The Best Watermelon Salad with Easy Chili Lime Dressing
This summertime salad offers a sweet and spicy change up from the usual Watermelon Feta Salad. Mexican inspired ingredients take this summer fruit to new heights.
Equipment
- 1 high-performance blender or immersion blender
Ingredients
Watermelon Salad
- 2 cups diced fresh watermelon chunks
- 1 cup diced fresh cucumber chunks
- ½ cup roughly chopped mint and cilantro leaves
- ⅓ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup crumbled cotija cheese
- 1 avocado skin and seed removed and flesh diced into chunks
Quick Pickled Shallots
- 1 medium shallot (approx. 2 inches in length) thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons hot water
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Chili Lime Dressing
- 1 to 2 teaspoons Chili lime seasoning or Tajin Use 1 teaspoon for mild heat; 2 teaspoons for a little more heat.
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon raw local honey or agave
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 small shallot roughly diced
Instructions
- To make the quick pickled shallots: whisk the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a small bowl until the sugar and salt dissolve. Add the thinly sliced shallots and allow to sit for about 10 minutes to allow shallot to quickly pickle while assembling the rest of the salad ingredients.
- To make the dressing: place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Alternatively, place all ingredients in a tall cup or jar and use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.
- Add dressing to the bottom of a large salad bowl. Dice your watermelon and cucumber, as needed, and add to the bowl. Add remaining ingredients then toss everything together then top with more avocado and cotija, as desired.
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