Take-Along Watermelon Skewers with Feta and Mint Pesto

These take-along watermelon skewers with feta and mint pesto dressing are a quick and easy appetizer or snack for your next outdoor gathering, BBQ or picnic! Enjoy these delicious and healthy watermelon skewers on a hot summer day!

Thank you National Watermelon Promotion Board for sponsoring this post. Watermelon is the perfect portable food for enjoying wherever life takes you!

Let me just say how much I love watermelon. Raw and grilled, cubes and balls, sweet and savory. You can be creative and extend the ways you eat your watermelon beyond just eating it sliced.

You can turn it into a watermelon feta salad, or blend it into a refreshing raw watermelon gazpacho or make these super easy take along watermelon skewers with feta and mint pesto dressing! Watermelon is a perfect ingredient for on-the-go meals and snacks!

If you’ve never tried savory watermelon recipes, you definitely should. These watermelon skewers will change your perception of what watermelon tastes like. In combination with feta and mint pesto watermelon tastes so much different and also so good!

Watermelon pairs so well with feta cheese because the tangy feta makes the watermelon taste even sweeter (and juicier!) creating a nice salty-sweet contrast. For the same reason you can try to moderately salt your watermelon slices and see whether it makes a difference for you. For me it does!

Why Make Watermelon Skewers with Feta

Besides the taste, there are other reasons you should make these watermelon skewers for your next summer BBQ party:

1. They are very easy to make. That makes them a perfect appetizer/snack ready within minutes. Even your kids can make it!
2. They are easily portable. In case you are searching for an easy take along appetizer to bring to a picnic, BBQ, potluck or any outdoors gathering, search no more. Everybody will love these watermelon skewers!
3. They look impressive. It’s hard to beat that!
4. They are refreshing and hydrating. Food doesn’t have to be liquid to hydrate you and watermelon does a pretty good job hydrating your body in a hot summer day! Take it with you as a beach snack and stay hydrated.
5. These watermelon skewers with feta can inspire you to create your own watermelon recipe and win $500! Enter your original watermelon recipe into Watermelon Board’s recipe contest to win $500! If you have a favorite watermelon recipe using flesh, juice or rind (!), make sure to enter it into the contest!

How to Make Watermelon Skewers with Feta

For these watermelon skewers you’ll need a seedless ripe watermelon and feta cheese. For the mint pesto dressing use fresh peppermint leaves, fresh basil leaves, almonds, garlic, grated hard cheese, extra virgin olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

I used both basil leaves and peppermint leaves to make the pesto taste less intense not to overpower the watermelon taste.

You’ll need to cut your feta and watermelon into cubes.

Here is a food hack video on how to cut quick watermelon cubes. This easy trick is a lifesaver!

When you are cutting watermelon cubes, make sure they are roughly the same size as your feta cubes.

Next step is to make a mint pesto dressing. Combine fresh peppermint leaves, fresh basil leaves, almonds, garlic, grated hard cheese, extra virgin olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper in a cup of a food processor and blend until smooth, scrapping sides and adding water to adjust the consistency.

The dressing should be a bit thinner than your regular pesto but not too thin.

Thread a watermelon cube onto a skewer following by a chunk of feta. Repeat until you have 3 watermelon cubes and 2 chunks of feta on the skewer. Continue with the rest of the skewers.

Place your watermelon skewers on a serving plate or into a container and drizzle with the pesto dressing. Garnish with peppermint leaves. Enjoy!

Here is the full recipe of these watermelon skewers with feta and pesto dressing. Bring them along to your next summer gathering, BBQ or picnic!

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Watermelon Skewers with Feta and Mint Pesto

These take-along watermelon skewers with feta and mint pesto dressing are a quick and easy appetizer or snack for your next outdoor gathering, BBQ or picnic! Enjoy these delicious and healthy watermelon skewers on a hot summer day!

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Author Elena Szeliga

Ingredients

For the watermelon skewers:

• 1/4 seedless ripe watermelon
• 7 oz or 200 g feta cheese
• 10 skewers
• 4 tablespoons mint pesto dressing See below

For the mint pesto dressing:

• 1/2 cup or 35 g fresh peppermint leaves
• 1/2 cup or 35 g fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 oz or 15 g raw peeled almonds
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon hard cheese grated
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 tablespoons water

Instructions

• Cut feta and watermelon into cubes (see notes above).
• Make a mint pesto dressing: Combine fresh peppermint leaves, fresh basil leaves, almonds, garlic, grated hard cheese, extra virgin olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper in a cup of a food processor and blend until smooth, scrapping sides and adding water to adjust the consistency. The dressing should be a bit thinner than your regular pesto but not too thin. Reserve about 4 tablespoons and refrigerate the rest (you can use it for pasta or as a bread spread).
• Thread a watermelon cube onto a skewer following by a chunk of feta. Repeat until you have 3 watermelon cubes and 2 chunks of feta on the skewer. Continue with the rest of the skewers.
• Place watermelon skewers on a serving plate or into a container and drizzle with the pesto dressing. Garnish with peppermint leaves. Enjoy!

Tried this recipe?Tag @happykitchen.rocks and hashtag #happykitchenrocks!

Love,

Elena

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.