Summer Melon Salad with Feta

This Summer Melon Salad with Feta is the epitome of delicious summertime eating!  With fresh sweet cantaloupe and honeydew melon, English cucumbers, a little feta cheese, some hot pepper flakes and a simple honey / fresh lime juice dressing with extra virgin olive oil.

I just love it when all the summer melons are in season.  They’re so juicy and naturally sweet.  I’m always looking for new and different ways to enjoy them… like this Melon salad!  

It has all the sweetness from the melon, some fresh cool crispness from the cucumber, salty savoriness from the feta cheese, and a balanced sweet and sour honey lime juice dressing.

A bright and delicious salad using some of summer’s best bounty of produce.

And speaking of produce you could add a variety of different fruits and veggies to this Honeydew and cantaloupe salad to change it up…

1. Blueberries or blackberries would be a nice addition. And they just happen to be in season at the same time as the melons.
2. Some sliced juicy peaches, pears or kiwi would be yummy, and again they’re in season as well.
3. If you wanted to go more savory, thinly sliced red onion would be a great add.
4. You could swap out the feta cheese for mozzarella pearls, cubes of Colby or Monterey Jack cheese, or even some crumbled Cotija cheese (a firm salty crumbly cheese made from cow’s milk that originated in Mexico).
5. If you wanted to add some protein then prosciutto or Serrano ham would be fantastic. The salty meat with the sweet fruit – mmm, soo good!
6. You could also add some nuts or seeds for some nice texture and a saltiness. Some sliced almonds, pepitas, or sunflower seeds would be very nice.

There are so many ways to switch this salad up and make it your own.

I like to serve it as a lighter side dish, or even make it a light lunch.  Or pair it with some chili lime shrimp, or chicken and enjoy a tasty and simple summer dinner.

And it comes together pretty quick. There’s some chopping and scooping of the melon balls but that’s pretty much the extent of it.

You gotta love a 15-minute meal that you can make ahead.  It keeps well in the fridge and tastes even better when the dressing soaks into the melons and cucumber.  I like to add the cheese just before serving.

 

What do you say we talk about how this yumminess comes together…

How To Make Cucumber Melon Salad

First, using a melon scoop make melon balls from a whole cantaloupe.  

You could also just cut the melon up into pieces if you don't have a melon scoop.  Personally, I thought the variety of the different shapes and sizes all combined together made for a pretty presentation.  

Next, cut the honeydew melon into cubes and add to your cantaloupe.

Slice up your cucumber and combine with the melons.

Mix up your honey, fresh lime juice and extra virgin olive oil to make your dressing and pour oven the melon salad and toss until well combined.

Transfer to your serving dish and sprinkle on the feta cheese and hot pepper flakes (if desired), and dig in!

This refreshing, cold melon salad recipe is perfectly balanced in flavor and textures… and it just screams “summer” to me!  If you love melons or fruit salads then I know you will adore this recipe as much as I do!

If you like this recipe you'll probably love this melon prosciutto salad or this Asian cucumber salad!