Watermelon Feta Salad with Cucumber
Watermelon and feta salad with cucumber, mint, pine nuts, red onions, and lime dressing is a refreshing summer salad for hot days. The combination of sweet watermelon, savory feta, and crisp cucumber goes together perfectly. My favorite part is the homemade vegan feta made from almonds—but the salad works just as well with store-bought vegan feta.
Watermelon and Feta – it’s a match!
What seems like an eternity ago, my friend Betty showed me a Jamie Oliver recipe for a watermelon and feta salad—or was it the other way around?
To be honest, I don’t remember anymore. Back then, I was still a vegetarian, and we made the salad at her place for a small barbecue party.
I still remember our initial skepticism: Can you really eat watermelon and feta together?
The combination of sweet watermelon and salty feta might sound unusual at first, but they actually go together wonderfully.
The juicy sweetness of the watermelon perfectly complements the tangy feta. Add to that crisp cucumber, fresh mint, and the aromatic lime dressing—a combination that’s both refreshing and surprisingly harmonious.
Cucumber is also a perfect match: not only in terms of flavor, but also botanically, since watermelons and cucumbers both belong to the gourd family. So it’s no wonder that these two ingredients work so well together.
Feta or Veta
There are now several good vegan feta alternatives available that work very well in this watermelon and feta salad. So if you’re in a hurry, you can easily use a ready-made vegan feta.
My personal favorite, however, is homemade vegan almond cheese. It does require a bit of prep time and a reasonably powerful blender, but it’s surprisingly easy to make. It pairs wonderfully with the sweet watermelon and adds a special creaminess to the salad.
Summery Main Course
I’ve calculated the portion size of this watermelon and feta salad so that it works not only as a side dish but also as a light main course on warm days.
The vegan feta and pine nuts make the salad more filling, while the watermelon and cucumber provide the necessary freshness. It pairs especially well with a slice of fresh, soft white bread.
And that’s exactly what I recommend: don’t just set the bread aside—be sure to use it to soak up the salad juices, the lime dressing, and the small bits of feta. Just like with many Mediterranean dishes, where the delicious sauce is left on the plate at the end.
Storage and Shelf Life
Watermelon and feta salad tastes best when fresh, as the watermelon loses moisture over time. However, it will keep well in the refrigerator for about a day if covered properly.
If you want to prepare it in advance, you can store the sliced watermelon, cucumber, and dressing separately and mix them together just before serving.
Watermelon Feta Salad with Cucumber (vegan)
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 kg water melon
- 1 cucumber
- 200 g (homemade) vegan feta
- 1 red onion
- fresh mint a few stalks
- 50 g pine nuts
Dressing
- 6 tbsp lime juice 6 tbsp = approx. 2 limes
- 1 tbsp agave syrup or some other sweetener
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pinch chili powder
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the watermelon: Peel the watermelon and cut it into bite-sized cubes.
- Prepare the cucumber and feta: Peel the cucumber if you like, then cut it into small pieces. Dice the feta or break it into bite-sized chunks.
- Prepare the onion and mint: Thinly slice the red onion into half-rings. Cut the mint leaves into thin strips.
- Toast the pine nuts: Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan until lightly golden. Set aside and let them cool.
- Assemble the salad: Gently combine the watermelon, cucumber, feta, red onion, mint and toasted pine nuts.
- Prepare the dressing: Whisk together the lime juice, agave syrup, olive oil, chili powder, salt and pepper. Pour over the salad and toss gently before serving.
Notes
- Die angegebene Menge reicht für 4 Portionen als Hauptspeise oder 6–8 Portionen als Beilage.
- Verwende für diesen Salat am besten eine rote Zwiebel – sie ist milder als eine weiße Zwiebel.
- Statt Minze schmeckt auch frischer Basilikum hervorragend.
- Die Pinienkerne kannst du durch geröstete Walnüsse oder andere Nüsse ersetzen.
