There's nothing more refreshing than perfectly ripe, in-season melon. And that fresh flavor gets elevated further when paired with juicy strawberries, sweet melon, and herbs picked straight from the garden. This melon ball salad is fresh, delicious, and fun to make!
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🥗 Why We Love This Recipe
- Comes together quickly: Once you're done balling the melons, the rest of the salad comes together in about 5 minutes.
- Better than a regular fruit salad: Fruit salads can be super boring, but this melon salad keeps it interesting, with pops of herbaceous basil and mint, the acidity of the lime, and the sweetness of the strawberries and melons.
- Great way to use summer fruits: Melon and cantaloupe are pretty boring on their own, but alongside melon, strawberry, and a great dressing, they turn into stars.
🍓 Ingredients
Here are the key ingredients you'll need to make this melon ball salad with strawberries:
📋 Ingredient Notes
- Fresh herbs: This melon salad will taste best with fresh mint and basil, so don't skip them! If you don't have fresh, leave them out altogether – this salad is not a great use for dried herbs.
- Fresh fruit: Just like the herbs, this melon ball salad will taste best with fresh, in-season fruit, so ideally make this during the summer, when watermelons, honeydew, and cantaloupe will all be at their peak freshness and flavor.
- Melon prep: Balling the melons is pretty fun, but if you're pressed on time, you can opt to slice the melons into smaller cubes instead. The salad will still taste great!
- Agave: agave is a neutral sweetener that really helps tie this melon salad together. If you don't have any, you can sub with another liquid sweetener like honey.
🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
(1) To make the dressing, whisk together ¼ cup lime juice, 1 teaspoon agave, ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon salt. Then add in 3 tablespoon chopped mint and 1 ½ tablespoon chopped basil and stir gently. Set aside while prepping the rest of the ingredients so the mint and basil have a chance to flavor the dressing.
(2) For the salad, use a melon baller to carve balls out of watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe melon. You should keep scooping until you have 3 cups of watermelon balls, 2 cups of cantaloupe balls, and 2 cups of honeydew balls. Don't discard scraps - either eat them on their own, or add them to a smoothie or juice!
(3) Slice the strawberries lengthwise into thin round circles. Add the strawberries and balled fruit to a mixing bowl and pour the dressing over the top. Gently stir to coat fruit, and then transfer to a serving bowl or platter. Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Enjoy!
💭 Expert Tips and FAQs
- Melon baller is optional: If you're pressed on time, just cut the melons into cubes instead of balling them.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve. It keeps well for up to 3 days, but this strawberry melon salad tastes best when eaten the same day it's made. It also tends to get soggier the longer it sits.
A melon baller, also called a Parisienne scoop, is a small spoon-like utensil that's used to cut ball-shaped pieces of melon. Essentially, you insert the tool into the melon, twirl it in a full circle, and you get a perfect little sphere of melon! You can find them at any kitchen supplies stores.
A ripe watermelon will have a large yellow spot and will feel heavy and sturdy. Knock on the watermelon – if it sounds nice and hollow, it's likely at peak ripeness. If it sounds dull (or feels soft), pass.
If it's green, it's not ripe. It will be firm to the touch but not completely hard, and it should smell sweet. If it smells bad, don't buy it.
The skin will be more yellow than green, and if you press on the bottom, it will feel slightly soft.
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Print📖 Recipe
Melon Strawberry Salad with Lime Mint Dressing
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4-6
- Diet: Vegan
Description
There's nothing more refreshing than perfectly ripe, in-season melon. This melon strawberry salad is fresh, delicious, and fun to make!
Ingredients
Salad:
- 3 cups watermelon (diced or use melon baller)
- 3 cups sliced strawberries
- 2 cups cantaloupe (diced or use melon baller)
- 2 cups honeydew (diced or use melon baller)
Lime Mint Dressing:
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tsp agave or honey
- ⅛-¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
- 1 ½ tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- To make the dressing, whisk together ¼ cup lime juice, 1 teaspoon agave, ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon salt. Then add in 3 tablespoon chopped mint and 1 ½ tablespoon chopped basil and stir gently. Set aside while prepping the rest of the ingredients so the mint and basil have a chance to flavor the dressing.
- For the salad, use a melon baller to carve balls out of watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe melon. You should keep scooping until you have 3 cups of watermelon balls, 2 cups of cantaloupe balls, and 2 cups of honeydew balls. Don't discard scraps - either eat them on their own, or add them to a smoothie or juice!
- Slice the strawberries lengthwise into thin round circles. Add the strawberries and balled fruit to a mixing bowl and pour the dressing over the top. Gently stir to coat fruit, and then transfer to a serving bowl or platter. Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Enjoy!
Notes
Melon baller is optional: If you're pressed on time, just cut the melons into cubes instead of balling them.
Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve. It keeps well for up to 3 days, but this strawberry melon salad tastes best when eaten the same day it's made. It also tends to get soggier the longer it sits.
Agave: agave is a neutral sweetener that really helps tie this salad together. If you don't have any, you can sub with another liquid sweetener like honey.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: No cook
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Salad
- Calories: 195
- Sugar: 28.2 g
- Sodium: 158.1 mg
- Fat: 4.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 35.3 g
- Fiber: 4.3 g
- Protein: 7.5 g
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