresh summer salad! We all enjoyed this recipe and it was very easy to make. Pinning it for future gatherings!
Such sweet music to my ears Eden!!! Really cant thank ya enough for the feedback and super stoked to hear you all enjoyed it :)!
I can easily eat watermelon every day. It's one of my favorite ingredients. And so is feta cheese! So, yes, this might be my favorite summer salad ever! Interesting to learn about basil oil too.
Thank ya so much Paula for the super sweet feedback! I first had this watermelon/feta combo in Israel and it's sooooo good! Can't wait for ya to try it :).
This is one of my favourite flavour combos for the summer. So light and fresh 🙂
Thank ya so much Cathleen! So super stoked to hear that! Light and refreshing indeed :). So easy to make and so much delicious flavor!
I definitely feel like I'm missing out on a summer staple by never having a watermelon and feta salad! I agree with you that the sweet watermelon and salty feta are a great pair. I need to make this soon!
Yaya! So stoked to hear that Leanne! Can't wait to hear whatcha think of it! I first had this watermelon/feta combo in Israel and it pretty much blew my mind :)!
For years I've thought that I didn't like feta, but having recently tried it in a salad and loved it, I'm definitely more open to trying it in things. I even have feta and sliced watermelon in my fridge right now, so I'm going to have to give this salad a try!
Yessssss!!!! So stoked to hear that Claire! And I def rec buying the feta blocks instead of the pre-crumbled stuff. Please let me know whatcha think of it after you make it... I'd love to hear :).
I bet this has one delicious crunch! I can't wait to give this a try before summer ends.
It absolutely does Jacquelyn! And so stoked to hear you're gonna try it this summer! Def let me know how it goes :).
We love our watermelon over here. I can't wait to give this a try! I bet that this is refreshing and loaded with amazing flavor.
It absolutely is Des and cant wait for ya to try it either! The key with the dressing really is that basil oil! Such few ingredients yet so much flavor :).
So glad that I made it to your pop up because this salad and everything was DELICIOUS 👍👍👍😘
You are too kind Jacqueline! And I'm so super stoked to hear that you enjoyed this salad at my pop up! Thank you!!!
This is the perfect summer salad! I love how you added the feta and basil to make all the flavors pop. I cannot wait to try this recipe!
Yesssss!!!! So super stoked to hear that Amy! Thanks so much for the sweet feedback and can't wait to hear whatcha think of it :)!