Prepare this Grilled Watermelon Salad for your next backyard barbecue! Toss smokey, bbq watermelon with feta, cucumber and mint for the perfect salad.
Quick
Easy cleanup
You’ll Learn: A refreshing twist on watermelon salad that’s perfect for BBQs or hot days
Worth It: Simple method, great results without fussy steps
Bonus: How to turn it into dessert
Why You’ll Love this recipe
- Smoky sweet flavor – I love a fresh watermelon salad but I wanted to see if I could take the flavor up a notch. The grilled watermelon wedges adds nice smokiness which is a perfect compliment to its naturally sweet flavor.
- Great for parties – Guests will love this twist on a watermelon salad. It’s so fresh, tasty, and refreshing!
- Keep heat out of the kitchen – In the height of summer, I try to do as much as possible on the grill or no cook. This recipe keeps the heat out of the kitchen for the perfect summer salad.
Serving Suggestions
This bbq watermelon salad is a perfect appetizer side dish for a backyard barbecue. You can prep this on the grill first, then grill up some favorites.
I love doing Grilled Surf and Turf Skewers for steaks and shrimp, or for some chicken options, I’ll do Grilled Buffalo Chicken Tenders, Marinated Grilled Chicken Thighs or Balsamic Grilled Chicken. These sweet potatoes would be a great addition to your menu! I also love serving some tortellini pasta salad on the side.
You could even serve this grilled watermelon recipe as a dessert instead! Add a scoop of ice cream and a couple of watermelon slices for a summery dessert.
How to Make Without a Grill
You can make this salad without a grill. Heat a cast iron grill pan over medium and grill the watermelon spears for few minutes on each side.
Ingredients
- Watermelon – use a ripe watermelon or mini watermelon for the best results. The char marks will bring out an amazing smoky flavor to compliment the natural sweetness
- Feta – feta cheese is my favorite for this recipe, but you could also use goat cheese
- Cucumber – the fresh crunch of the cucumber goes so well with the watermelon and summer flavors
- Fresh mint – mint is my favorite herb choice for this recipe
- Dijon mustard – I love dijon mustard in the dressing for this salad. It adds such a depth of flavor
- Apple cider vinegar – the vinegar adds some zing and brightness to the dressing
- Olive oil – I used olive oil, but you can use any neutral oil you have on hand
Ingredient Substitutions
If you do not like mint you can use fresh basil leaves cut into ribbons or chopped cilantro for this watermelon salad.
If you want to customize this salad to make it your own you can mix in some other types of sweet melon like cantaloup or honey dew. You could even use a yellow watermelon for a change of color! Peach would also be a great way to change it up.
I love the cucumbers in this recipe, but you could also add or sub in other veggies, like red onion or peppers.
For some citrus, you could add lemon or lime juice to your dressing, or just some lime wedges or lime zest to garnish the final salad. Sprinkle some salt on your salad to taste. A drizzle of balsamic vinegar is so good.
How to make
Step 1: Grill watermelon
Start by choosing the best possible watermelon. One with a large dark yellow spot usually means it was on the vine longer, and it results in a sweeter taste. Then cut the ends off and place the watermelon on one cut end to cut in half. Then you can cut each half into quarters, and then cut those into spears.
Preheat grill over medium high heat. When the grill is warm place rectangles on the grill grates and cook for 2 minutes on one side until grill marks appear then rotate and cook for 2 minutes on another side. Be careful not to overcook to make sure the texture stays.
Then, remove grilled watermelon from the grill and allow the watermelon to cool completely.
Step 2: add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and toss
Then, while the watermelon cools, whisk together the dijon mustard, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl.
Once the watermelon has cooled, cut it into cubes and add to a large mixing bowl with the cubed cucumber, feta, mint and vinaigrette. Finally, toss to combine and serve at room temperature or chilled.
Make ahead and storage
This grilled watermelon salad is best enjoyed immediately. If you want to prep the ingredients ahead of time you can leave them cut and separated in the refrigerator for up to 1 day prior to grilling the watermelon and tossing the ingredients together.
While best enjoyed right away, you can also save the leftovers in the fridge for 1-2 days.
Check out these other side dishes for a barbecue
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Grilled Watermelon Salad
Ingredients
- A quarter of a large watermelon cut into 1″x1″x4″ rectangles
- 4 oz feta
- 2 small Persian cucumbers cubed or half of one large cucumber
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves cut into ribbons
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat grill over medium high heat. When the grill is warm place rectangles on the grill and cook for 2 minutes on one side then rotate and cook for 2 minutes on another side. Remove from the grill and allow the watermelon to cool completely.
- While the watermelon cools, whisk together the dijon mustard, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar.
- Once the watermelon has cooled, cut it into cubes and add to a large mixing bowl with the cubed cucumber, feta, mint and vinaigrette. Toss to combine and serve at room temperature or chilled.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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