Watermelon Feta Salad with Balsamic Tahini Dressing

This salad is summer in a bowl. This Watermelon feta salad is super simple, refreshing and full of my favorite summer fruit – watermelon! Ready in under 10 minutes including making the homemade balsamic tahini dressing! That’s what I call a simple summer meal! This watermelon feta salad is gluten free, vegetarian, and easy to make!

Watermelon Feta Salad – Summer Love

Let’s be honest, there is never a bad way to enjoy watermelon! Am I right? Putting it in a watermelon feta salad is just one more way to get in some extra!

I was lucky enough to pick out the most delicious and perfectly ripe watermelon the other day at the store. After practically stuffing myself silly on watermelon, I got my act together and decided I better make some dinner before the watermelon was completely gone. Did you know I have absolutely no self control around watermelon? It’s a curse I swear!

With that being said, you shouldn’t be surprised that those perfectly ripe chunks of watermelon made their way into my dinner salad and tada, the watermelon geta salad. OMG what a perfect meal! It was sweet, salty, crunchy and peppery.

Seriously this watermelon feta salad hit on so many notes. And it’s all food I normally have in the fridge or the pantry so this is certainly going to become a regular meal this summer! Well his salad or my favorite watermelon gazpacho, I think I’ll make that next week!

Balsamic Tahini Dressing

Making salad dressing was always something that intimated me during my fat phobia days. I remember watching Bobby Flay or Ida make dressing on the Food Network and thinking OMG ALL THAT OIL!! I was baffled and swore I would find a way to make dressing without fat. Ahem all vinegar.

But I’ve learned my lesson. Fat is not something to fear. Well at least not healthy fats! I love using nut butters like tahini as the base of my salad dressing. They bring such interesting flavor and the fat helps you feel full and satiated as well as help you absorb the fat soluble vitamins from your salad. Needless to say, my salad dressing always has some healthy fats (in moderation of course).

What  I love the most about this dressing is that it’s just a few simple ingredients and you can make it in a mason jar in like 1 minute. Just stir and shake and viola, the perfect salad dressing (or vegetable dipping sauce ever) and all the ingredients are things you can pronounce and recognize as food! That is how I like to fuel my body!

P.S. be careful about the balsamic vinegar you pickup. I randomly grabbed a bottle at Trader Joe’s (one that I’ve bought and used for quite some time) but decided to turn around the bottle and check the ingredients.  I had to put it back on the shelf. It has caramel coloring in it. UGH. Why do they gotta go and do that!! Luckily I’ve been buying this awesome balsamic vinegar at Costco for my clients and I was able to use that – no crazy chemicals or additives in that!

Did you know that you are suppose to wash your watermelon (all melons) before cutting into them? I really hadn’t thought much of it, since we don’t eat the skin but as soon as someone mentioned it to me, it made sense. You have to cut through the skin to get to the juicy melon, and anything on the outside then gets transferred to what you are eating. YUCK! So before you go cutting into that melon, take a few minutes and wash it with some produce wash. It’s a step I don’t miss and now I bet you won’t either!

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Watermelon Feta Salad with Balsamic Tahini Dressing

This simple summer salad is full of flavor and ready in under 10 minutes. Watermelon feta walnut salad with balsamic tahini dressing is the perfect gluten free, vegetarian meal that you can happily serve as an appetizer or simple lunch or dinner salad topped with your favorite protein!

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Main Course, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 245kcal

Author: Samantha Rowland

Ingredients

• 2 bags arugula
• 2 cups watermelon chunks
• 2-3 tbs. feta cheese crumbles omit for vegan
• 2-3 tbs. chopped walnuts

Balsamic Tahini Dressing

• 3 tbs. tahini
• 3 tbs. balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbs water
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions

• Place the arugula, watermelon, crumbled feta and chopped walnuts in a large salad bowl.
• In a mason jar make the dressing by combining all the ingredients and stirring. Finish with a quick shake after securing the lid tightly.
• Pour over the salad and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 245kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 437mg | Potassium: 1479mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 177.6% | Vitamin C: 72.5% | Calcium: 63.8% | Iron: 34.1%

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What about you?

• How do you like to enjoy watermelon?
• What’s your favorite summer salad?
• Give me a fun fact about watermelon I don’t know!