The other day we packed a picnic and headed outdoors to enjoy the beautiful weather we’ve been having lately. The perfect picnic has simple, delicious food and drinks that travel well. This Strawberry Watermelon Salad with Honey Lime Vinaigrette is one of my favorite summer salads and absolutely perfect to take with you on a picnic or to a backyard BBQ.
While it isn’t quite summer yet, watermelons have started popping up at the grocery store. My kids beg me to get one every time we are there, it’s their absolute favorite. I decided to pick one up for our picnic and instead of just slicing it and putting it in a container I decided to make that ordinary watermelon an extraordinary sweet and refreshing salad.
Watermelon is refreshing on it’s own, but when you add the honey lime vinaigrette it’s gives it another layer of flavor that will make your mouth water. The sweetness of the honey and zing of the lime take this simple summer salad to a whole new level.
You can whip this recipe up in less than 10 minutes, which makes it perfect for those impromptu summer BBQs and picnics. Start by cutting your watermelon into cubes and pour into a large bowl. Add the sliced strawberries and sprinkle with chopped up mint.
To make the dressing squeeze fresh limes into a small bowl of olive oil. Add the honey, nutmeg and lime zest and whisk until well blended.
- ½ watermelon, cubed
- 6-8 strawberries
- 3-4 mint leaves
- pinch of salt
- Honey Lime Vinaigrette:
- ⅓ cup honey
- ½ teaspoon lime peel
- ¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg or cinnamon
- ¾ cup salad oil
- Cut the watermelon into cubes and place in large bowl.
- Hull and slice the strawberries and add to the watermelon.
- Cut the mint leaves into slivers and sprinkle on top
- Add a pinch of salt
- Vinaigrette Instructions:
- In a small mixing bowl combine the honey, lime peel, lime juice and nutmeg.
- Whisk to mix ingredients, add half of the oil to honey mixture in a thin steady stream. Continue whisking till mixture is thick, add more oil until you reach desired flavor.
- Drizzle over the watermelon and serve.
Once you’ve made the vinaigrette pour it into an air tight container and drizzle over your watermelon strawberry salad. You can store the remaining dressing in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Use it to make Strawberry Spinach Salad, another one of our families favorites, or marinate chicken in the dressing for 2-3 hours before grilling it.
There is no doubt that this watermelon strawberry salad with honey lime vinaigrette will quickly become one of your favorite summer recipes!
Planning a backyard BBQ or a picnic in the park? Check out these great recipes and tips for entertaining outdoors:
Tips for Planning the Perfect Picnic
Mason Jar Drink Containers and DIY Stamped Napkins
This sounds delicious and perfect for summer; thanks for sharing!!!
Looks and sounds delicious. Perfect for all of the Summer cookouts that I have coming up over the summer.
Thank you Celeste, it’s the ultimate summer side dish. Enjoy!
Oh my goodness gracious, this looks divine!!!! I especially your food-tography 🙂 totally pinning, have a great day! xo
Thank you Jess, you are so sweet. Hope you have a great day too!
Drooling just by reading the name. Honey lime vinaigrette? Sounds divine and I pinned! 🙂
Thank you, we hope you love it as much as we do!
Sounds perfect for summer. Definitely a must try!
If you have time, I would love for you to come and share this post over at the Really Crafty link party that is live right now! (http://keepingitrreal.blogspot.com.es/2016/05/welcome-to-really-crafty-link-party-19.html).
Such a fresh fruit salad 🙂
Thank you, the vinaigrette is really what makes it so tasty!
Looks delicious. I have put homey and lime on my watermelon, but never the salad oil? Where do you get this and what is it exactly? Is there a particuliar brand you buy? Thanks!
Hi Mari, I use extra virgin olive oil to create the salad dressing with the honey and lime. It’s actually a dressing we use quite a bit on all kinds of different salads. I have the recipe linked in the post.
Can you put the dressing on the side to make the fruit last longer? I made this for my family and by the next day the fruit was very soggy
Yes, you most certainly could. I usually only make mine the day I will be serving it and there is rarely any left so I haven’t had that problem before, but that is a great suggestion for anyone wanting to make it ahead of time or if you think you may have leftovers. Thanks.