Easy, Refreshing Watermelon Salsa

Meghan Splawn
Meghan Splawn
Meghan was the Food Editor for Kitchn's Skills content. She's a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting — both time and money — and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the first 10 years of her career as part of Alton Brown's culinary team. She co-hosts a weekly podcast about food and family called Didn't I Just Feed You.
Follow
published Jul 26, 2019
Be the first to leave a review!
Post Image
Credit: Meghan Splawn

This 5-ingredient dip is everything your summer has been missing.

Makes4 cups

Prep15 minutes

Jump to Recipe
Jump to Recipe
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Post Image
Credit: Meghan Splawn

Fresh salsa is one of summer’s greatest pleasures. Juicy, in-season produce gets spiced, salted, and covered with lime juice for a snack (or, hey, dinner!) that’s perfect for those hot back-porch evenings. I love a good tomato salsa — even Kitchn’s best blender salsa, which uses the canned variety — but this summer I discovered a fruit salsa that gives tomatoes, pineapples, and mangoes a run for their money.

Credit: Meghan Splawn

Watermelon Salsa Is Exactly What Your Summer Is Missing

It wasn’t until last week, when our Instagram audience chimed in to tell us that we had forgotten watermelon salsa in our list of summer watermelon essentials, that I learned I had been missing out on a very important summer salsa.

Watermelon salsa is as refreshing as it sounds, and it couldn’t be easier to throw together. You’ll start by tossing chopped red onion in lime juice, which takes away its bite and also infuses the onion with flavor. Then, you’ll chop the fresh, juicy watermelon and a small English cucumber, mince a jalapeño, toss both together with the onion, and finish with fresh cilantro and salt, to taste. The result is a sweet, salty, crunchy summer salsa that’s great with chips or tucked inside a taco.

Comments

Watermelon Salsa

This 5-ingredient dip is everything your summer has been missing.

Prep time 15 minutes

Makes 4 cups

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

  • 1/2

    small red onion

  • 1

    large lime

  • 1/2

    medium personal-sized watermelon

  • 1

    small English cucumber

  • 1

    medium jalapeño pepper

  • 1/2 cup

    fresh cilantro leaves

  • 1/2 teaspoon

    kosher salt

  • Tortilla or pita chips, for serving

Instructions

  1. Finely chop the 1/2 red onion and place in a large bowl. Halve the lime, squeeze the juice over the onion, and toss to combine. Let these two mingle for about 10 minutes while you chop the remaining ingredients.

  2. Cut the rind from the 1/2 watermelon, then dice the flesh (you should have about 3 cups). Dice the cucumber. Halve the jalapeño, remove the seeds, and finely chop. Coarsely chop the 1/2 cup cilantro leaves.

  3. Add the watermelon, cucumber, jalapeño, cilantro, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to the onion and toss gently to combine. Refrigerate the salsa for 1 hour before serving with tortilla chips or pita chips for scooping.

Recipe Notes

Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Filed in:
easy
Make Ahead
vegan
vegetarian
Latin American
mexican