Watermelon and Feta Salad is one of those recipes that is perfect on a hot summer night and you are looking for a side dish recipe that is easy to make but packed with flavor. This watermelon salad recipe gets a beautiful sweetness from the balsamic syrup drizzled over the top, a salty bite from the feta cheese, and the needed freshness from the fresh basil or mint. Don’t skip the second step of this recipe or you will end up with watermelon soup instead of watermelon feta salad 🙂

My initial desire was to make a watermelon and arugula salad when I began this recipe, but out of the three grocery stores in my small town, not one of them carried arugula 🙁 I was tempted to buy the mixed greens and pick out all the pieces of arugula but girl, who has time for THAT?? Now I know that next summer I need to add a section of arugula to my garden next to my spinach and spring mix lettuce.

After my failure to procure the arugula, I was tempted to give up on my quest for the perfect watermelon salad recipe but decided to move forward with the same recipe creation minus the greens. The result was really yummy and surprisingly simple to make.

For me, the two ingredients that take this watermelon salad recipe over the top are the feta cheese because of the saltiness it adds, and the balsamic drizzle which enhances the natural sweetness of the melon. In fact, the watermelon I purchased at the store was quite bland so I was worried that my salad wouldn’t turn out well but now I know what to make next time I do a lousy job picking a melon. It was fabulous!

You don’t have to use a melon baller if you don’t want. You can always just cube it up or I was tempted to make small matchsticks as well. Whatever floats your boat 🙂 The other option I have for the watermelon and feta salad is what type of herb you want to use. I tried both fresh basil and mint, and for me the basil was better. I often find mint to be overwhelming. You could also try a combination of both!