Refreshing Greek Cucumber & Watermelon Salad makes a simple but flavorful summer side dish!
With crisp cucumbers, sweet watermelon, and briney Kalamata olives, this salad is an easy sweet and savory side for weeknight dinners or summer gatherings.
Quick Look: Cucumber & Watermelon Salad
⏲️Ready In: 15 Minutes
🍽Servings: 6
🥗Nutrition: 152 Calories
🥘Main Ingredients: Watermelon, Cucumber, Kalamata olives, Feta cheese, Lime juice, Olive oil
📋Dietary Notes: Gluten free, Grain free, Nut free
⭐Why You'll Love It: This easy watermelon salad recipe is perfect for potlucks and summer gatherings, with perfect sweet and savory vibes!
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Let's make watermelon fun with this refreshing sweet and savory Greek-Inspired Cucumber and Watermelon Salad!
Incorporating sweet watermelon in a savory salad is a fun little twist on summer, like Watermelon Arugula Salad with Chili Honey Lime Dressing.
It's the perfect light side for grilled dinner favorites like Grilled Greek Chicken Thighs, Grilled Flank Steak with Olive Herb Relish, or classic Bunless Burgers with Cilantro Dill Mayo Sauce.
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Key Ingredients
Watermelon: Best in its peak season (June/July/August), and always look for a watermelon with a sunspot and that feels heavy when you pick it up! To cut up watermelon for this recipe, this is my favorite method to cube watermelon from Bon Appetit.
Cucumbers: You'll need about 2 large cucumbers for this salad. Choose slicing cucumbers or English cucumbers, which I find best for salads!
Kalamata Olives: Olives add a kick of brininess to the salad as well as some of the Greek cuisine inspiration! I wouldn't skip them.
Feta Cheese (optional): While you don't need feta for this salad, it definitely adds some creaminess that I love with both crisp cucumbers and sweet watermelon. Opt for a block of feta that you crumble or cube instead of pre-crumbled feta.
Lime Juice: The backbone for the dressing, which adds just a little pop of flavor to this salad. Lemon juice makes a good substitute.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Cucumber & watermelon Salad
Step 1: Whisk the lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl until emulsified.
Step 2: Add cubed cucumber, wateremlon, chopped kalamata olives, chopped mint, and feta, if using, in a large bowl.
Step 3: Drizzle dressing overtop and gently toss to combine, being careful not to crush the watermelon.
Step 4: Serve immediately! Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days, but is best eaten when just tossed together.
Top Tips from Chelsea
How to cube a watermelon - Some very ingenious people have come up with different ways. To cube watermelon for this recipe, Bon Appetit has my favorite method. No fuss watermelon cubes every time! Plus, if you just skip the last horizontal slices you end up with watermelon "sticks" that are perfect for snacking. Pro tip. *wink*
Best cucumbers to use - I prefer to use English cucumbers; they're my go-to for salads like Tangy Cucumber Salad with Chives! They are long and straight with fewer seeds and thin skin, making them great for salads. They're also known as burpless or greenhouse cucumbers.
Prep ahead - This salad is best eaten as soon as it's tossed together, but you can prepare everything in advance and toss together just before eating. So cube that cucumber and watermelon and have the dressing on stand by!
Cucumber & Watermelon Salad FAQs
If you do, I recommend prepping all the ingredients (dressing included) but toss everything together just before serving. The cucumber will soften if it sits too long with everything else, so while this watermelon salad keeps for 2-3 days, it's best as soon as it's tossed together!
For this Greek-inspired watermelon salad, feta cheese is my go-to! Use block feta that you crumble yourself or cube instead of pre-crumbled feta.
This cucumber and watermelon salad is wonderfully light and refreshing, making it a great side for high protein grilled dinners like Grilled Greek Chicken Thighs, SunButter Bacon Burgers, or Grilled Flank Steak with Olive Herb Relish!
Did you try this Cucumber & Watermelon Salad recipe? I'd love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment and rating or tag me on Instagram - I appreciate your feedback.
Print📖 Recipe
Mediterranean Watermelon Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 hefty servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Chopped
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Sweet and savory vibes make this Watermelon & Cucumber Salad a perfect summer recipe! Cubes of feta add wonderful creamy bites, and kalamata olives provide briney flavor. Great for weeknight dinners and summer gatherings.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lime juice (about ½ a lime)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 8 cups cubed watermelon (½ a medium watermelon)
- 4 cups thinly sliced cucumber (about 2 large cucumbers)
- ¼ cup chopped kalamata olives
- ¼ packed cup chopped fresh mint
- ½ cup cubed feta cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare dressing. Whisk together olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
- Combine salad. Combine the cubed watermelon, cucumber, kalamata olives and mint in a large bowl. Pour the olive oil mixture over the salad and toss to combine. Add the feta cubes, if desired, and stir. Serve immediately.
Notes
- To cube the watermelon, cut off the rounded ends so you can set the watermelon flat on a cutting board. Cut the rind away from top to bottom. You should be left with just watermelon flesh. Cut from top to bottom both vertically and horizontally, so the flesh is cut into large sticks. From here, you can turn on the side and cut again for cubes.
- Want to prep ahead? Prep all the ingredients and dressing, and store separately, then toss together just before serving. The cucumbers will soften as they sit with the watermelon and dressing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: about 2 cups
Angela Maciel says
holy smoky yummy.... this is so so so delicious.... i tried this already and o boy... what a taste and aroma.. loved it. Thanks for sharing
Chelsea says
Thanks, Angela! I really appreciate it. 🙂
Jennifer says
Looks delicious, and I'm going to make it. I was just looking at another recipe that used english cucumbers shaved into long strips with a vegetable peeler. That would be a pretty contrast with the cubes of watermelon in your salad.
Chelsea says
Thank you, Jennifer! I agree, it's a great idea to shave the cucumber into long strips - almost like noodles! It would have looked epic in this salad. 😉