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Recipe for Watermelon Salad – Looking for a new summer snack? Look no further than this recipe for Watermelon Salad! Loaded with watermelon, cucumbers, and grapes, and topped off with a sweet and spicy jalapeno, lime, and honey marinade, this salad is a must-try this summer!
This recipe is great for packing in a hefty dose of fruit and phytonutrients, and will satisfy any sweet tooth completely refined-sugar free. The best part? It’s super easy to make, and takes only 15 minutes of your time! Keep reading for all the details.
- Table of Contents -
- Add Fruit Salad to your Weekly Menu!
- Chopping Up Whole, Raw Fruits and Veggies
- The Benefits of Watermelon Salad
- How to Make the Best Recipe for Watermelon Salad
- Customize your Recipe
- Lettuce Free Salads
- More Whole, Raw Fruit Recipes
- Kitchen Favorites
Add Fruit Salad to your Weekly Menu!
You can never have too many fresh fruit salad recipes. We love prepping this on the weekends, and refrigerating for a an easy grab-and-go, cold and refreshing snack throughout the week.
While this Recipe for Watermelon Salad can be enjoyed anytime of the year, there’s simply something about the sun and heat that makes you crave fruit. I find fruit-based raw food recipes are the most refreshing and re-hydrating to serve after a day of sun and fun.
Chopping Up Whole, Raw Fruits and Veggies
I suppose I could just leave all the fruit as-is in its whole, untouched form straight from the grocery. But, for whatever reason a whole fruit is never as much fun to eat as one that’s been sliced or diced. And, since fruit is a clean eating staple in our house, I find it most convenient to make my fruit salad recipes in advance!
While grapes, cucumbers, and jalapeños are quite straight to the point when cutting, there are numerous methods out there for cutting watermelons…
How to Cut a Watermelon
There’s truly no wrong way to cut a watermelon, but in our opinion, there really is a best way! Our version helps you enjoy the absolute every last bite of watermelon, with very little left on the rind. It also makes for clean cut chunks for small and easy, bite-sized pieces!
So how exactly do we cut a watermelon?
Step #1: Skin the Watermelon – Instead of cutting straight into the watermelon, we skin it first! This just means we carefully remove the rind using a sharp knife before we ever begin the dicing process. The best way we have found to do this is to make shallow cuts from top to bottom, rotating the watermelon as you go.
Step #2: Slice and Dice – Once your watermelon is completely rind-free, we slice into large round pieces. After this, we start dicing to our desired shape and size!
While it might seem like a lot of work at first, in our opinion, this method is actually much easy, and MUCH more effective. Give it a try, and you might never go back.
The Benefits of Watermelon Salad
This salad includes numerous fruits and veggies, but is primarily made up of lots of watermelon! We all know fruit and veggies are good for us, but what exactly is so special about watermelon? Watermelon is…
Incredibly Hydrating – Watermelon is made up of 92% water, meaning while you’re eating this sweet fruit, you’re also packing in loads of hydration! A serious perk for the summer months, this juicy fruit is, filing, tasty and hydrating!
Full of Anti-Inflammatory Properties – It’s no secret that the American diet is incredibly inflammatory, and contributes to unhealthy levels of chronic inflammation in the body. Watermelon is loaded with antioxidants, and offers anti-inflammatory benefits when consumed. It’s like a dessert that’s good for you!
Great for Digestion – Due to the high water content in combination with fiber, watermelon helps to keep things moving. Of course, a regular bowel movement is incredibly important for the body to function. It effects multiple facets of your health, including your hormones!
I could go on-and-on about the benefits of watermelon. I hope, however, what we went over today is enough to help you feel confident that when you’re enjoying watermelon, you’re doing your body a favor!
How to Make the Best Recipe for Watermelon Salad
This Recipe for Watermelon Salad is quite simple, and to the point. However, there are a few things you can do to add an extra burst of flavor and truly make it the best it can be…
#1: Use only Fresh Fruit and Veggies – It might go without saying, but fresh fruit and veggies in this Watermelon Salad Recipe are crucial for a truly homemade, fresh and crisp flavor to your salad. Even go for fresh jalapeños! We promise, you’ll notice a difference.
#2: Cut Fruit and Veggies into Similar Sizes – Growing up, we’ve always heard that the shape of food doesn’t effect the flavor. While this normally true and often comes from parents trying to get their child to try new foods, this rule simply does not apply to recipes like this one with numerous ingredients. Try to cut your fruit and veggies into comparable (not perfect) sizes in this recipe for an even and balanced flavor with each bite.
