This is a cantaloupe salad studded with cool cucumber chunks, salty feta cheese, lot’s of fresh mint and lime juice. It’s a great no-lettuce salad option for summer!
Cantaloupe! In salad! Oh, I could eat this every day (and I most-likely will be for the foreseeable future).
In my experience late summer traditionally brings stone fruit recipes (especially the sweets like crisps, crumbles, cobblers, and galettes). However the humble cantaloupe is often skipped. It’s a way underrated fruit in my opinion and I strongly believe that everyone who says they hate cantaloupe just hasn’t had a good one yet.
As a big advocate of no-lettuce salads, this is one recipe you need on hand for a last minute side. Pair this with your grilled protein of choice, serve with some crusty bread and a cold glass of white wine and you have yourself a borderline perfect summer meal.
Here’s what you need to make it:
Ingredients
- cantaloupe
- cucumber (I like English or the minis)
- sheep’s milk feta cheese (more on this below)
- lime juice
- honey
- good olive oil
- mint
- flaky salt (or any coarse salt)
Tips for Success
- Quality of Ingredients: This is a simple recipe that doesn’t really need a “how-to” section but ingredient quality will make a difference. I love this olive oil, honey and salt (FYI those are affiliate links!)
- Choosing a Cantaloupe: my favorite way to choose cantaloupe is by smell. If it’s fragrant, it’s usually a good one. I avoid them when they have a green tint on or near the ends.
- Presentation: To keep the presentation looking a little more “clean” when there’s sheep’s milk feta involved, I like to place the ingredients on a platter instead of tossing it all together in a bowl. If you try mixing this salad, it’ll still taste great but the cheese will coat the other ingredients and it will look white.
Cantaloupe Salad FAQs
Grapefruit would be a great sub in the winter months.
If you want to sub, the next best option would be a block of standard feta instead of the crumbles, and you can find this almost anywhere. I do MUCH prefer the sheep’s milk variety here because it has more moisture, more pronounced flavor. If you haven’t tried sheep’s milk feta, it’s a real treat.
You can chop the melon but assemble everything else just before serving. This salad is still great the next day but the look of it starts to change and it’s a little less beautiful!
3 More No-Lettuce “Salads”
PrintCantaloupe Salad
Cantaloupe salad with cool cucumber chunks, salty feta cheese, fresh mint and lime juice. A simple no-lettuce salad option for summer.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Sides, Salads
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 medium cantaloupe, cubed
- 1 english cucumber, sliced in 1/2″ rounds
- 5.3 oz sheep’s milk feta cheese, cubed (see notes)
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 teaspoon good olive oil
- 1–2 teaspoons honey
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint
- flaky salt
Instructions
- Place cantaloupe, cucumber and feta on a large platter or shallow serving dish. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the top, drizzle olive oil and honey over the top, scatter mint leaves and finish with flaky salt.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
- The equipment section above provides affiliate links to things I use often in my kitchen and love.
- You can toss all of the ingredients together in a large bowl, just note the cheese will coat the rest of the ingredients and make everything white.
- Sheep’s milk feta: You can also sub a block of standard feta cheese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 127 calories
- Fat: 7 grams
- Carbohydrates: 11 grams
- Fiber: 1 gram
- Protein: 5 grams
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