Watermelon Mint Salad

A 10-minute, simple, vibrant summery watermelon mint salad with just 3 base ingredients and plenty of optional add-ins to make your perfect watermelon salad recipe this summer!

The Ultimate Versatile Vegan Watermelon Salad

Having made a batch of fresh watermelon popsicles last week (and a watermelon juice blend the previous week), it left me with extra watermelon that I quickly transformed into this quick, simple, delicious, sweet-tart-herby watermelon mint salad.

The next day I added some leftover blueberries, and the day after that, some vegan feta, and every single time it disappeared in practically seconds (whoops). When it pairs with SO MANY ingredients, though, who am I to hold it back?

Within this post, I'm sharing my favorite simple watermelon salad with mint (aka the 'foundation' salad), as well as all my favorite ingredient substitutions and mix-ins to enjoy different vegan watermelon salad recipes every week this summer!

Best of all, this watermelon salad recipe comes together in just minutes and is truly one of the most delicious refreshing salads (perfect for battling the heat waves currently sweeping the globe!). Enjoy it at home or impress others with this perfect side dish at potlucks, picnics, dinner parties, and BBQs!

The Ingredient List

The base watermelon mint salad recipe requires just three ingredients and makes for a delicious watermelon salad without vegan feta.

• Watermelon: Choose a ripe, juicy in-season watermelon. Use a seedless watermelon if preferred.

• Lime: Use fresh lime juice and optionally add some lime zest for extra zesty flavor. Lemon juice (and zest) would also work.
• Fresh mint leaves: Watermelon and mint reminds me of summer and adds its own 'refreshingness' to this watermelon summer salad.

The Watermelon Salad Recipe Variations

Watermelon salad recipes tend to be fairly simple and use many of the same ingredients across the recipes, giving you the option to pick and choose elements to create the best watermelon salad for YOU! Here are several optional ingredients (or ingredient variations) to experiment with.

• Sweetener: (optional) To balance the tang of the lime. Agave nectar is my favorite pairing with watermelon mint salad and great for sweet watermelon fruit salad too.
• Flaky sea salt: Added to the watermelon mint salad to taste.
• Vegan feta: Watermelon feta salad is incredibly popular with its combination of sweet and salty. Being vegan doesn't mean you can't enjoy it, either. Just use your favorite dairy-free feta and enjoy a delicious watermelon feta mint salad in no time!

Some people prefer to mix the feta right into the watermelon salad, but I'm a big fan of crumbling it over, so it retains its texture and shape more.

• Fresh basil: Swap the mint to make a watermelon basil salad (with or without vegan feta).
• Leafy greens: Adapt this into more of a green salad with the addition of leafy greens. I.e., a watermelon arugula salad or with spinach. Adjust the ratio to taste.
• Red onion: Thinly sliced red onion (or shallots) pairs well with watermelon salad recipes containing leafy greens and basil.
• Cucumber: Use a low-seed English or Persian cucumber chopped into similar-sized pieces to the watermelon. Voila, a crisp and delicious watermelon cucumber salad! This pairs with several herbs, leafy greens, and vegan feta as well.
• Tomatoes: I like to add halved cherry tomatoes.
• Olives: To add a salty, briny element. I prefer to use black olives, halved.
• Avocado: For healthy fats and creaminess.
• Other fruits: Whether you want to use just one or two fruits to add to any of the above flavor variations or want to transform this into a watermelon fruit salad with lime mint dressing, here are some of my favorite fruit pairings.
  • Strawberries
  • Raspberries
  • Peach
  • Blueberries
  • Cherries

My current favorite is watermelon blueberry salad, which also pairs wonderfully with vegan feta cheese.

• Jalapeño: The combination of sweet, savory, and spicy is delicious. Use finely sliced jalapeno and adjust the amount to taste.

How to Make Watermelon Mint Salad?

Not only is this watermelon and mint salad incredibly versatile, but it's ridiculously simple to prepare, too, in just 3 steps and under 10 minutes (or as long as it takes to chop the melon!).

• 1) First, dice the watermelon into 1-inch chunks.

To do so, I like to slice my melon in half crosswise. Then, lay it flat-side down on your chopping board and use your knife to slice away the peel and white flesh.

Then, slice the watermelon into 3 or 4 round slices (through the side rather than the top). You can then cut these slices down into cubes.

• 2) Then rinse and finely chop the mint and juice (and optionally zest) the lime.
• 3) Finally, combine all three ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine.

Top Recipe Tips and Notes

• Adjust the ingredient ratio: I.e., more or less mint or lime juice, add zest for more lime flavor, etc.
• Don't discard the watermelon rind: You can make watermelon rind pickles, jam, add it to stir-fries, etc. It will also compost.
• Adjust the texture: Slice the watermelon into cubes as big or small as you'd prefer for this watermelon salad recipe.
• Experiment with flavor variations: As I've said, this watermelon salad recipe is super versatile, so feel free to mix and match any of the ingredients mentioned above to make your own recipe variations. I.e., watermelon basil salad, watermelon blueberry salad, watermelon vegan feta mint salad, etc.
• Let it sit: For the best flavor, return the watermelon summer salad to the fridge after preparing it and allow it to sit for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

Storage Instructions

It's best to enjoy chopped watermelon as soon as possible before it releases too much liquid. However, you can store leftovers of this watermelon summer salad for a further day in the fridge (2 days if you're lucky).

I don't recommend freezing it to thaw later, as the texture will change. However, you could turn the frozen watermelon into a 'slushy' or add the frozen melon cubes to drinks to keep them cool during summer.

Other Fruity Recipes

• Strawberry milk tea
• Pineapple strawberry nice cream
• Vegan mandarin chicken ramen salad
• Apple orange carrot juice
• Simple strawberry juice
• Blueberry banana smoothie

If you try this easy watermelon mint salad recipe, I'd love to know what you think in the comments below. I'd also really appreciate a recipe card rating!

Photos by Alfonso Revilla