Watermelon Feta Salad is a light and refreshing summer salad recipe with a sweet-tart reduced balsamic reduction. Gorgeous and perfect for entertaining!
I cannot WAIT for you to get your hands – er, forks – on the recipe for Watermelon, Feta, Basil and Pistachio Salad. This fresh, flavor and texture-packed salad is like summer on a plate!
My recent prayers for a summer heat wave were finally answered last week and the scorching hot temps have had me looking for refreshing meals that are nearly no heat required. This salad is it!
Sweet, fresh watermelon is combined with lettuce and basil for a super light base then pumped up with cubed feta cheese, chopped pistachios, and my favorite part, reduced balsamic vinaigrette. As in, reduced balsamic vinegar used IN the vinaigrette that’s drizzled on top. SO GOOD.
This salad is the perfect starter to any meal, or if it’s hot as blazes where you live too, a filling and refreshing entree that’s nearly no heat required.
Start by making the Reduced Balsamic Vinaigrette, which includes reduced balsamic vinegar, one of my favorite foods on the planet. With it’s sweet-tart taste and syrupy texture, it’s the perfect base for this simple yet luscious vinaigrette.
Simply boil 1 cup balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan until it’s the consistency of thin maple syrup, about 15-20 minutes or until you have between 3 and 4 Tablespoons of reduced vinegar.
Let the reduced vinegar cool slightly then add to a mason jar with 1 clove minced garlic, 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper, and shake to combine. The instant the warm vinegar hits the raw garlic it is lights out. Incredible!
The rest of the salad components are a cinch to prep. Cube a 6oz block of feta cheese, julienne 14-16 fresh basil leaves, roughly chop 1/4 cup shelled pistachios, then cube 2 cups fresh watermelon.
Search for a watermelon that’s heavy for it’s size and has a large white or pale yellow spot on the underside which indicates it’s been sitting and ripening to perfection in the sun.
Wash then dry the watermelon, and then cut it in half. I find my serrated bread knife works even better than my big chef’s knife for the job!
Cut each half in half, then slice each quarter like so.
Switch to a smaller, paring knife then slice off the rind and then cube the watermelon. That’s it!
To assemble the salad, divide 9-10oz arugula or the mixed green of your choosing on plates then top with the watermelon, feta, pistachios, and basil. Give each plate a heavy drizzle of Reduced Balsamic Vinaigrette, and then serve!
More Watermelon Recipes
Ingredients
- 9-10 oz arugula, or other mixed green
- 2 cups 1″ watermelon cubes
- 6 oz block feta, cubed
- 1/4 cup shelled pistachios, chopped
- 14-16 fresh basil leaves, julienned
For the Reduced Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- salt and pepper
Directions
For the Reduced Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- Bring balsamic vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan then turn heat down slightly and boil until consistency is like thin maple syrup, 15-20 minutes. You should have 3 – 4 Tablespoons reduced vinegar. Let vinegar cool slightly then pour into a mason jar, add garlic, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then shake to combine and set aside.
For the Salad:
- Divide lettuce among plates then top with watermelon, feta, pistachios, and basil, and then drizzle with Reduced Balsamic Vinaigrette.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
What a beautiful salad! I love fruit with balsamic vinegar drizzled on top, so this dressing sounds absolutely dreamy to me. This seems to be the summer of watermelon; we’ve eaten no less than 10 this summer and there’s only 4 of us…
i just made this for lunch. Thank you! here are a few amazing summer salads you may love http://www.inallofhersplendor.com/2014/08/01/5-sensational-summer-side-salads/
Watermelon is the perfect food. I could eat it all the time! Melon is always my summertime obsession.
This looks so good! It’s been hotter than usual in Seattle this summer, so lots of watermelon for me. This is a great way it!
This is such a stunning combination! Beautiful photos too.
I love making a version of this salad but have never added pistachios..must try!
YOU’RE responsible for this awful heat wave??? Next time could ya wish for it WITHOUT all the humidity? :P
I could eat balsamic reduction on everything, too!
This looks amazing! I’ve been eating tomatoes and peaches all summer long! They are my go-to staples!
I have never tried watermelon in a salad, but it has me really intrigued! I am excited to try this :)
This looks amazing! Love all the textures going on!
Yum! This could not look more delicious on a day with a 102 degree heat index expected (in Chicago – ahh!) Stay cool out there.
You know what is the total worst – I have not eaten ANY watermelon this year. BUT, I have been dying to try it with feta and I can never say no to reduced balsamic (SO GOOD!) So clearly I must change it before summer is over! Pinned :)
oh yum! It’s been unseasonably cool here but we are loving watermelon anyway. I love that you incorporated reduced balsamic into a dressing instead of just using it on its own.