This watermelon & feta salad comes together in under 20 minutes and is summer at its very best!
Very few seasonal ingredients combine together to create a dish that’s much greater than the sum of its parts!
It’s a sweet, savory, creamy, salty, tangy, juicy, briny, refreshing and very quick and easy to make summer salad. Done & done!
Why this Recipe Works
- Quick & refreshingly easy to make! This salad comes together in under 20 minutes!
- Sweet watermelon & salty feta are a classic pairing! The flavors compliment and balance each other.
- The lime zest! Enhances the aromatic flavors in the watermelon.
- All the textures and flavors! Crunchy sweet and juicy watermelon, salty, briny, tangy and creamy feta, aromatic lime and savory basil
Sweet watermelon & salty feta are a match made in heaven!
The quality of the watermelon and the feta are of supreme importance – it’s what really make this summer salad shine!
HELLO WATERMELON!
AND HELLO GORGEOUSLY COLORFUL SUMMER MELON!
How to make this Watermelon & Feta Salad
Cube watermelon. Cube or crumble feta. Prep herbs. Make vinaigrette. Toss all. Top with fresh herbs and spices. Enjoy!
Summer is all about highlighting seasonally fresh and local produce! The produce bounty at the farmers markets is at its peak ripeness! Let’s take full advantage!
Watermelon & Feta Salad Memories from Israel
I was first introduced to the epic watermelon & feta combo on the sunny beaches of Tel Aviv. This delectable salad is an Israeli summer staple I enjoyed a whole lot while living there for 6 years in my 20’s.
This recipe is directly inspired by these watermelon & feta memories from Israel.
Notes & Variations:
Watermelon
Feel free to use any other type of melon as well! It’s an equal melon opportunity recipe! The key is to get sweet, juicy melon at the peak of its season.
How to Select Watermelons
Best method is to hit up your local farmers markets in the summer and look for dense, richly colored, deeply aromatic watermelon. They’ll be a wholly different league that the bland ones often found at the supermarket.Watermelons should feel relatively heavy for their size. Smaller melon varieties often (but not always) have more concentrated flavor.
Tip: save your watermelon rinds and pickle them!
Feta
Quality matters! All people are created equal, all feta is not.
This salad is only gonna be as good as your 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.
Buy your feta in blocks! Blocks are much more flavorful and will consistently be higher quality that pre-crumbled feta.
Halumi can be used as well.
If you’re vegan, simply omit or swap for a salty vegan cheese counterpart.
Basil Oil
You can either buy basil or or make your own. Or, simply swap if for regular extra-virgin olive oil - that works too. The vinaigrette is whisked together in a few minute and the flavorful, aromatic, herb-infused basil oil greatly deepens its complexity.
Honey
Adds a wonderful mild sweetness and floral notes to the vinaigrette. Or swap in any sort of sweet syrup or brown sugar instead.
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.
Definitely possible to swap in any other type of citrus. A little zest goes a damn long way! Or use red wine vinegar if there’s no citrus to be found.
Fresh Herbs & Spices
Any fresh herbs such as mint, basil, cilantro, and thyme work wonderfully in this salad. Za’atar and sumac pair scrumptiously in the salad.
Other Additions
To make this salad heartier, even a meal, simply add other chopped ingredients. Such as: arugula, kale, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, black olives, corn, pistachios, sunflower seeds, chili peppers and more!
This watermelon & feta salad is everything a summer dish should be light, full of flavor, quick to whip up and most importantly: highlights the best of the seasons fresh fruit bounty.
Check out the time I made it with mixed melon! That's watermelon, cantaloupe, and white & green melon!
if vegan - just omit the feta! so many colorful melon varieties!
Stoked on other savory summer dishes that highlight the best of the seasons fresh fruit bounty? I got ya!
- Summer Salad Ideas
- Stone Fruit Salad with Burrata
- Watermelon Gazpacho with Strawberries
- Cherry Tomato Confit
- Cherry Chicken
Cooks Tips
- This salad will only be as good as the quality of your watermelon & feta.
- Use Greek or Bulgarian sheep's-milk feta, which tends to be creamier and tangier than domestic cow's-milk versions.
- Regardless of type of feta, buy feta in blocks as it will consistently be higher quality than the pre-crumbled stuff.
- For best results, make salad just prior to serving (1 hour or less). However, leftovers will keep in the fridge for a day.
It’s the perfect summer salad to brighten up any day!
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 #chefdanielagerson. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more colorfully delicious food and all sorts of awesome adventures!
Let's make waves in the kitchen!
Watermelon & Feta Salad
Ingredients
- 2.5-3 pound watermelon
- 8 oz feta
- 3 tablespoons basil oil
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 2 teaspoons honey
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh herbs, such as mint, basil and thyme cut or torn into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon za'atar and or sumac optional
Instructions
- Cut watermlon into bite sized cubes.
- Cut feta into bite sized cubes.
- Whisk together basil oil, lime juice and zest, honey, salt and pepper.
- Toss watermelon and feta with dressing and arrange on a serving plate or bowl.
- Top with fresh herbs and spices.
Notes
- This salad will only be as good as the quality of your watermelon & feta.
- Use Greek or Bulgarian sheep's-milk feta, which tends to be creamier and tangier than domestic cow's-milk versions.
- Regardless of type of feta, buy feta in blocks as it will consistently be higher quality than the pre-crumbled stuff.
- For best results, make salad just prior to serving (1 hour or less). However, leftovers will keep in the fridge for a day.
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 :)!
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 :)!