This watermelon salad with arugula and crumbled feta is the best summer salad ever! It’s sweet and savory at the same time, it’s super light, refreshing, and very satisfying. This salad may be unusual, but it’s so delicious and really simple to make.
Meet my absolute FAVORITE salad that I’ve been making non-stop since the beginning of the summer! Sweet and juicy watermelon combined with peppery arugula, dressed with a simple olive oil and lemon juice dressing. The salad is finished with a salty touch of crumbled sharp feta that adds so much flavor and texture to the salad.
Video Tutorial
How Do You Make Watermelon Salad?
You only need 5 ingredient, salt, pepper, and 10 minutes of your time. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Watermelon – if available, go for seedless watermelon. If not, you’ll have to remove the seeds before slicing. The sweeter and fresher the watermelon is, the better this salad will taste. I store watermelon slices in the fridge, and I enjoy eating the watermelon chilled. It’s also a great idea to use chilled watermelon in this salad.
- Arugula – I love the peppery flavor of arugula, and it goes so well with watermelon and feta. You can substitute it with fresh mint leaves, or even add mint leaves to the arugula for extra flavor. Finely diced or thinly sliced red onion or shallots also taste amazing in this salad.
- Feta cheese – do not buy crumbled feta cheese, it never tastes good. Buy a small block instead and crumble it before serving the salad. I prefer Greek feta to Hungarian and French feta as it’s sharper and crumbles better.
- For the dressing, I use extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt, and pepper. As simple as that!
How to Cut a Watermelon
I like to peel and cut half or a whole watermelon at once. Here’s how I do it:
- Wash and dry the watermelon with paper towels.
- Cut in half.
- Cut the top off, then rotate and peel the rest of the rind as the widest circle of the watermelon is placed on the cutting board (or the other way around, peel and then cut the top off).
- As all of the rind is now gone, slice into long slices/spears.
- Stack every 2-3 slices on top of each other, and slice from top to bottom, flip the stack by 90 degrees and again slice from top to bottom. Just like a checkerboard, you’ll end up with watermelon cubes. (see image below).
Assemble The Watermelon Salad!
Now that your watermelon is cubed, and the arugula is washed and dried (I like to use this salad spinner to dry all of my greens and herbs, it’s a lifesaver!), go ahead and place the watermelon and the arugula in a large bowl.
Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil (use high quality one), add freshly squeezed lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Then toss the salad so that everything is well coated in the dressing.
The only trick here is not to add the feta cheese before tossing the salad! It will create a mess, and the salad won’t look as nice.
And finally, top with crumbled feta, again drizzle with extra olive oil and more seasoning if desired. Serve immediately.
What To Serve With
- My favorite way to serve this salad is definitely with homemade pizza! It’s a wonderful pairing and great for summer.
- It also makes a great grilling side, serve it with grilled chicken tenders or grilled chicken kabobs.
- Perfect for picnics and potlucks. Enjoy it with grilled chicken wraps, hummus wraps, or this chickpea falafel burger.
For more delicious summer salads, check out my caprese salad, classic Caesar salad, pasta Caesar salad, Mediterranean chickpea salad, and this delicious and really filling Greek orzo salad.
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Watermelon Salad
Ingredients
- 3 pounds (1360g) seedless watermelon cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 oz (115g) arugula/rocket
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 oz (115g) feta cheese
Instructions
- Place the cubed watermelon and the arugula in a large bowl.
- Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, add freshly squeezed lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.
- Toss the salad so that everything is well coated in the dressing.
- Crumble feta cheese and on top of the salad, drizzle extra olive oil and season again if desired. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- The only trick in this salad is not to add the feta cheese before tossing the salad! It will create a mess, and the salad won’t look as nice.
- Feel free to add diced shallots or red onion, mint leaves, and cucumber for extra flavor.
- Avoid buying crumbled feta, and get a block of feta instead. It tastes much better! I prefer Greek feta to Hungarian or French in this recipe.
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