Watermelon Feta Salad with Mint and Balsamic

Watermelon Feta Salad is THE summer salad. Fresh, light, and very appetizing. This easy watermelon salad is topped with mint and a quick balsamic dressing.

Watermelon and Feta Salad tastes so good that I'm sure it's going to be your new favorite summer salad.

Table Of Contents

• Ingredients
• How To Make
• Extra Ingredients
• Is It Healthy?
• How Long To Keep
• Serve With
• Recipe

Truth is, I couldn't believe that watermelon can be served as a savory dish. I mean it tastes so good on its own, why dress it with anything more? And how wrong was I...

Pairing watermelon with feta cheese is one of the best things you can do. This sweet and savory flavor combination of watermelon and cheese, almost beats the feta and honey combination. In fact, I can't tell which is best (you have to try this Filo Wrapped Feta With Honey and decide for yourself).

But it's not just the feta cheese that makes this the best watermelon salad. It's also the addition of mint and balsamic dressing.

I've tried watermelon feta mint salad before. But it's the sweet and sour balsamic dressing that brings together the flavors and makes it a super tasty salad.

Ingredients

• Watermelon: needs to be very cold. Leave in the fridge overnight before cutting.
• Feta Cheese: soft feta cheese works best in this salad. You can even use Anthotyro cheese or Myzithra cheese instead.
• Mint: prefer spearmint instead of peppermint. Peppermint flavor is a bit too strong for this salad.
• Balsamic Vinegar: An authentic Italian Balsamic will add so much flavor using just a small quantity of it. You can even use Pomegranate flavored Balsamic or Orange flavored Balsamic for a more complex flavor profile.
• Olive Oil: Extra virgin no doubt, to make a truly healthy watermelon salad and also add that nutty, earthiness EVO gives. Here's a good quality Greek extra virgin olive oil you can buy.
• Honey: Only a very small amount is needed as the watermelon is already very sweet on its own.
• Lime or Lemon Zest: This is optional. Personally I don't usually add zest, but if you like fragrant salads you should add either of those.

How To Make

Watermelon feta salad with balsamic doesn't require any mixing. You don't need to make the delicate watermelon mushy. To retain its bite simply cut it into 3 cm pieces and arange the pieces on a shallow plate.

Then sprinkle the feta cheese on top. Which needs to be coarsely crumbled, and the mint on top. If you wash the spearmint allow it to dry comlpetely first. Cutting it while it's still wet will make it turn dark. Also cut it gently into smaller pieces using your finger tips and toss the spearmint on top of the watermelon here and there.

Finally, make the watermelon salad dressing by whisking together the extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and honey (plus zest if using). Pour the dressing all over the salad and serve right away!

This watermelon feta salad dressing is a thin, not a thick one. It's meant to be very light and blend in with the watermelon. If you want a stronger/thicker dressing use balsamic glaze instead of the balsamic vinegar.

Extra Ingredients

This Greek watermelon salad with feta and mint pairs nicely with a couple of other ingredients too. Like cucumber, avocado, red onion, and arugula. Even tomatoes can be added. You can pick one of the above ingredients or add them all. It doesn't matter, as they all pair well with each other too!

Is It Healthy?

This watermelon and feta salad recipe is very hydrating, low in calories, and nutritious. Watermelon is a great source of lycopene the popular antioxidant that makes tomatoes so healthy and protects cells from damage. In fact watermelons contain a greater amount of this antioxidant than tomatoes.

Also, just like tomatoes, watermelons are a good source of Vitamic C.

The salty feta cheese does add more sodium than needed but also adds a good amount of calcium.

All in all, this watermelon feta cheese salad is a healthy salad to enjoy.

How Long To Keep

If there will be any leftovers (which I doubt), or if you want to make this salad ahead of time, you can keep it in the fridge for up to 12 hours. This watermelon feta mint salad doesn't keep well in the fridge for too long.

The watermelon will start to soften and loose it's bite. If you don't mind it turning a little bit softer, you can make it (or save leftovers) up to 24 hours.

You may also want to add the spearmint right before serving. As it's very delicate and will loose its color.

Serve With

Watermelon salad with feta and balsamic is a great side for roasts and Bbq meats. Like grilled pork chops, lamb chops, roast pork, veal chops. And most red meats.

Recipe