Watermelon Cucumber Corn Salad
on Jun 28, 2021, Updated Jul 08, 2022
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Refreshing and crisp is the best way to describe this watermelon cucumber salad with crumbled feta and grilled corn. Serve it as a summer side dish.
When it comes to summer fruit, I go for berries first and then stone fruit.
Melon comes in a distant third. It’s hard for me to get excited about mellow melons like cantaloupe and honeydew.
But things have changed ever since I learned how good melon is when you top it with flaky sea salt and take it to this mix between sweet and savory.
Even though I am not going to always pick melon for a fruit plate, I am a big fan of watermelon in salads. Mixed with greens, veggies and dressing, they make fresh and filling summer salads.
A favorite of mine is a watermelon peach salad with spicy jalapeno lime vinaigrette. There are so many flavors going on, and they all seem to work together. I also love grilled watermelon.
And that’s my same approach with this watermelon corn cucumber salad—lots of tastes and textures!It’s crunchy and fresh and is great for summer picnics and barbecues.
You can’t go wrong with a watermelon cucumber salad especially if that’s a watermelon salad with feta cheese and grilled corn. Again, there’s just something about saltier ingredients and melon.
How To Pick A Good Watermelon
No matter if you are at a farmers market or the grocery, there are a few things to look for when you are picking out the perfect watermelon.
The fruit should feel heavy for its size.
When you tap a watermelon, the sound should be deep and hollow.
You also should check the field spot. This is the discolored area on the rind where the watermelon sat in the field. It should be creamy yellow. If it’s whiter, the watermelon is not ripe.
The Ingredients
This is what you will need for the watermelon feta salad:
- Watermelon: Do your best to find a beautiful, ripe seedless watermelon. Then cut it into cubes.
- Corn: Look for ears of corn that are secure in their tight husks because that is a good sign they will have plump kernels.
- Cucumber: I prefer English cucumbers because they have way less seeds than a regular cucumbers.
- Feta: Sweet watermelon and salty feta are a classic combination for a reason.
- Scallions: When they are thinly sliced, scallions add nice oniony flavor. You can swipe it out and use thinly sliced red onion.
- Cilantro: This watermelon cucumber salad has a limited number of ingredients, so fresh herbs like cilantro are important to the overall dish.
- Salt & pepper: Not only do I use salt and pepper to season the salad, salt comes in handy to sprinkle on the watermelon to help it release some of its juices.
How To Make A Watermelon Cucumber Corn Salad
- Prep the watermelon. Put the cubed fruit into a colander and toss it with kosher salt. This helps the melon release some of its juices, so the salad doesn’t turn out watery with a bunch of liquid in the bottom of the bowl.
- Grill the corn. Preheat the grill on high heat. Rub the corn with olive oil. Grill it for 5-7 minutes, turning occasionally. You want the kernels to be lightly charred. Give the ears a few minutes to cool, and then take a sharp knife and slice off the kernels.
- Combine the salad ingredients including the fresh watermelon corn, cucumbers, scallions, cilantro, feta, flaky sea salt and black pepper in a large bowl.
Serving
This is such a simple and refreshing watermelon salad. Serve it as a side dish at summer get-togethers like a potluck or picnic.
Leftovers
The salad is best served fresh, but you can store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container up to 3 days.
More Summer Salad Recipes
Stone Fruit Salad with Gorgonzola and Pesto Vinaigrette
Mixed Berry Kale Salad
Strawberry Cucumber Pasta Salad
Pistachio Goat Cheese Strawberry Salad
Peach Tomato Salad
Watermelon Cucumber Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups cubed seedless watermelon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 ears corn, shucked
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 English cucumber, diced (about 1-1/2 cups)
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta
- 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place the watermelon in a colander. Toss it with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Let the watermelon sit and release its juices while you grill the corn.
- Preheat a gas or charcoal grill on high heat.
- Rub the corn with the olive oil. Grill, turning occasionally, until lightly charred, about 5-7 minutes. Let the corn cool slightly before slicing the kernels off the cob.
- In a large bowl, stir together the watermelon, corn, cucumbers, scallions, cilantro, feta, flaky sea salt and black pepper.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
It sounds really really good. I will have to try it. It’s all healthy ingredients. And it’s a lite dish.
Looks really good
Great recipe!!!!
Chezzie Jordan
The watermelon cucumber salad I made tonite( Sunday august 1st and it was delish!
Spectacular combination and I added a splash of balsamic vinegar to it and a drizzle of balsamic glaze!
Thank you for this spectacular combination!
We all loved it!