Greek-Style Watermelon Salad Recipe (2024)

This recipe was phenomenal. In reading other reviews, the main complaint was regarding the pooling of juices (watermelon, oil, and vinegar). To remedy, I compiled the ingredients by layer (in recipe order), making the watermelon & cheese the "last" items. Do not add the olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper until "just before" tossing and serving. Vinegar & salt soften the walls of the watermelon accelerating the pooling. This is SOOOOO DELICIOUS!

Best. Summer. Salad. Period. Make sure to use well chilled watermelon straight from the fridge. Also, I used white balsamic vinegar (condimento bianco) which worked wonderfully.

Gave this one a try and was very impressed with the flavors!
The olives make this salad shine...used mint flakes; about a tsp!
Definitely drain watermelon & tomatoes before mixing to serve. I used more olives & feta than called for and about a tbsp of fresh chopped flat Italian parsley...use the best EVOO & Red wine vinegar that you can afford...Great recipe!!!
5/30/17

A delight! This surprises everyone: A classic, decades old combo but with a little twist. (We may, upon occasion, use more olives and more feta than called for. No one has called the NYTimes to report us. Yet.) Not great on day three so halve if for two and search cooking.nytimes for "Watermelon Mint Smoothie" for the balance of that large, watery fruit. And do NOT add vodka to that smoothie! No, no, no.

Thanks for a good idea for a summer salad. Please stop excluding vegetable and fruit prep time from the recipe Time. It’s very misleading. I see this in most recipes on this site and elsewhere. Cubing the watermelon could double the time if not more.

He published this recipe in 2013, along with some other great ones, too (see the link on the recipe blurb.) Perhaps you got your recipe that you shared in 2015 from someone who got it from him! :) We were all making watermelon salads back then. Delish!

I'm glad to see this perfect summer recipe on the NY times food after I shared it with Mark in 2015 on Instagram :)

This was really good. I don't love raw onions, so I quick pickled the onions a few hours ahead in a red wine vinegar/olive oil mix and used that as the dressing.

Based on the ingredient volume, make this for four to six people depending on what else you are serving. I make a similar salad that has about the same volume of ingredients. Note: salads with watermelon do NOT make great leftovers. Also if you need to bulk up the salad to serve more, feel free to add some greens like romaine or arugula. Just up the oil/vinegar to taste.

This salad is beautiful and very refreshing to eat. I prepared it this morning for a DAR covered dish luncheon, doubling the recipe. I used 2 cartons of grape tomatoes, halved and soaked sliced red onions in water for about 10 minutes before adding to salad. The 5 minutes prep is not correct, even for a recipe not doubled. Be prepared to find liquid in the bottom of the bowl, not only from the oil and vinegar, but from the watermelon, tomatoes and cucumbers, too. This is a wonderful salad.

I'm with you on the raw onion thing! One solution is to soak them in ice water for a bit then rinse. It really mellows them!

I used Casteveltrano olives and plain goat cheese, no herbs and Sherry vinegar. Simple, clean and delicious; everyone likes it!

I’ve made this several times and absolutely love it. Best with ripe heirloom tomatoes but any will do as long they are ripe and flavorful. Left out the cucumber once and didn’t miss it. Best feta I’ve had is an Israeli brand I found at Trader Joe. I’m not a raw onion fan but I do like the red onion in this, sliced as thinly as possible. Had best results with one of those “personal” watermelons - maybe I’m not a good judge of regular ones but these seem reliably ripe, sweet, and easy to handle.

I prefer it on a bed of arugula, olives optional.

perfect balance of flavors! Couldn't stop eating.

Delicious! Left out tomatoes (per other’s suggestions), added LOTS of mint and parsley, and it was delicious! I could see this also being yummy with a toasted nut on top, maybe pistachio or hazelnut. Big hit!

Why drain the juice in the platter? Dunk a cut baguette into it.

Added watermelon and cukes to tomatoes in strainer and sprinkled lightly with salt to drain. Also added avocado to the mixed salad.

I loved the flavors in this salad, but I found that the texture of the tomatoes did not go with the rest. Next time I make it, I'll leave out the tomatoes - not needed, and distracting texturally. The rest was a wonderful blend of sweet, crunchy, and salty.

Surpassed my expectations! I prepped all the ingredients in advance, keeping them separate (well, I put the cucumber in with the onion) and chilled, drained them before combining in a large bowl, sprinkled with oil and vinegar, basil, and parsley. Delicious on a hot night as a salad.

I skipped the tomatoes because, based on being served similar salads, I don't think tomatoes go well with watermelon. Otherwise a great recipe.

Next time no tomatoes. Perhaps a splash of lemon juice.

This is delicious but takes at least an hour to cut everything up!

I love this recipe. ONE STEP!!! used queso cotija cotija since that’s what was in fridge! Summer time is here!!!

Fresh, delicious, satisfying! I kept the tomatoes to a minimum to avoid competing with the watermelon and added a little chopped romaine. Summer perfection!

We don’t like watermelon and we love this! It is a really terrific salad.

This salad is delicious with a pleasant counterpoint of sweet and salty flavors. I did not strain the tomatoes and watermelon as suggested by some others. I found that the additional juices contributed by the fruits were a good thing, and enhanced the flavor of the oil and vinegar.

Best watermelon salad! I brought it to dinner parties twice this weekend and got raves at both. The second time, I was less careful about ratios and I just eyeballed it—still amazing. Straining is good. Listen to what other commenters have to say about straining. But don’t sweat it—if you forget, it’s going to be ok. I even used Costco EVOO shhhhhh

I’m glad I listened to others and really drained the tomatoes, watermelon, and cucumber before mixing. I wish I had added double the mint (I only used a couple tablespoons).