#3: Refrigerate Overnight – You absolutely can enjoy this recipe immediately upon completion. Refrigerating overnight, however, will allow the Spicy Jalapeño Marinade to well..truly marinade and soak into the fruit and veggies.
This veggie-fruit trio perfectly compliments the spicy jalapeno pepper and salty flavors from the marinade. This will allow for a deeper flavor, and of course, the refrigeration will make your fruit even more refreshing! The longer it marinates the more intense the flavors.
Customize your Recipe
Here at Clean Cuisine, we always encourage you to customize recipes to adhere to your preferences or health needs! The basic recipe is below, but feel free to switch it up to work for you. Here are some ideas…
- Add More or Less of Any Ingredient: Want more or less intense flavor of one or more of the ingredients in this recipe? Simply increase or decrease the amount based upon your preference!
- Switch out the Dressing: If you have a nightshade intolerance, don’t do well with spicy foods, or simply don’t prefer jalapeños, swap out the marinade for something a bit more mild. We love the simplicity of a honey, lemon and lime drizzle.
- Add or Take Away Ingredients: Not only do you have the option of changing the amounts of the ingredients in this recipe, you have absolute freedom to completely remove or add in ingredients as well! For extra richness you could add in some avocado chunks or drizzle a little bit of avocado oil on top. If you want more fruit, strawberries or blueberries are great additions! In essence, do whatever sounds best to you.
Lettuce Free Salads
While we normally think of salads as raw greens like lettuce or spinach, topped with veggies and dressing, the definition of a salad is actually quite loose! Salads are just small pieces of various foods tossed together, and topped or mixed with dressing. Therefore, a fruit salad really is a salad!
If you have trouble digesting raw lettuce like I do, nontraditional salads may just be the way to go. Here are some of our favorite lettuce-free salad options…
Healthy Pasta Salad Recipe – Healthy Pasta Salad Recipe is both gluten free and very, very healthy. It’s loaded with vegetables, super easy to make & delicious to eat!
Recipe for Grain Salad – Loaded with quinoa, roasted veggies, and tossed in an avocado dressing, this Recipe for Grain Salad is full of flavor and variety!
Warm Salad Recipe for Dinner – While many salads are geared toward summertime, this warm and hearty Salad Recipe for Dinner is perfect for crisp fall or chilly winter days.
Recipe for a Bean Salad – Delicious both cold and warm, this Recipe for a Bean Salad is perfect for taking to school or work for a protein-rich, and nutritious meal!
More Whole, Raw Fruit Recipes:
We’re all about eating whole foods for a simple, easy, and clean diet. Here are some recipes using whole fruit that we love!
Homemade Watermelon Juice Recipe – If you love the refreshing taste of watermelon, be sure to try our Homemade Watermelon Juice recipe. This juice recipe is perfectly sweet without any added refined sugar.
Strawberry Lemonade Recipe – Strawberry Lemonade Recipe is made with zero added sugar. This lemonade is every bit as sweet and takes just 5 minutes to make.
Blueberry Muffin Chia Pudding with Almond Milk – Try this Chia Pudding with Almond Milk that tastes like a Wild Blueberry Muffin. Made with simple ingredients. Dairy free and gluten free.
Clean Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream – This clean homemade chocolate ice cream recipe is dairy free and has no refined sugar.
Ready for the full recipe? Let’s get into the details!
Kitchen Favorites
Recipe for Watermelon Salad
Looking for a new summer snack? Look no further than this recipe for quick and easy, Recipe for Watermelon Salad!
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- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
- 1/4 teaspoon unrefined salt
- 1 heaping tablespoon chopped fresh jalapeno, seeds removed
- 1 cup finely chopped parsley
- 1 cup white seedless grapes, cut into halves
- 6 cups watermelon cut into small chunks or scooped with a melon baller
- 1 or 2 cucumbers, cut lengthwise into four strips, seeds removed, and then cut across into small even chunks
Instructions
- Pour the lime juice in a large mixing bowl and whisk in the honey and unrefined sea salt. Add the jalapeño peppers and parsley to a mini food processor and process until finely chopped.
- Add the jalapeno-parsley mixture to the lime marinade.
- Add the watermelon, cucumber and grapes to the bowl with the lime juice; gently toss to coat. Refrigerate and marinate for a minimum of five hours, tossing occasionally so the marinade reaches all ingredients for maximum flavor.
- Serve chilled. Enjoy!
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Notes
This salad tastes best if you take extra care to cut the watermelon and cucumber the same size.
©2024 clean cuisine Recipe by: Author Madison Suttles
