Aggie's Kitchen

Watermelon Feta Salad with Basil

Fresh Watermelon Feta Salad with Basil is a refreshing side dish for any summer menu. Pair it up with grilled flank steak or burgers or your favorite grill fish or seafood.

I don’t know about you, but I tend to consider watermelon a complete food group in the summer. It’s my absolute favorite and for good reason too. There is nothing like snacking on cold, refreshing watermelon on a hot summer day, period.

I remember the summers I was pregnant with both of my boys and how much watermelon I ate, it could possibly have been record breaking.

How to pick a watermelon

Buying whole watermelon can be a bit stressful sometimes because let’s face it, we’ve all picked up some bad watermelon at one time or another. Lucky for me, so far this summer our watermelon has been on the good side, and since I’m getting it at a local produce market it has been reasonably priced too. Nothing worse than cutting into a dry, cracked watermelon that you paid way more than you wanted to.

When you are picking a watermelon to bring home, always pick it up and hold it first – your watermelon should feel heavy. Pick up a few and compare.

Also, knock on your watermelon a few times – you want to hear a nice, hollow sound. Hollow is ripe, dull sound is unripe.

If you are unsure, ask! I always ask whoever is working in the produce department or market to help me pick out melons.

Salt on watermelon, Yes or No?

You’ve probably seen the question floating around Facebook asking if you like salt on your watermelon? Well, your answer to that question will probably determine whether you would try a savory watermelon salad like this Watermelon Feta Salad with Basil recipe I’m sharing today. I personally love salt on my watermelon, not every time, and after trying watermelon in a salad a few years ago I was hooked. If you haven’t tried salt on watermelon or watermelon in a salad, please give it a try before you decide against it. You may be surprised!

For this easy watermelon feta salad, you just need a few ingredients:

  • watermelon chunks
  • feta
  • basil
  • thin sliced red onion
  • pistachios
  • balsamic vinegar
  • coarse salt and pepper

This salad is simple. Simple is honestly all I can handle during the summer. You probably have most of the ingredients in your kitchen already. You can build on this salad and include all the “extras” which I’m referring to red onion and pistachio, or keep it extra simple with just watermelon, basil and feta as the main ingredients dressed in a little balsamic vinegar. The choice is yours.

#FRESHSUMMER 2019 PROJECT:

My friend Lora and I have teamed up this summer to share our love of summer produce with you – we came up with a theme for each month of our #FreshSummer recipes. July’s seasonal produce pick is watermelon! Lora is sharing a recipe for Asian Watermelon Salad right now that looks so refreshing and flavorful and unique – I think it would be a tasty side dish for this Grilled Flank Steak with Brown Sugar Rub.

If you missed it, for the month of June we chose to share something we both made with cucumbers. Be sure to check out my Cucumber Avocado Salad  and Lora’s Sweet Summer Corn and Cucumber Salad. Please join Lora and I all summer long with new or your tried and true favorite cucumber or watermelon recipes. If you make a cucumber or watermelon recipe, tag us on Instagram with #FreshSummer. Follow us @aggieskitchen and @savoringitaly to see our stories and what we are dishing up! We will be back in August with something else that’s super fresh for your summer kitchen!

If you make this watermelon salad recipe or any of my summer side dish recipes please be sure to tag me on Instagram @aggieskitchen #aggieskitchen and #freshsummer!

Print

Watermelon Feta Salad with Basil

  • Author: Aggie Goodman

Ingredients

  • 6 cups cubed watermelon, chilled
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta
  • 1012 leaves fresh basil, julienned
  • very thin sliced red onion, just a few slices (optional)
  • 3 tablespoons pistachios, roughly chopped (optional)
  • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

Instructions

  1. Layer watermelon, feta and basil on a large dish. Top with thin sliced onion and pistachios.
  2. Drizzle balsamic vinegar over salad and sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper.
  3. Serve chilled.

