Watermelon Cucumber Salad 🍉 This easy & delicious vegan salad is abundant with bright fresh flavors, color and healthy nutrition. You'll love this refreshing combo of sweet watermelon, crisp cucumber, red onion, luscious avocado, and fresh herbs tossed in a zesty, oil-free lime citrus dressing.
Watermelons are one of our most popular and beloved summertime foods. Juicy, sweet and so refreshing, watermelons are a great source of hydration on hot summer days. This gorgeous watermelon cucumber salad with citrus dressing is the perfect side dish for any summer or outdoor event. The light and tangy oil-free dressing made with fresh lime brings out the vibrant flavors of the watermelon and cucumber as well as the other fresh ingredients.
I often serve this salad along with a bowl of my cool and creamy chilled avocado cucumber soup or a big batch of garden fresh gazpacho. If I have extra watermelon, sometimes I'll also make a simply delish watermelon mango pico de gallo to serve with tortilla chips and salsa.
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🍉 Watermelon Fun Facts
Did you know?
- Watermelons are 92% water. Hence the name!
- They're both a fruit and a vegetable.
- Watermelons contain only 46 calories per cup. A perfect snack!
- There are more than 1200 varieties of watermelons.
- Seedless watermelons are not GMO engineered. They're hybrids.
- July is National Watermelon Month
- The heaviest watermelon on record weighed more than 350 lbs!
Ingredient Notes
Get ready for the most refreshing, mouth-watering summer salad!
The Salad
- Watermelon - (ripe & sweet) see notes below on choosing a ripe watermelon
- Cucumber - we like the petite hot-house variety, but you can use any type
- Red onion - omit if you don't like onion
- Fresh herbs - basil, mint, cilantro, parsley (your choice)
- Avocado - (ripe but firm) see FAQ's below on how to select ripe avocados
The Dressing
- Lime juice (fresh) - can be substituted with fresh lemon juice
- Apple cider vinegar - or white balsamic
- Agave nectar - substitute with maple syrup or vegan honey
- Salt - coarse preferred, but fine is fine too
- Black pepper - freshly ground is best
🍉 How to choose a ripe watermelon?
It's easy to select the ripest sweetest watermelon with these simple tips:
- Pick up several watermelons of equal size. Find the heaviest.
- Look for the yellow spot. Ripe watermelons have a yellow spot where they have sat on the ground, unexposed to sunlight.
- Tap on the watermelon. Ripe watermelons have a hollow sound.
🥕 See the printable recipe below for quantities & details.
Instructions
First, prepare the lime citrus dressing
- In a small bowl, measuring cup or salad dressing shaker, thoroughly combine all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Next, prepare the salad
Remove large seeds from watermelon, if needed.
Wash cucumber. We don't remove the peel, but you sure can if you prefer.
Cut watermelon and cucumber into approximately 1" cubes.
- Slice onion into thin rings.
- Add to salad.
- Tear up herbs and add to salad. You can slice them, but tearing helps prevent them from bruising.
- Cut avocado into cubes and add to salad just before serving.
- Drizzle with oil-free lime citrus dressing. Lightly toss. Serve.
This watermelon cucumber salad with citrus dressing is best enjoyed right away. You'll want to add the avocado just before serving, while the avocado is vibrantly green.
🍉 Variations & Serving Suggestions
You can have fun creating your own spin on this watermelon cucumber salad with citrus dressing. For instance you could . . .
- Make a Mediterranean-style watermelon cucumber salad. Use basil or mint (or both) and sprinkle the top of the salad with crumbled vegan feta cheese. It is delicious paired with my favorite artichoke lemon orzo salad , and Mediterranean roasted veggies served with homemade hummus and vegan tzatziki sauce.
- How about a Southwestern-inspired watermelon cucumber salad. I suggest using cilantro instead of basil and mint. Add a sprinkle of finely diced fresh jalapeño, red pepper flakes or Tajin lime pepper seasoning. Enjoy it with our potato cabbage tacos, Southwestern quinoa salad, and vegan Mexican rice!
🍉 FAQ's
So, you're in the produce section at the grocery store and you need avocados. How do you go about choosing which ones to buy when they all look pretty much the same?
Select your avocados based on when you plan on using them. If you want to use them the same day, choose ripe (not over-ripe) avocados. A ripe avocado will be fairly firm, but will yield to light pressure. The skin will be snug to the fruit, not brittle or pulled away. A perfectly ripe avocado will be neither hard nor mushy.
Always check to see that the stem is still intact on the avocado. If it has been removed, the avocado will tend to over-ripen from the top, so buy the ones with the stems.
There's a fine line between ripe and over-ripe and you'll know it when you cut into an avocado. One of the first signs of it being too ripe is the color of the flesh. Once those brown spots show up, it's too late. Another way to check if it's over ripe is by smell. An acrid or sour smell is a sure sign that you won't be using that avocado.
If you don't plan on using your avocados the day you buy them, it's better to error on the side of caution and choose firmer ones. If you have ripe avocados that you won't use the same day, put them in the fridge. It will slow down the ripening process and might give you a few extra days to use them.
Watermelons are not only absolutely delicious, they're nutritious! They're low in calories and loaded with vitamins and minerals and other beneficial compounds. Studies show that eating watermelons may improve heart health, lower inflammation and help prevent certain cancers. Watermelons are also an excellent source of lycopene. For more details on the benefits of eating watermelons, check out this article.
If you've enjoyed this recipe, please rate it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ in the comments below.
Thanks a bunch!🥕
Recipe
Watermelon Cucumber Salad
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Chef's knife
- Measuring cup or salad dressing shaker
- Salad tongs or servers
Ingredients
- 4 C watermelon cut into approx 1" cubes
- 1 large cucumber cut into 1" cubes
- ½ med red onion cut into thinly sliced rounds
- ½ C fresh herbs basil, mint, or cilantro, torn. See notes below.
- 1 large avocado cubed
Lime Citrus Dressing
- 3 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
Instructions
Watermelon Cucumber Salad
- In a large bowl, combine watermelon, cucumber, red onions. Lightly toss.
- Add fresh herbs of your choice - basil, mint or cilantro
- Pour dressing over salad, gently toss. Add additional salt & pepper to taste.
- When ready to serve, add cubed avocado. Gently toss.
Lime Citrus Dressing
- In a small bowl, measuring cup or salad dressing shaker, thoroughly combine all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
Nutrition
These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you're using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don’t leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
Connie Edwards McGaughy
Not only is this salad absolutely gorgeous, it is so refreshing and delicious!