Refreshing Watermelon Feta Salad with Blueberries: A 15-min colorful summer salad recipe with Asian-style vinnaigrette. Perfect watermelon feta salad for a hot summer day!
I made this watermelon feta basil salad 2 years ago for the first time. It was my first post on this blog and now two years after I decided to come back to it and add some more details, pictures and a video!
I kept my old photos as a reminder to myself of how much my photography has improved since I’ve started my blog.
I can’t believe it’s been two years already! So many things have happened in my life since then. The most important one is that my son was born 7 months ago. I can’t believe it either 🙂
I traveled a lot, I worked a lot, I developed more than 160 recipes, I started to shoot recipe videos, I ate so much it’s a wonder I’m still in a good shape.
For those of you who are on Instagram, follow me for my food and life adventures. If you like cute baby pictures, you will surely enjoy my Instagram Stories 🙂
How to Serve Watermelon
Do you like watermelon? I surely do. For me, it’s a 100% summer fruit (or berry? any botanists around here?). And who doesn’t love summer?
Especially here in Hamburg, where it is so short and often cold, you have to enjoy every warm day. It’s just perfect for these two weeks of heat a year, when your body is begging for something refreshing.
Normally, you just cut the watermelon in slices and eat them. Maybe you take them with you to the picnic. Maybe you just eat watermelon as a dessert or snack. And it’s great, I love it! But you know, there is a lot more than that.
Why This Recipe Works
You can make a watermelon feta salad from it! It’s really easy to make, it’s crunchy, it’s light, and it has this fresh summer touch you will miss so much in wintertime!
Or you won’t, if you live in a paradise place, where there is eternal summer and fresh local fruits all year round. But hey, then you can enjoy summer salad with fruit any time. And I really envy you. 😉
Watermelon is obviously a star in this recipe but so is feta cheese. Or let’s say, watermelon feta pairing is what makes this salad awesome and unique.
If you live in Europe and shop in Edeka, I absolutely recommend their Greek mixed goat and sheep feta cheese. It’s the best I’ve tried so far! You can see the package on the video. It’s not an ad, just my personal opinion.
Blueberries add a nice sweet and sour touch, balancing the flavors.
Some chewy greens (I used arugula), some crunch (radishes), some creaminess of crumbled feta cheese and a little pungent touch of the Asian-style vinnaigrette. Here you go, a perfectly designed summer salad is right here.
If you are interested in creating your own recipes using a simple formula, you will probably like my free E-Book How to Cook Without a Recipe. Hope you like it!
I tweaked a recipe a bit to make it more simple and approachable. Because that’s what I’m up to these days: light simple meals that are delicious and healthy. I also added basil to this salad because I like a fresh touch it is giving to it.
I make the most out of the summer fruits and veggies by incorporating them in a very simple meals like this Roasted Carrot Soup, Summer Grilled Peach Salad or my all-time favorite Mexican Chopped Salad with Avocado Dressing.
The core ingredients stayed the same: watermelon, feta cheese, blueberries, arugula and Asian vinaigrette. I love how vibrant and nutritious this salad is. Make it for a light lunch, picnic or potluck. It’s perfectly portable!
How to Make It
For your Asian-style watermelon feta salad, you might want to take a seedless watermelon. Of course, you can remove the seeds as you go, but it might be a bit time-consuming, increasing the preparation time.
However, in some countries it’s hard to find seedless ones for a reasonable price. For example, in Russia we have really big ones (7-10 kilograms) with a lot of seeds. They taste great though.
If you have a similar one, don’t worry, you don’t need much of watermelon for your salad, unless you prepare it for a lot of people.
For 2 servings, 10 watermelon balls would be enough. If you are into food carving, or just want to make your food look prettier, consider buying a melon baller. I own one, and I use it not only for melon and watermelon balls, but also for avocados, ice cream and butter.
If you don’t have one, it’s OK, too. Just use a 1/4 tsp rounded measuring spoon, or simply a coffee spoon. Your balls might end up being egg-shaped, but it’s not a problem here. You can also cut it in cubes, if you are not so much into ball-making.
Check the full recipe below and enjoy this summer watermelon radish salad. It will rock your dinner/lunch/BBQ party, I promise!
Watermelon Feta Salad Video
Here is a video I’ve recently made to show you the preparation steps. If you can’t see the video, disable your AdBlock for this page by clicking on the AdBlock button and selecting Don’t run on this page. Hope it helps!
Watermelon Feta Salad with Blueberries
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 2 handfuls arugula
- 10 watermelon balls, the size of cherry tomatoes or the same amount of watermelon chunks
- 6 radishes
- 80 g or 2.8 oz feta cheese
- 1 handful blueberries
- 6 leaves fresh basil
For the dressing:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- a pinch chili flakes
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, to garnish
Instructions
- Arrange rinsed arugula on a plate or two plates if serving individually. Place the watermelon balls/cubes on top. Thinly slice radishes and add them to the salad.
- Crumble the feta cheese with your fingers and sprinkle it on the salad. If your feta cheese is too soft, put it under very cold running water for about 10 seconds. This will firm it up. Sprinkle the salad with blueberries.
- Prepare the dressing: mix olive oil, lime juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and chilli flakes in a jar, close it and shake it well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You can adjust the amount of chili flakes according to your taste. Pour the dressing just before serving. Sprinkle the salad with sesame seeds. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
How do you usually serve watermelon? Have you tried any recipes with it? If you want to try this salad, I would love to see your pictures of it! Please use the hashtag #HappyKitchen.Rocks on social media, so I can see them.
Other Watermelon Recipe You’ll Love:
Helena
Monday 3rd of June 2019
This recipe is so timely! It's getting really hot in here so this is such a wonderful dish to make this summer!
Elena Szeliga
Tuesday 4th of June 2019
Yes, super refreshing and just perfect for those hot summer days!
Ashley @ Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen
Monday 7th of August 2017
Such a colorful salad! I love salty feta with fresh fruit - YUM!
Elena Szeliga
Tuesday 8th of August 2017
Thank you Ashley! Love the pairing, too - it's one of my favorites!
Rachelle @ Beer Girl Cooks
Saturday 5th of August 2017
This is such a beautiful summer salad! I love the blueberry watermelon combination!
Elena Szeliga
Saturday 5th of August 2017
Thank you Rachelle! I love this combo too!
Mark, CompassandFork
Friday 4th of August 2017
Great idea for a summer salad. I love the color from the blueberries and watermelon. Very inviting.
Elena Szeliga
Friday 4th of August 2017
Thank you so much Mark! So glad you like the salad!