The pinnacle of summer, this cucumber melon salad uses excellent seasonal ingredients for a delightfully fresh, bright salad, with no tomatoes in sight. Tomatoes are fantastic, of course, but melon in a salad is something special. You have a truly excellent combination here of slightly sweet and juicy (melon) crisp (cucumber) and sharp (red onion, lemon). A little mint cools it down even more.
For a nice hot-weather meal, try serving the salad with something like a black bean burger or vegan chickpea burgers, or simple lentil patties.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Onion: if raw onion is a bit too much for you, try substituting pickled red onion instead. There are some very good mild, sweet onions, like Tarassac or red blood, if you can get your hands on them, that are truly sweet even raw.
- Melon: use something like a Cantaloupe melon (with orange or light green flesh). Watermelon is a good substitute.
- Mint: if you don’t like mint, sub another soft herb like cilantro/coriander.
Step by Step
Step 1: add all of the ingredients to a mixing bowl.
Step 2: mix until very well combined and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
Try to avoid serving this dish too cold. If all of the ingredients were refrigerated, mix and let it rest for about half an hour before serving – not only will it taste best when the ingredients have had some time to mingle, but it will also feature the individual elements at their best.
How to Store
Storage: this is a good make-ahead salad as the onion gets milder with time. Mix and keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for a day or two, but let it rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing this.
Expert Tips
- Let it rest: while this can be served immediately and is nice right away, it will be even better if you have time to let it sit out at room temperature for a few minutes.
- Season to taste: this isn’t only adding salt to your preference, but also adjusting the acidity levels. You can add more or less lemon juice or add a splash of vinegar if you like something a little more acidic.
- Choose the best melon: a cantaloupe should smell very sweet when it’s ripe, and that’s the most reliable way to test for a good melon. The skin should also be just a little bit soft to the touch rather than rock hard. If you buy an unripe melon, leave it out at room temperature until it does meet those criteria.
More Summer Salads
Strawberry Salad
Lentil Tabbouleh
Summer Potato Salad
Greek Chickpea Salad
If you make this Cucumber Melon Salad or any other vegetarian sides on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.
Cucumber Melon Salad with Mint
Description
Ingredients
- 1 large cucumber chopped
- 1 medium melon cantaloupe or similar, peeled and chopped
- ½ medium red onion thinly sliced
- Small handful mint chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Zest of a lemon
- Juice of a lemon about 3 tablespoons
- ½ teaspoon sea salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the chopped cucumber and melon, sliced onion, mint, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Mix well to combine.1 large cucumber, 1 medium melon, ½ medium red onion, Small handful mint, 2 tablespoons olive oil, Zest of a lemon, Juice of a lemon, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Set the salad aside and let it rest for about 15 minutes at room temperature (it can sit for up to about an hour, covered). Check the seasoning and adjust for salt and acidity, and serve.
- Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
About Alexandra Daum
Alexandra Daum is a professional recipe developer, food photographer, and cookbook author. She started sharing carefully tested vegetarian recipes in 2014 and has since published hundreds of recipes with seasonal ingredients and whole grains as the focus. Her work has been featured on CTV, in House & Home and Chatelaine, on popular websites like Buzzfeed and Best Health, and in countless other publications.