Our easy watermelon feta salad recipe makes a refreshing watermelon salad with salty feta, zingy red onion and fresh fragrant mint and dill. This classic Greek watermelon and feta salad has a little Italian twist, a generous drizzle of Modena balsamic vinegar glaze. It makes a fantastic light lunch or a side to grilled seafood or fish or barbecued meats.
If the weather is still warm where you are and you’ve been doing what I’ve been doing and buying up the last of the sweet juicy watermelons before watermelon season ends, then try this easy Greek watermelon feta salad recipe for a thirst-quenching watermelon salad with feta, red onion, and fresh mint and dill. It’s one of the best Greek recipes.
You’ll love this watermelon and feta salad if you made and enjoyed our Cypriot watermelon, tomato and halloumi salad from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus and if you adore that combo of fruit and cheese in salads and starters as much as we do. You do? Then try our Caprese salad of buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and basil from Southern Italy Capri, another Mediterranean island.
This watermelon feta salad recipe is next in my series of recipes for the salads I’ve had on rotation here in Australia in recent months, and includes this Italian melon, buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto salad (a fancier version of prosciutto e melone, the classic aperitivo snack and appetiser from Italy) and this Mediterranean style chicken salad with spring vegetables and a garlicky lemony Middle Eastern dressing.
But before I tell you more about this fig salad recipe, I have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader-supported. If you’ve enjoyed our recipes, please consider supporting Grantourismo. For instance, you could buy something on Amazon, such as one of these classic cookbooks for serious cooks or cookbooks for culinary travellers; book a cooking class or meal with locals on EatWith; or buy a handcrafted KROK, the best mortar and pestle ever.
And if you’re looking for more cooking inspiration, we have many hundreds of recipes from around the world in our archives from places we’ve lived, worked and travelled. Note that you can save your favourites by clicking on the heart on the right of any post to create your own private account. Now let me tell you more about this fig salad with prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella and chicken with a balsamic glaze dressing.
Watermelon Feta Salad Recipe with Red Onion, Mint, Dill and Balsamic
I could happily make this watermelon feta salad recipe and polish the lot off myself. But I’ve been sharing the salad portion pictured with my mother for either a big lunch or light dinner in recent months and it’s just perfect for the two of us on its own. If you’re serving it as a salad side to a main, such as a grilled whole fish, it can easily feed 4-6 guests.
I love serving this watermelon feta salad with barbecued or grilled meats such as these Greek souvlaki, smoky char-grilled chicken skewers or Cypriot keftedes, gently spiced meatballs and sides of tzatziki, Greek cucumber and yoghurt dip and a Cypriot village salad or classic Greek salad.
For a proper Mediterranean feast, which would be wonderful for a weekend lunch or early dinner before daylight savings ends, I’d start the meal with some meze, Mediterranean style small plates and dips, such as homemade taramosalata and a Greek red pepper feta dip, or even these Greek blistered cherry tomatoes on goats cheese.
Now let me share a few tips to making this watermelon feta salad recipe with red onion and fresh fragrant mint and dill.
Tips to Making this Watermelon Feta Salad Recipe with Red Onion, Mint, Dill and Balsamic
I only have a few tips to making this watermelon feta salad recipe with red onion and fresh dill and mint, as it’s another quick and easy salad that comes together quickly.
The Watermelon
I’ve been making this watermelon feta salad recipe with the sweetest of seedless pink watermelons. Pink watermelons are not only pretty to look at, and we eat first with our eyes, after all. But the pink hue is courtesy of lycopene, which is an antioxidant and very good for you. Of course, you could also use yellow watermelons, although keep in mind they don’t contain lycopene.
I like to slice the watermelons into cubes, as they’re easier to eat if you’re serving this as a knife-and-fork salad or side to main dishes as part of a sit down meal. I always think of triangular wedges as better suited to eating watermelon with hands. But you do as you like.
The Feta Cheese
This classic Greek watermelon feta salad is traditionally made with Greek feta cheese, and for me, Greek feta is the perfect match for sweet watermelon. Cypriot feta cheese is also outstanding. But other white cheeses work with this salad, such as a soft Persian feta.
Red Onion and Herbs
Can’t get red onion? Use small purple shallots. Fresh aromatic mint and fresh dill are a match made in salad heaven. I’ve tried fresh basil and fresh coriander, which are fine, but not ideal.
Balsamic Glaze
I mentioned in another salad recipe post that I’ve been experimenting with balsamic dressings made with a homemade balsamic glaze (which used to be Terence’s specialty), and is a breeze to make and only a matter of reducing balsamic vinegar.
But I’ve been using a deliciously addictive store-bought fig balsamic glaze from Aldi, which we drizzle on everything. Having said that, a good quality Italian balsamic vinegar from Modena and good extra virgin olive oil are wonderful.
Assemble the Salad
Assembling this watermelon feta salad couldn’t be easier: in a large salad bowl, combine the watermelon pieces, onion slices, half the fresh mint and fresh dill, and half the feta cubes, so everything is mixed up and there’s feta clinging to the watermelon cubes.
Tip the salad onto a serving plate and spread it out. Using clean hands, crumble the remaining feta over the salad, sprinkle on the remaining fresh dill and fresh mint leaves, drizzle on the balsamic glaze, and you’re done. Too easy.
Serving the Salad
I recommend serving this watermelon feta salad at the centre of the table so guests can help themselves. Back home in Siem Reap with Terence, we’d be enjoying our salads with Terence’s home-baked sourdough, but here I serve crusty bread or sesame-sprinkled Turkish bread on the side.
I’ve got lots more suggestions above as to what to serve with this watermelon salad, from grilled skewers to meatballs, and kicking off the meal with dishes of mezze and more salads for a proper Mediterranean feast. Enjoy!
Watermelon Feta Salad Recipe with Red Onion, Mint, Dill and Balsamic
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ watermelon - preferably seedless, rind removed, cut into large cubes
- 1 small red onion - sliced into rings then halved
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves
- ½ cup fresh dill
- 200 g Greek feta - diced
- 2 tbsp balsamic glaze - store bought, or see tips for homemade glaze
Instructions
- In a large salad bowl, combine the watermelon pieces, onion slices, half the fresh mint and fresh dill, and half the feta cubes then transfer to a serving plate.
- Crumble the remaining feta over the salad, sprinkle on the rest of the fresh mint and dill, drizzle on the balsamic glaze, and serve at the centre of the table.
Nutrition
Please do let us know if you make this watermelon feta salad, as we’d love to know how it turns out for you.
