This Watermelon Basil Salad is a unique, delightful summer salad with beautifully blended, delicious vibrant flavors. An easy salad to whip up, the combination of sweet watermelon with balsamic dressing and a handful of other simple ingredients is out of this world.
It's beautiful, hearty, refreshing, packed with amazing flavors and it's screaming with summertime melon deliciousness.
This Watermelon Basil Salad is an exciting twist and deviation from the classic watermelon salad recipe made with feta cheese and fresh mint leaves.
Seriously, you won't be able to get enough, and it will certainly be a crowd pleaser.
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This Summer's Salad Ingredients
- mixed baby greens - Feel free to use any lettuce you like. I love the mixed baby greens because they add slightly different flavors and colors to the salad.
- fresh basil leaves - Look for perky bunches of basil and avoid any brown, bruised or yellow leaves.
- seedless watermelon - Indications of a ripe watermelon are strong, consistent stripe pattern and a dull finish.
- feta cheese - Be sure to get a block of feta rather than crumbled. A block of Feta sold in brine is best. The reason a watermelon Feta salad is so popular is because of how amazing the salty feta is in combination with the juicy sweetness of the watermelon. However, if you'd like to use a substitute cheese, goat or blue cheese would also be delicious.
- avocado - Ripe avocados should yield to firm gentle pressure. It should feel slightly soft but not “mushy” to the touch.
- red onion - Choose onions that are firm, heavy for their size and without bruises.
- dried figs - Any variety. This is where this watermelon basil salad takes you on a twist! The figs add an unexpected chewy texture and sweet flavor. You can achieve a similar affect if you substitute the dried figs with dried cherries, dried blueberries or finely chopped dates.
- balsamic vinegar
- extra virgin olive oil
(See recipe card below for quantities.)
How to Make Watermelon Basil Salad
- In a large salad bowl, gently toss all of the ingredients together, except the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. (Here's How to Cut a Watermelon into Cubes, and How to Cut an Avocado.)
- Next, make a balsamic reduction. Pour the balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan and place it over medium-low heat. Bring to a strong simmer and cook to reduce by at least half, until you have a thick syrup.
- Just before serving the Watermelon Feta Basil Salad, drizzle the balsamic reduction and olive oil over the salad, toss, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
(More detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Variations
- If you want added crunch, pine nuts or pistachio nuts would be very tasty.
- To make this salad even heartier, you can add grilled chicken or shrimp.
Recipe Tips
- As with most salads, it's best to cut and prepare all of the fresh ingredients as close to serving time as possible. That said, if you do want to chop things ahead of time, drizzle fresh lemon juice or fresh lime juice over the avocado so it keeps its color.
Serving Suggestions
- This Watermelon Basil Salad recipe is one of my favorite summer side dish recipes, and it's also great for a vegetarian entrée salad.
- It's perfect for a picnic or barbecue -- really, any summer lunch or dinner.
- It's delicious alongside Grilled Coffee Balsamic Steak, Grilled Jalapeño Turkey Burgers, Shrimp Burgers with Cilantro, and/or Lemon-Pepper Grilled Corn.
More Summer Watermelon Recipes
- Watermelon Pizza with Lime
- Compressed Watermelon
- Watermelon Cucumber Salsa
- Grilled Chile-Lime Watermelon
- Watermelon Halloumi Salad Sandwich
- Fresh Melon Cake with Balsamic Glaze
Everyone loves watermelon recipes on hot summer days!
I hope you fall in love with this, and that it becomes one of your your go-to summer salad recipes.
Watermelon Basil Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 cups loosely packed mixed baby greens
- 2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves (if leaves are large, tear or cut them into smaller pieces)
- 3 cups seedless watermelon, cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1 cup avocado, cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1 cup feta, cut into bite-sized cubes
- ¾ cup finely chopped red onion
- ½ cup dried figs, cut into a small dice
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, excluding the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper, toss all of the ingredients together.
- Make balsamic reduction. Pour the balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a strong simmer and cook to reduce by at least half, until you have a thick syrup. This should take less than 5 minutes.
- Assemble. Now drizzle the balsamic glaze and the oil over the salad, toss, and season to taste with salt and pepper. (Here's How to Season to Taste.)
NOTES
NUTRITION
Mabel Whit
Fantastic explanation. The step-by-step guide was excellent. 馃檪
Valentina
Hi Mabel, Thank you so much, happy it was helpful. 🙂 ~Valentina
Mimi Rippee
I love all salads with watermelon! Something I never thought about adding a couple of decades ago. I love what you did here - like adding dried figs! I hope all is as well as it possibly can be.
http://www.chefmimiblog.com
Valentina
Thank you, Mimi. I've also made this with dates. Thanks for checking it out! 🙂 ~Valentina