Watermelon Salad with Goat Cheese and Cucumber is a fresh summer salad with juicy watermelon, crisp cucumber, Kalamata olives, and creamy goat cheese tossed in an easy honey-lime dressing. Perfect side dish for a BBQ or summer gathering.
Enjoy it with Air Fryer BBQ Chicken or Crispy Baked Panko Thin Chicken Breasts for a fast and easy weeknight dinner.
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This fresh watermelon goat cheese salad recipe is one of our favorite salads to make on a hot summer day. It's fast, easy, refreshing, and full of bright flavors.
I especially love that it tosses together in minutes. The most time-consuming part is cubing the watermelon, but I have a trick to share with you to make that go super fast.
And since you don't need the whole watermelon for the salad, you get the added bonus of prepped watermelon to eat throughout the week! Or try it in this delicious Watermelon Juice recipe or this easy Blueberry Watermelon Salad.
❤️You're Going to Love This
- Easy salad recipe that takes minutes to toss together.
- The refreshing combo of cucumber and watermelon tastes like summer.
- Great way to use up leftover watermelon.
- The vibrant flavors of fresh watermelon and cucumber with briny olives and tangy goat cheese is perfection
- The honey-lime dressing with ginger is sweet, tangy, and zingy.
🍉Ingredients
See recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full list of ingredients and exact amounts.
- English cucumber. This is the one wrapped in plastic with thin skin and no seeds. You can also use a regular cucumber, just peel it and remove the seeds before slicing.
- Watermelon. I like to use a seedless watermelon - they’re sweeter and smaller.
- Crumbled goat cheese. Crumbled feta cheese is also a great option that I use interchangeably in this salad.
- Kalamata olives. Olives and watermelon might sound weird together, but the briny kalamatas contrast deliciously with sweet watermelon.
- Green onions. You can also use finely chopped red onion.
- Fresh mint leaves. If you're not a fan of mint, use your favorite fresh herbs like fresh basil leaves or cilantro.
- Lime juice. Use fresh lime juice, not the bottled kind. Lemon juice or orange juice would also work well in the dressing.
- Cayenne. A small dash of cayenne adds just a tad of heat. But you can leave it out if you're not into it.
🧐How to Pick a Good Watermelon
It’s hard to know what’s going on inside that watermelon. Try these tricks to pick the best one.
- The color should be dark and dull (not shiny) with dark green and light yellow stripes.
- The field spot should be creamy yellow to orange, not white or light yellow.
- The stem should be dry and yellow-ish brown. A green stem means it’s not ripe yet.
- Knock on it. If it sounds hollow, it’s a good indication it’s ripe.
- Choose one that’s round and heavy for its size.
🔪How to Cut a Watermelon Into Cubes
I used to hate cutting melons. Then I saw Carla Hall cut a watermelon on The Chew (remember that show?), and I've been cutting my melons this way ever since.
- Cut the watermelon in half, stem to stem.
- Cut each half in half lengthwise. Now you have four quarters.
- Set one quarter on the cutting board, rind down. Make cuts straight down, one inch apart, just to the rind.
- Make horizontal cuts on each side, going from end to end. You should have a checkerboard pattern.
- Run your knife along the curve of the rind and the cubes will fall right out.
🥣How to Make Watermelon Goat Cheese Salad with Cucumbers
Step 2: Cut the watermelon and cucumber into 1" cubes and place them in the bowl.
Step 3: Add the goat cheese, kalamata olives, green onions, and ribbons of mint.
Step 4: Gently toss the watermelon cucumber mixture with the dressing. Transfer to a salad bowl, garnish with more goat cheese crumbles and green onions, and serve immediately.
✅Top Tips
- English cucumbers (the ones wrapped in plastic) are a time saver because they don’t require peeling or seeding.
- For the sweetest watermelon, choose one that’s small, round, and heavy for its size.
- For a pretty presentation, serve watermelon goat cheese salad on a large platter over a bed of peppery arugula or your favorite salad greens
🎁Storage
Store leftover salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
🗓️Make Ahead
To make watermelon cucumber salad with goat cheese ahead of time, cut the cucumber and watermelon into cubes and store them in separate containers in the refrigerator. Whisk the salad dressing ingredients together and store it in a covered container in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to serve, toss everything together.
❓FAQ
Feta and goat cheese are both delicious with watermelon. The sweet watermelon and the salty cheese are the perfect pairing.
English cucumbers are long and thin with thin skin, tiny, edible seeds, and a sweeter flavor. You’ll find them wrapped in plastic at the grocery store. They are very easy to use because they don’t need to be peeled or seeded.
Regular cucumbers are shorter and thicker than English cucumbers. They have a waxy skin and large seeds, both of which can contribute to their bitter flavor and are often removed before eating.
😋More Delicious Salads
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📖 Recipe
Watermelon Goat Cheese Salad with Cucumber
Ingredients
- 1 English cucumber, cut into 1" chunks (about 2 cups)
- 2 cups watermelon cubes, 1" chunks
- ½ cup crumbled goat cheese or feta cheese
- ½ cup kalamata olives, sliced
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 2 tablespoons mint, cut into thin ribbons
Honey Lime Dressing
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 dash cayenne pepper
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Whisk together the honey-lime dressing ingredients in a large bowl.
- Place the watermelon, cucumber, goat cheese, Kalamata olives, green onions, and mint in the bowl.
- Gently toss the watermelon cucumber mixture with the dressing. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with more goat cheese crumbles and green onions. Serve immediately.
Notes
- English cucumbers (the ones wrapped in plastic) are a time saver because they don’t require peeling or seeding.
- For the sweetest watermelon, choose one that’s small, round, and heavy for its size.
- Crumbled goat cheese or crumbled feta cheese are both delicious in this salad.
- Optional: serve this watermelon goat cheese salad over a bed of your favorite salad greens
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