Watermelon, Cucumber, and Sweet Onion Salad with Feta

This Watermelon, Cucumber, and Sweet Onion Salad with Feta is perfect for the summertime heat. Because when you’re hot, tired, and don’t want to turn on the oven, you need a recipe like this.

Watermelon, Cucumber, and Sweet Onion Salad with Feta

This watermelon salad is really easy. Here are a few suggestions to make sure yours turns out just as tasty as mine did.

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Use good quality extra virgin olive oil. When what you’re making is not being sautéed, grilled, roasted, or baked, it is important to use a higher quality because the flavor will be much stronger.

Olive oil is like wine: it takes on the terroir of where the olives are grown so the flavor profiles can be extremely different. You can also buy olive oils infused with herbs and citrus flavors (co-milled oils) to add a special zing to your food.

You can read more about what makes a good olive oil in this Quinoa Slaw Salad with Honey Jalapeño Dressing post:

A friend bought me a whole bunch of co-milled olive oils for my birthday. I used a Persian Lime Olive Oil that really added to the flavors of the salad.

A general rule I follow is if I don’t like how the olive oil tastes just dipped on a piece of bread, I’m probably not going to like anything made with it.

Salt

What kind of salt you use makes a difference! For cold dishes, fruits, and fresh raw veggies my favorite salt to use is Himalayan Pink Salt. Sooooo good!

Sweet Onions

I love sweet onions but I don’t like it when their flavor overpowers all the others. I make sure I slice them super paper thin with a mandolin so that doesn’t happen.

You can also soak them in lime juice and a pinch salt for 10 to 15 minutes if you want to take away the bite.

Perfect for Summertime Picnics or BBQ Parties

If you take this advice, the salad comes out amazingly perfect for really hot days. I’m getting refreshed just looking at this close-up.

This recipe is part of my “sweet summer” series: food that I associate with summertime fun or that are nice to eat when it is hot out.

There will be more coming in the next few weeks so stay cool out there and have fun!

Other Summer Recipes:

Here are some other recipes that don’t require an oven at all or very little time over the stove:

• No-Fry Pineapple Rice Salad
• Orecchiette Pasta Salad with Feta, Arugula, Strawberries, and Prosciutto
• Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Linguini
• Salmon Quinoa Bowl
• Super Fast Blender Broccoli Pistachio Soup

Watermelon, Cucumber, and Sweet Onion Salad with Feta

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup sweet red onion very thinly sliced-I used a mandolin
• 3.5 cups quartered cucumber
• 1/2 cups a small-medium watermelon cubed, about 4
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• Crumbled Israeli or Greek Feta

Instructions

• Mix the olive oil, lime juice, salt, and cayenne pepper in a large serving bowl until the salt is dissolved.
• Cut and cube the watermelon and add to the bowl and mix.
• Slice the onion very thinly and add to the bowl.
• Slice and quarter the cucumber and add to the bowl. Mix until everything is evenly coated.
• Grind pepper to taste and mix.
• Chop 1/2 cup cilantro and mix well.
• Let the salad marinate for at least two hours. If there is too much liquid after letting it marinate, drain it out and reserve it on the side, and serve it as a dressing.
• Add feta right before serving or serve the feta on the side and let people add however much they want to their own serving.

Author: Megan Wells

Course: Sides and Snacks

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