Spicy Watermelon Salad
This juicy Spicy Watermelon Salad is a summer hit! Sweet, salty, spicy... it checks all the boxes! Time to grab a summer watermelon and make this tasty salad STAT!
Prep Time25 minutes mins
Total Time25 minutes mins
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: summer recipes, watermelon
Servings: 6 servings
Author: MaryAnn Dwyer
Dressing
- 3 Tbsp. lime juice, freshly squeezed
- 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp. honey
- 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. cayenne
Watermelon Salad
- 6 cups seeded watermelon, cut into roughly 1-inch cubes
- 2/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 cup crumbled Cotija cheese
- 1-2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
Dressing
Make your dressing by combining your olive oil, lime juice. honey, chili powder, salt and cayenne in a small bowl. Set aside.
Watermelon Salad
Add your sliced red onion to a bowl and cover with water. You'll let them stand in the water while you prepare the rest of the salad. This will help take away some of the sharpness of the red onion. This step is optional. If you like strong red onion taste, no need to do it.
Add your cubed watermelon and jalapeño to a large bowl followed by your drained red onion and then toss with your dressing.
Gently toss everything together until the watermelon is well coated with the dressing. I usually toss everything in a large bowl and then I add the salad to a large platter.Top your watermelon salad with as much of the crumbled cotija cheese as you prefer and then sprinkle with your finely chopped fresh cilantro. I always serve my salad with any extra cheese on the side.
I love cotija cheese which is a salty Mexican cheese, but feta will also work here.
The jalapeño I used was rather large because I love jalapeño. You can use as much as you like.