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33 comments on “Watermelon Feta Salad with Basil”

  1. This salad has been on my mind since this morning! The flavor comb is fantastic! I have to get some pistachios so I can make it! Yes, I completely agree that watermelon is a complete food group all summer long…it’s all I need!! And GREAT tips on choosing the right watermelon. 






  2. Wowwwwww! I love watermelon 🍉🤩❤ and I use salt on watermelon. Salt makes it more tasty. This simple salad recipe super healthy and super tasty, perfect for summer! Loads of love for this!






  3. I really appreciate your blog, Thanks for this wonderful peice of information , I’m always going to check your blog for more information !! . Great work






  4. I love this watermelon feta salad. thanks for sharing with us.

  5. perfect collection for summer. wow really cool and easy to make. I always like watermelon.

  6. I m loving it the best way to prepared this food i want eat






  7. Today I tried this salad. It was super tasty. Thanks a lot.






  8. Not one time but many times I picked up some bad watermelon and then get scolded for that. So,
    thanks for the additional tips. Love your blog.

  9. I Love Water Melon.. I Also try your recipes..

  10. I really tried the Watermelon Feta Salad with Basil and I LOVED it !!

    SEO HIKERS






  11. Literally, I did not take any of the salad which contains watermelon. But, I like Watermelon a lot. In fact, it is my favorite fruit ever. This salad looks amazing and so refreshing and I will try it at least once. Hope I will love it. Thank you for sharing this.






  12. hey i just tried this recipe and found to be very tasty . i will recommend this to my friends and family.
    Thank You so much providing just detailed and good recipe






  13. Nice recipe and you just don’t each Watermelon but you can also use watermelon seed oils to get its nutrition values






  14. Thank you Aggie’s kitchen for sharing this awesome information. Your ideas are great. It would be very helpful for me and others after reading this article.

    with regards,
    Onkar Mehta






  15. Hi Aggie,
    I am a great watermelon lover. Never thought to eat watermelon in such a way. Such an amazing concept. In your ingredient i loved pistachios and basil. This crunchy and mix flavor is just awesome.
    Thank you so much for changing my most favorite watermelon into a great salad.Write more. Looking forward to seeing your post. Again thanks a lot…






  16. thanks for that knowledge. nice article

  17. I really loved reading your blog. It was very well authored and easy to understand. Unlike other blogs I have read which are really not that good.Thanks a lot!

  18. Love a nice watermelon salad with feta during the summer. This one looks fantastic!






  19. I have to say I love this recipe! Watermelon is my favorite and to mix the refreshing flavor of the watermelon with the salty is awesome. I will be making this for my family. Thank you for the great recipes. Love this Blog!

  20. Love a nice watermelon salad with feta during the summer. This one looks fantastic!






  21. Thank you so much for providing this amazing recipe






  22. I’ve always been a Watermelon lover. I wait for summers especially to eat Watermelon as it is great on taste as well as satisfies our thirst. I would like to thank Aggie for sharing such a mouth-watering salad recipe. I’ll keep looking for more. Keep on sharing such tasty recipes.






  23. food looks great and healthy






  24. very delicious dishes. it would help me in lockdown. thanks for sharing this.






  25. That’s really refreshing, tried your recepie and WOW our customers are loving it, watermelon feta salad is now our most ordered salad in restaurant. Thanks for sharing delicious recipe.






  26. Awesome! Thank you for sharing your knowledge

    woman wine expert in usa

  27. Mouth watering recipe

  28. Delicious !!! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing salad recipe. I really love eating salad and I am sure everyone is gonna love this recipe






  29. I have made this salad six times in the past two weeks! The combination of the flavors of the lemon, onion, mint, watermelon, feta cheese, olive oil, and salt & pepper offers a MOUTH FULL of a euphoric taste that leaves you drooling for more. This salad is simple to make and offers an array of health benefits. your presentation of salad also looking so beautiful.






  30. Such a nice idea for a summer side dish! Watermelon with basil sounds interesting, can,t wait to try it. Thanks Aggie.






  31. I Read This Blog And In THis Blog Most Valuable Info Thanks For Sharing This