Stay cool and hydrated with this easy cantaloupe and cucumber salad recipe! It's a healthy and refreshing side dish or light lunch.
It's ready in 15 minutes and keeps well in the fridge for a few hours, so you can make it in advance of a dinner party. This recipe makes 2 large side salad servings and can easily be doubled or tripled.
Refreshing + Cool Summer Salad
It's that time of year when we could all use a light summer salad and I think you'll like this cantaloupe cucumber salad a lot. It's hard to want to turn on the stove or oven when it's so hot outside.
What makes this salad refreshing is the water content of the melons and cucumber. Melons are 90% water and cucumbers are 96% water (source).
In the summer it can be hard to stay hydrated just by drinking water; the National Academies of Sciences suggests up to 2 liters of water for women and 3 liters of water for men every day (source). That's more than the previously recommended 8 glasses! Eating water-rich fruit and vegetables can help you towards that goal.
More Delicious and Healthy Summer Salads
Here are a few other summer salads that are chock full of water-rich produce:
Tips for Making Melon Balls
You do not have to use a melon baller for this recipe - you could just chop up the cantaloupe, but there's something fun about a variety of shapes in a salad. If you'd like to make more precise melon balls, give this tutorial video a watch.
You can use a melon baller or a rounded teaspoon to make melon balls.
If you don't have a melon baller and would like to get one, I recommend this OXO Good Grips Melon Baller.
Cantaloupe Cucumber Salad
This cantaloupe cucumber salad recipe is a healthy and refreshing side dish or light lunch.
Ingredients
- 1 cantaloupe, halved and deseeded
- 1 large cucumber, halved
- 2 ounces crumbly feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- juice of one lemon
- pinch of salt
- 10 basil leaves, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Using a melon baller, create as many balls from the cantaloupe as possible. Add them to a large bowl.
- If cucumber has large seeds, use the melon baller or a spoon to scrape them out. Cut the cucumber into thin half moons and add to the melons.
- Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt in a small bowl and whisk.
- Add the vinaigrette to the fruit and toss to combine. Then top with the crumbled feta and basil leaves.
ChrisS
Wednesday 3rd of May 2023
I included the lemon zest in the dressing and enjoyed the salad. With the left over salad, i mixed in some diced avocado…substantial improvement!
Shawn
Tuesday 6th of July 2021
Light and refreshing and perfect for a hot Iowa summer dinner. We served it with grilled chicken breasts and enjoyed every bite of this wonderful salad. The fresh lemon juice carried it over the top. Thank you!
Emily
Wednesday 7th of July 2021
So glad you liked it :)