Mexican Watermelon Salad

You’ll love this simple Mexican Watermelon Salad recipe with juicy ripe watermelon, cilantro and queso fresco all tossed in an addictive honey lime dressing. It’s a summer favorite and perfect for potlucks and backyard barbecues. Serve it with sandwiches, burgers, grilled chicken or fish. 

What could be better during warm summer months than the taste of juicy ripe watermelon. This recipe for watermelon salad is a quick and easy one to make! Once you try it, you’ll be making it all season long!

Every bite of this watermelon fruit salad is just as refreshing and flavorful as it looks. Juicy ripe watermelon tossed with queso fresco and fresh cilantro is a perfect balance of salty sweet.

Mexican Watermelon Salad Recipe

Here’s the short list of ingredients you’ll need to make this summer salad:

• Watermelon – I used 1 small watermelon for this recipe, but you can use either 1 small watermelon or half of a large watermelon.  Whatever you use – you’ll need 6 cups of cubed watermelon.
• Queso Fresco – Queso Fresco adds flavor and a little bit of saltiness to this salad. We use Queso Fresco instead of Cojita because Queso Fresco is a little softer, more moist and mild tasting than Cojita.  It’s also a little less salty.
• Cilantro – Fresh cilantro adds a bright pop of flavor to this salad!
• Dressing– Even though the watermelon is already juicy and flavorful, we drizzle this salad with a simple dressing made with honey, lime juice and lime zest. It’s so good and makes this watermelon fruit salad completely addictive!

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

Variations

• Toss in 1 cup cubed or sliced English or Persian cucumber
• Add in 1 cup peeled and cubed jicama
• Sprinkle with Tajin or chili powder

How to Make Watermelon Salad

1. Whisk Dressing – Combine ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl and whisk.
2. Cut watermelon – Peel and discard the rind of the watermelon, then cut into cubes. Be sure to remove any black seeds in the watermelon. If you want you can also use a melon baller.
3. Chop Cilantro – Cilantro wilts easily, so you’ll want to wait to chop it to add to the salad just before serving. 
4. Serve. Toss watermelon and queso fresco with dressing, then sprinkle with the chopped cilantro and serve.

How to Pick a Watermelon

Here’s a few tips for picking a watermelon that you’ll enjoy.

• Rind health. You’ll want to look for a watermelon with a flat matte rind rather than a glossy or shiny rind.
• Yellow field spot. Look for the yellow field spot on the bottom of the watermelon. This is where the watermelon laid on the field and the yellow color indicates ripeness (and that it ripened in the field).
• Weight. Heavier watermelons are often juicy watermelons. Pick up different watermelons in the bunch to choose one on the heavier side for its size.

How to Store Watermelon

How long a watermelon lasts, depends on when the watermelon was picked and how it’s stored.

• Whole uncut watermelon should be kept at room temperature until ripe.
• Whole watermelon will last up to 10 days sitting on your kitchen counter at room temperature. 
• Whole ripe watermelon can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
• Once the watermelon is cut or cubed, place the cut pieces of watermelon in an airtight container or place in a bowl or on a plate and cover tightly with plastic wrap.
• Cut watermelon can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Watermelon Benefits

• Hydration. Watermelon is comprised of 92% water, so it makes a great addition for your daily water intake. Staying hydrated helps regulate body temperature, it helps to delivery nutrients to every cell in our body. 
• Good Source of Essential Vitamins and Minerals. Watermelon is a good source of vitamin C,potassium, magnesium and vitamin A as well as carotenoids and lycopene.

Looking for More Watermelon Recipes to Make?

• Watermelon Juice
• Watermelon Popsicles
• Watermelon Pizza
• Fruit Cups
• Packable Fresh Fruit Salad
• Watermelon Berry Granita
• Summer Melon Salad
• Mexican Fruit Salad

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Print

Yield: 6 servings

Mexican Watermelon Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

You'll love this simple Mexican Watermelon Salad recipe with juicy ripe watermelon, cilantro and Queso fresco all tossed in an addictive honey lime dressing. It's a summer favorite and perfect for potlucks and backyard barbecues. Serve it with sandwiches, burgers, grilled chicken or fish. 

Ingredients

• 6 cups watermelon, cut into cubes (rind and seeds discarded)
• 1/2 cup Queso Fresco cheese
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

For the Honey Lime Dressing

• 1/2 cup clover honey
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 heaping teaspoon grated lime zest
• 1/2 teaspoon flaky salt (Kosher or Himalayan salt will work too)

Instructions

1. Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Combine the cubed watermelon, queso fresco in a serving bowl.
3. Drizzle the dressing over the watermelon and queso fresco and gently toss.
4. Sprinkle salad with chopped cilantro just before serving.

Notes

Variations

• Toss in 1 cup cubed or sliced English or Persian cucumber
• Add in 1 cup peeled and cubed jicama
• Sprinkle with Tajin or chili powder

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 184Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 286mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 1gSugar: 33gProtein: 4g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations.