Watermelon Feta Salad with Mint

Ingredient Notes

This watermelon feta salad recipe uses simple, fresh ingredients that balance sweet, salty, and tangy flavors perfectly.

Each ingredient in this watermelon feta salad adds a distinct flavor-sweet, salty, savory, or bitter-for a perfectly balanced bite.

Here's what you need for the Watermelon Salad:

• Watermelon - You will need between 4 to 5 pounds of fresh ripe watermelon. Store-bought cut watermelon makes it easy to purchase the right amount and you can cut it into bite-sized cubes or scoop into balls. Choose a bright red colored watermelon that is fragrant. Purchasing a whole watermelon can be more economical. Select whole watermelons that are free of dark brown or soft spots and feel heavy for their size.
• Feta Cheese - Feta cheese is salty and the one thing that goes great with watermelon is salt! You can purchase already crumbled feta cheese or buy a block and crumble it yourself.
• Kalamata Olives - These dark brown olives are both salty and bitter. They refresh the palate from the sweetness of the watermelon.
• Red Onion - Red onions are both sweet and savory and a great choice for salads. You will need about ½ of a medium-sized onion.
• Fresh Mint Leaves - Mint is a wonderful flavor to pair with watermelon. I like to tear the leaves, but you can give them a rough chop too.

Here's what you need for the Lemon Dressing:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil - You can use a light olive oil or a full-flavored one for the dressing. Light olive oil will let the lemon be the star of the dressing, while a full-flavored oil will add more complexity to the flavor of the dressing. Both are delicious.
• Lemon - You will need both lemon juice and zest from about 1 ½ lemons. It is easiest to zest the lemons first then juice them. The lemon juice is for the dressing and the zest is a garnish for the salad.
• Honey - Honey is a dual-use ingredient. Use honey for a touch of sweetness in the dressing to balance the acidity of the lemon, plus it acts as a gentle emulsifier for the dressing.
• Salt - You can just use regular table salt for the salad dressing. I use a very small amount and you can increase it to suit your taste.
• Ground Pepper - Freshly ground black pepper is always best. It has a flowery aroma and a little goes a long way.

Please see the recipe card for the exact quantities.