Watermelon Peach Salad
on Jul 29, 2019, Updated May 30, 2024
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This watermelon peach salad is one of many reasons why the best thing about summer might be all the fruit that’s in season. It has cubed watermelon, sliced peaches, crumbled feta, baby arugula, scallions and fresh herbs. Those ingredients give it a wonderful mix of savory, salty and sweet flavors. It’s tossed in jalapeño lime dressing that adds a pleasant spicy kick to the cool fruit.
Interested in more watermelon recipes? Try this watermelon cucumber corn salad or easy grilled watermelon.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
You should enjoy summer fruit in a salad that’s not a fruit salad. I’m a big fan of adding sweet flavors to savory dishes, and salads are the best way to do this. Also, not that there is anything wrong with just eating fruit as is, you can do so much more than snack on it.
This is a fantastic summer salad that’s easy to make. There is a lot of competition when it comes to salads this time of year. As much as I love tomatoes, I like giving them a break and adding some variety to my salad rotation.
There are lots of flavors happening in this salad that all work beautifully together. You have sweet watermelon and peaches, peppery arugula and salty feta. Jalapeños and lime juice in the dressing give it a fresh kick. Watermelon and feta should be required summer eating.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Watermelon: You can buy precut watermelon to save time on prep. If you do cut it yourself, a full-sized watermelon, which is usually about 5-6 pounds, will yield more than what’s called for in the recipe. You may want to buy a mini seedless watermelon.
- Peaches: Ripe peaches will give a little when you gently press them. They will also smell fragrant. You can use yellow peaches or white peaches.
- Arugula has a peppery taste. You can substitute with baby spinach or use a mix of both.
- Feta is my first choice for cheese because of it’s briny, salty flavor. You can use goat cheese instead. It will be more mild and creamy compared to feta.
- Scallions give the salad mild green onion flavor. Finely chopped red onions are a good substitute.
- Chives are fresh herbs that are oniony. You can also use parsley or a combination of both.
- Jalapeño lime dressing: It’s made with chopped jalapeños, minced garlic, salt, pepper, lime juice and olive oil.
Optional Additions
Maybe you happen to have these ingredients in your kitchen, or you just want to add something else. You can try one or more of the following:
- Cucumbers, sliced or diced: I prefer Persian cucumbers or English cucumbers because their skins more delicate and they have less seeds.
- Avocados, sliced or diced, give the salad something creamy and rich.
- Fresh mint leaves, torn, add their distinct freshness.
- Chopped nuts: For nutty crunch, try walnuts, almonds or pistachios.
How To Make This Watermelon Peach Salad
1. Make the dressing. Whisk the jalapeños, garlic, salt, pepper, lime juice and olive oil in a small bowl.
2. Combine the salad ingredients including watermelon, peaches, scallions, chives and feta in a bowl. Watermelon is naturally juicy, so I wait to add the arugula.
3. Drizzle about half the dressing into the salad, tossing to combine. Then fold in the arugula. After that, you can add more dressing to suit your taste.
Serving
This salad is great with grilled main dishes such as BBQ tofu veggie skewers, grilled halloumi & vegetables and a grilled mushroom corn pizza. Their smoky flavor works goes well with the sweetness of the fruit. You can also serve it with proteins such as chicken, salmon or shrimp.
Leftovers & Storage
You can store the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 days. I recommend adding fresh arugula before you eat leftovers because the greens will wilt the longer you store them. Because watermelon is juicy, if you’re meal planning, wait to toss the arugula and dressing into the salad until you are ready to serve it. Keep the dressing in a separate jar in the fridge.
Recipe Tips
Drain the juices from the watermelon. If you are using precut watermelon, make sure not to include the liquid at the bottom of the container.
You can add more arugula. Do you love leafy greens? Then stir in additional arugula. As mentioned, always do this when you serve leftovers.
Use fresh lime juice in the dressing. This rule applies to any citrus. Fresh is always better than bottled.
More Salads with Fruit
Peach Caprese Salad
Strawberry Cucumber Pasta Salad
Balsamic Tomato Peach Salad
Grilled Peach Corn Salad
Tomato Peach Burrata Salad
Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad
Mango Avocado Salad
Mandarin Orange Salad
Apple Cabbage Salad
Kale Apple Salad
Watermelon Peach Salad
Ingredients
For salad
- 3 cups cubed seedless watermelon
- 3 peaches, cut into 1/2-inch segments
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced chives
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta
- 3 cups baby arugula
For dressing
- 1 tablespoon minced jalapenos
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the watermelon, peaches, scallions, chives and feta.
- For the dressing, whisk together the jalapeños, garlic, salt, pepper, lime juice and olive oil in a small bowl.
- Drizzle half the dressing into the salad.
- Stir in the arugula. Then add your desired amount of the remaining dressing.
Notes
- Cucumbers, sliced or diced Persian cucumbers or English cucumbers
- Avocados, sliced or diced
- Fresh mint leaves
- Chopped nuts such as walnuts, almonds or pistachios.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Super food for super hot days ! Thank you !