If you're looking for summer captured in a single salad, this watermelon basil salad with cucumber and mozzarella is it. It's the perfect balance of sweet, savory, crunchy, soft and everything you could ever want out of a watermelon salad recipe.
You'll love this watermelon basil salad
Give me all the in-season produce. You could grow this salad in your own yard if you really wanted to, or you can just go to your local grocery store and buy everything in-season and full of flavor. It's such a great way to incorporate summer produce into one easy salad recipe. Plus, who doesn't LOVE watermelon season?
Mozzarella can do no wrong, in my opinion. It's so simple, yet so delicious. With the sweet watermelon, the tartness of the onion, and the slight bitterness of the balsamic glaze, the mozzarella pearls are such a great base to really even out all the flavors and bring a certain richness to the salad.
It’s one of the perfect summer side dishes. This watermelon basil salad recipe is so easy to whip together and it goes perfectly with any BBQ or it makes for a great salad to have for lunch!
Ingredients
Watermelon. Of course, you need watermelon! You can buy it pre-cut if you really want to save time, or buy a whole watermelon and cut anywhere from ¼ - ½ of it into bite-sized watermelon cubes. Alternatively, you can use a melon baller to make watermelon balls.
Mini Cucumbers. You might see these named Persian Cucumbers. I like using Persian cucumbers in salads because, as you may see, they are mini, so much easier to cut and instead of using half a cucumber and saving it for later, you can just 2 whole mini cucumbers.
Fresh Mozzarella Pearls. I prefer to use mozzarella pearls in this summer salad recipe mainly because I am already chopping the cucumbers, watermelon, onions and basil, it's nice to have one ingredient that I can just open and throw right in there. If you prefer to use a mozzarella log or larger pieces, just make sure you cut them into bite-sized bits.
Red Onion. To counteract the sweetness and freshness of both the watermelon and cucumber, I like to add red onion. However, I rinse the red onion slices in cold water before adding them. That removes that real tart and over-powering onion flavor and leaves you with a nice crunch and a hint of onion.
Fresh Basil. You absolutely need fresh, not dried, basil for this recipe. This is a great time to use some picked from your summer herb garden if you have one!
Tip: I like to make sure every ingredient is cut in a similar size to really allow yourself to get a little bit of everything in each bite.
How to make this watermelon basil salad
- Dice your watermelon into bite-sized chunks, and add to your bowl.
- Slice your Persian cucumbers and add to your bowl.
- Thinly slice your red onion, rinse with cold water, drain and add to your bowl.
- Add your mozzarella pearls.
- Wash and slice your fresh basil, and add to your bowl.
- Mix together and serve with balsamic reduction! You could also eat it plain, that's how I've been eating mine.
Substitutions and variations
Lime Juice or Lemon Juice. If you want to add an elevated level of flavor, add a bit of fresh lime or lemon juice to this salad! It brightens everything up and makes for the perfect summer side dish.
Feta Cheese. You can absolutely use a salty feta cheese instead of mozzarella to turn this into a watermelon feta salad recipe. The saltiness of the feta is so delicious when paired with juicy watermelon.
English Cucumber. If you don't have or can't find Persian cucumbers, I recommend using English cucumbers. They have fewer seeds which is perfect for this delicious watermelon salad recipe.
Storing leftover watermelon basil salad
Store any leftover watermelon salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.
FAQs
what herbs go well with watermelon?
So many fresh herbs go with watermelon! You can use fresh basil leaves or fresh mint for this particular summer salad recipe.
what cheese goes well with watermelon?
Outside of mozzarella, I love pairing watermelon and feta or watermelon and parmesan go great. You have to have the real parmesan though, sorry, Kraft.
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What does watermelon salad go with?
Watermelon and Basil Salad
Ingredients
- ½ watermelon
- 2 Persian (mini) cucumbers
- ½ red onion
- 8 oz. fresh mozzarella pearls
Instructions
- Dice your watermelon into bite-sized chunks, and add to your bowl.
- Slice your Persian cucumbers and add to your bowl.
- Thinly slice your red onion, rinse with cold water, drain and add to your bowl.
- Add your mozzarella pearls.
- Wash and slice your fresh basil, and add to your bowl.
- Mix together and serve with balsamic reduction! You could also eat it plain, that's how I've been eating mine.
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