Make the most of your prime watermelon with these stunning BBQ appetizers and side dishes. Juicy watermelon pairs well with more contrasting flavors and textures, including mint, feta cheese, and summer veggies like cucumbers, radishes, and tomatoes. You can also add a little heat with cayenne pepper, chili, or jalapeño. These dishes are perfect served drizzled with olive oil or with a simple dressing or fun dip to please everyone. With recipes from Jacques Pépin, Tom Colicchio, and more, here are our favorite watermelon salads you’ll want to keep eating all summer long.
Watermelon and cucumber salad
Victor Protacio / Food Styling: Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling: Julia Bayless
Nutty, aged goat cheese and crunchy sunflower seeds add texture to this 20-minute summer salad from 2022 F&W Best New Chef Damar Brown.
Watermelon salad with feta and mint
Julia Hartbeck
Jacques Pépin’s Watermelon Salad combines sweet melon with cool mint, savory olives, onions and feta cheese. A melon baller is the key to plating it.
Watermelon and goat cheese salad
Food & Wine / Photography: Bree Goldman / Food Styling: Holly Dreesman / Prop Styling: Gabriel Greco
Defne Koryulek adds a nutty, peppery flavour to this 30-minute salad, sprinkling tiny crunchy nigella seeds on top of dramatic chunks of watermelon and creamy fresh goat cheese.
Thai-style radish and watermelon salad
© Michael Turek
Tom Colicchio adds texture, spice and color to his salads with radishes, chilies and an Asian fish sauce dressing.
Watermelon salad with mint and lime
North Carolina chef Matt Neal incorporates fresh lime juice, cayenne pepper, and mint leaves in this simple salad, and suggests adding a splash of rum for extra flavor.
Watermelon and tomato salad with spicy feta sauce
This version simply tosses watermelon and grape tomatoes with chopped basil and olive oil. Chef Ana Soltun chars jalapeños and mixes them with feta cheese and olive oil to create a flavorful dipping sauce.
Watermelon salad with feta cheese
Melissa Clark combines sweet watermelon, salty olives, creamy feta crumbles, and sliced red onion for a dinner-party-worthy salad, then drizzles it with a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, and harissa for extra flavor.
