Watermelon Strawberry Salad is a delicious light, refreshing summer salad loaded with fresh sweet strawberries, juicy watermelon, and feta cheese and topped with Lime Honey Dressing.
Try more strawberry recipes: strawberry goat cheese salad, strawberry crisp, strawberry spinach salad, and iced tea.
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Ingredients
- Feta - feta cheese brings a unique creaminess and saltiness that's unmatched. I recommend getting a block of feta and crumbling it yourself for the best flavor and freshness, rather than opting for store-bought or pre-cubed cheese.
- Watermelon - if you can find seedless watermelon, it's my preferred choice for salad, though not a must. I usually cut it into thicker chunks, about 2-3 inches, or use a watermelon baller for a more intricate preparation, although it takes longer.
- Mint - thinly slice fresh mint leaves to maintain shape and freshness longer, using scissors for best results. Substitute with basil or cilantro if needed.
- Strawberries - slice the strawberries in quarters or into thinner slices. Keep the tops, you can do so much more with these later! (I provide some info about this at the bottom of the post). If you are a beginner on this, this tutorial will help: How to cut strawberries.
Step by step photos can be found below the recipe card.
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For The Fruit Salad Dressing
- Honey - I like liquid honey or maple syrup for this recipe. You only need a little to be honest, especially if the fruit is ripe and sweet already.
- Limes - fresh lime juice is preferred, bottled juice will not be the same and may ruin the freshness of the salad. Other acids such as apple cider vinegar, and sherry vinegar could work here too.
- Also for the dressing, a little drizzle of homemade Balsamic Glaze works wonders.
How To Pick A Watermelon
- The best-tasting watermelon is soaked on the vine, absorbing all the nutrients and sweet flavor. Watermelons will not ripen after they are cut. And if they are cut too early, they will be not sweet enough and start to soften on the inside quickly.
- The stem should be yellow-brown. If the stem is green, it means the watermelon didn’t have a chance to become ripe.
- A large spot on the bottom of the watermelon should be creamy yellow. If it’s too bright, pale-like with a very little yellow to it, it means watermelon didn’t have enough time to ripen in the sun.
- Just like with avocados, press on the watermelons and see if they give back it means the melon is ripe. If the skin is too hard and it’s barely possible to press on it, it’s unripe.
- I recommend knocking on the watermelon to hear a deep hollow sound, it means it’s filled with water. If the sound isn’t hollow it means the brine is too thick and the watermelon is unripe on the inside.
- Also if watermelon on the outside has deep, rough weathered spots, it means it's super sweet.
- Rounded watermelons tend to be sweeter than oval-shaped ones. Lift up the watermelon, it should feel heavier than it looks.
- Time to test this knowledge! Once you open the watermelon, it should be bright red and you’ll see that it’s filled with water, and the taste should be sugary sweet.
Tips
- Chill the ingredients - Before assembling the salad, keep all the ingredients except the chicken in the fridge. Chilled fruit works better for this recipe.
- Add the feta cheese and salad dressing only when ready for serving, this way it will taste best and most refreshing without excess liquid from the fruits.
- Healthy lunch recipe - To make this salad more nutritious I recommend adding a variety of seeds (I added a sprinkle of chia seeds) or chopped toasted nuts (pecans, walnut, almonds). Or candied nuts, yum!
- Add strawberries to the salad last to preserve their fresh appearance. Store any remaining fruit in a refrigerated box lined with paper towels between layers of strawberries. Only wash the berries you need for the salad; store the rest as mentioned above to prevent moisture.
- Honey Dressing should be added at the last minute, right before serving. I recommend consuming the salad right away as the longer this dressed salad sits the soggier it will turn.
Freezing And Storing Instructions
- Store the leftover dressed salad in the fridge and consume it within 1 day (same day). Undressed salad will taste fine if stored in the fridge for 1 day but for best results (and fresh flavor) I highly recommend combining everything right before serving.
