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. This recipe makes two large servings or four side salad servings and can easily be doubled or tripled.
Why You'll Love this Melon Cucumber Salad
- This light summer salad is perfect for warm days when you don't want to turn on the stove or oven!
- Melons and cucumbers have a high water content, making them so refreshing! 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.
Cucumber & Melon Salad Ingredients
- Fresh Cantaloupe - use the ripest cantaloupe you can find. It should smell sweet, be heavy for its size, and have a little give when you press it. Any melons with soft spots, bruising, or mold are too old and should be avoided. You can substitute the cantaloupe for honeydew or watermelon if you'd prefer!
- Cucumber - I use regular, hothouse cucumbers in this recipe, but you can use any type of cucumber. If you use an English cucumber or small Persian cucumbers, you don't need to deseed them.
- Feta Cheese - a soft, crumbly feta cheese adds a mellow pop of flavor and some salt to the recipe. It can be substituted for cotija, mozzarella, or goat cheese.
- Olive Oil - use a good quality extra virgin olive oil for this recipe as it will coat all the ingredients.
- Lemon Juice - freshly squeezed lemon juice adds lovely citrus flavor and brightness to the salad. Substitute for lime juice if you'd prefer.
- Basil Leaves - you'll top the salad with fresh basil for a wonderful grassy flavor.
- Salt - finally, a little pinch of salt helps to bring out the best flavors in all the ingredients.
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!
- Halve a ripe melon and scoop out the seeds and membrane
- Use a melon baller or a round teaspoon. Lay the melon baller flat on the cut side of the melon and press hard into the melon while turning the melon baller.
- Continue to turn the melon ball until you can pop it out of the melon. Repeat the full way around the top of the melon.
- Extra pieces of melon can be used in cantaloupe bread or a cantaloupe granita!
fresh & delish!
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Cantaloupe Cucumber Salad
This cantaloupe cucumber salad recipe is a healthy and refreshing salad reicpe, perfect for summer!
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Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 cantaloupe halved and deseeded
- 1 large cucumber halved
- 2 ounces crumbly feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin 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 melon and cucumbers and toss to combine. Then top with the crumbled feta and basil leaves.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 156kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 205mg | Potassium: 330mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 4834IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 1mg
Shawn says
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 says
So glad you liked it 🙂
ChrisS says
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!