- Make ahead. Salad dressing can be mixed in advance for up to 4-5 days and tightly stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Unfortunately, you can't freeze this salad. I mean, you still can, but just don't do it.
More Vegetarian Dinner Recipes
5 Star Review
Made this salad tonight. Loved it. Will definitely make this again!
- Marlene, our reader
Recipe
Watermelon Salad With Strawberries & Honey Lime Dressing
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INGREDIENTS
For The Salad
- 3 cups strawberries, chilled, tops cut off
- 2 tablespoon fresh mint, chiffonade or chopped fine
- 3 cups watermelon, chilled, seedless if possible, cubed
- ½ teaspoon chia seeds
- ½ cup feta cheese crumbled
For The Dressing
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil
- 1 whole fresh lime, juiced
- 1 ½ teaspoon honey, or sub with maple liquid type
- Crushed sea salt flakes to taste
- black pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a mason jar (or a small bowl) mix the salad dressing ingredients, shake well and set aside.
- Trim the strawberries and cut them into 3 or 4 slices.
- Cut the watermelon into 1 to 1 ½ inch cubes and arrange it on a serving platter together with strawberries. Gently stir in the chopped mint, crumbled feta cheese, and chia seeds. To finish, drizzle with the salad dressing, more fresh limes, and add sea salt flakes (delicious!) and pepper as needed. You only need a little. Enjoy right away!
ADD YOUR OWN PRIVATE NOTES
Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
Full Nutrition Disclaimer can be found here.
Instructions
- In a mason jar (or a small bowl) mix the salad dressing ingredients, shake well and set aside.
- Trim the strawberries and cut them into 3 or 4 slices.
- Cut the watermelon into 1 to 1 ½ inch cubes and arrange on a serving platter together with strawberries.
- Gently stir in the chopped mint, crumbled feta cheese, and chia seeds.
- To finish, drizzle with the salad dressing, more fresh limes, and add sea salt flakes (delicious!) and pepper as needed. You only need a little. Enjoy right away!
FAQs
Yes and no. If you are going to consume the salad on the same day as slicing the fruit then I'd say yes go for it. But pack the berries properly in an airtight container and store them in the fridge.
If you bought a watermelon that doesn’t taste that good but still want to use it, the salad option is great for this. Drizzle some lime or lemon juice over the watermelon or toss in the lime honey dressing as instructed in this recipe. You may also find that adding more honey or sugar will help with not-so-good watermelon flavor.
If your watermelon looks off and is rubbery you may have stored your watermelon incorrectly. It should be stored in a dry place, with no high humidity or freezing temperatures. The ideal temperature for storing watermelons is 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
The best-tasting watermelon is soaked on the vine, absorbing all the nutrients and sweet flavor. The stem should be yellow-brown, and at the bottom of the watermelon large bright spot should be creamy yellow. I recommend knocking on the watermelon to hear a deep hollow sound, if the sound isn’t hollow it means the brine is too thick. Also if watermelon on the outside has deep, rough weathered spots, it means it's super sweet. Rounded watermelons tend to be sweeter than oval-shaped ones. Lift up the watermelon, it should feel heavier than it looks.
Store the uncut watermelon in the fridge, it should last you for up to 1-2 weeks. At room temperature for about a week or so.
If you cut it, cover it tightly with plastic wrap or an airtight container in the fridge, for 3-4 days.
Unfortunately, watermelons stop ripening once they are cut. If they are cut too early, they will be not sweet enough and start to soften on the inside quickly.
For a very simple fruit salad dressing you can use a combination of ingredients such as lime, honey, a little salt, black pepper, and olive oil.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
The best refreshing Watermelon Strawberry Salad!
Charla
I always eat watermelon in its boring neat form, time for a change. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Charla, it's delicious!
Toni
Such an amazing combination of flavors!!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Toni!
Andrea
Fresh flavors and bright fresh ingredients make this a perfect summertime salad.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Andrea!