Refreshing watermelon fruit salad with a lime mint dressing without sugar, and fresh cherries. Prepare this pretty salad ahead or in 5 minutes with an easy, fresh fruit-sweetened dressing.
Watermelon fruit salad with lime mint dressing is full of fresh fruit! Cherries, strawberries, raspberries and of course watermelon. Unlike most fruit salads, this one is sweetened with watermelon juice, no refined sugar, nothing but fruit.
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Why You'll Love This
Watermelon fruit salad is a festive colorful salute to any summer gathering. It's just so easy to mix with so many fruits. And my dressing, using only blended fruit - no sugar! - makes it so healthy and fruity.
Like my other watermelon recipes such as my watermelon ice cream, watermelon juice, and my watermelon strawberry popsicles, this salad is a breeze to make. You can actually put together this salad just moments before you need to serve it. Prepare the fruit, stir up the dressing in a glass and you have the salad that everyone will reach for at your next summer gathering.
Like my watermelon slushie, Can You Freeze Watermelon? and my Can You Freeze Grapes? posts, this popular summer dish is also refined sugar free, and thus the dish will make you and your guests feel great as well as satisfy the sweet tooth.
Ingredients
For the Salad
Watermelon. You only need 4 cups so choose a small watermelon. Choose a sweet ripe one by looking for one that is heavy, dull, has a yellow spot where it sat to ripen, and makes a hollow sound when you knock on it.
Cherries. Fresh is a must, and use a pitter or poke with a chop stick to pit them.
Blueberries, Blackberries. These pretty berries break up the monotone so it's not necessary, but a great addition for holidays such as Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day!
Strawberries. Fresh, remove the green top, and slice in half.
Raspberries. Fresh, and looked for sturdy ones. Once they get mushy, they will fall apart in this salad when you toss them.
For the Dressing
Watermelon. Blend up ½ cup of watermelon, and strain to collect the watermelon juice. You will use this as the syrup base for the dressing. Or use agave or maple syrup.
Limes. You'll need two, and you'll want to squeeze for juice (¼ cup from both), zest the skin, and finely chop the skin so you collect about 1 teaspoon.
Mint. Fresh is best. Chop most finely or into strips and reserve a few double leaf florets to decorate the finished salad.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Tools Needed
- Measuring cups, spoons
- Blender, strainer
- A glass to make dressing in
- A large knife for slicing fruit
- A cherry pitter or chop stick
- A large bowl to serve salad
- Two large salad spoons to toss it with
Step by Step Instructions
For more detail, visit the complete recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.
Step 1: Prepare the fruit. Try to buy fresh organic fruit to avoid pesticides. Pit the cherries with a cherry pitter or use a stick or chopstick to poke out the pit. Remove the green stem from strawberries and cut in half. Chop the watermelon into symmetrical chunks. Set aside 1 cup for the dressing.
Step 2: Add the prepared fruit (minus 1 cup watermelon) gently to a large bowl and refrigerate while you make the dressing.
Step 3: Blend up the 1 cup of watermelon and pour through a fine mesh filter. Keep the juice and discard the pulp in the strainer.
Step 4: Prepare other dressing ingredients. Juice the limes, zest and chop the skin finely. Also chop the mint leaves.
Step 5: Put the juice in a measuring cup or jar with a lid, and add the chopped mint, lime juice and lime zest. Stir or shake.
Step 6: Refrigerate the dressing until you are ready to serve the salad. Then pour it on the chopped fruit in the bowl, and gently toss.
Make Ahead & Storage
The fruit can be prepped and refrigerated covered for up to 24 hours in advance as long as you pat any wet pieces dry first.
The dressing can be made 3 days in advance, and kept refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
Once the salad is dressed, it should be eaten within a few hours and cannot be stored without getting soggy .
Variations
- You can use agave or maple syrup as the sweetener if you don't want to blend up watermelon. Add 1 tablespoon of either to your dressing, and taste to be sure it is sweet enough.
- You can vary the fruits. Swap out the strawberries and raspberries for blueberries and even mango chunks.
- Add a salty touch by using half the sweetener (juice or agave) and adding ½ cup of chopped or crumbled feta. I use dairy free versions.
- Add grilled fruits for variety. Toss pitted sliced peaches and plums on the grill and put those in the salad.
- Swap mint leaves for basil leaves, although you'll want to add a bit of lemon juice as well to enhance the salad's flavors.
- Include fresh chopped cucumbers for a delicious hydrating and crunchy vegetable addition.
How to Serve
Serve watermelon fruit salad, dressed and in a large bowl, and allow people to serve themselves.
It's also delicious served on a slice of plain pound cake and whipped cream.
FAQS
You can't use frozen berries, but frozen mango chunks or pineapple chunks will work. Leave them frozen until just before serving, the put chunks on the salad individually because once you toss the berries will stain the mango and pineapple chunks purple and red.
Look for a melon with a dull sheen, wide green ribbons which indicate sugar, a dried and yellow stem, and a yellow spot where it sat ripening in the field. The ribbons should be as wide as two fingers.
The easiest way is to cut off the two ends of the watermelon. Stand it up on one of the ends and slice downwards, about an inch in, removing the rind. Repeat all the way around. The slice the pink fruit, and chop into chunks.
Yes, before removing the rind, cut the melon in half, and keep one half with rind on, careful slice out the fruit, leaving a half moon bowl intact to serve your fruit salad in.
Blend it into a pulp, pour into ice cube trays and use the cubes as needed for smoothies. Or pour the blended pulp into popsicle molds.
More Watermelon Recipes
If you tried this watermelon fruit salad recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Watermelon Fruit Salad with Lime Mint Dressing
Equipment
- Measuring cups & spoons
- blender, strainer
- glass, knife
- cherry pitter or chop stick
- serving bowl, spoons
Ingredients
Watermelon Fruit Salad
- 5 cups watermelon chopped into squares
- 1 cup strawberries fresh and sliced in half
- 1 cup cherries pitted and halved
- 1 cup raspberries
- fresh mint for garnish
Optional blue-toned berries for patriotic holidays
- ¼ cup blueberries optional
- ¼ cup blackberries optional
Lime Mint Dressing
- 2 tablespoon fresh mint chopped and sliced
- ¼ cup watermelon juice 1 cup watermelon blended and strained
- 2 tablespoon lime juice 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
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Instructions
- Prepare the fruit. Try to buy fresh organic fruit to avoid pesticides. Pit the cherries with a cherry pitter or use a stick or chopstick to poke out the pit. Remove the green stem from strawberries and cut in half. Chop the watermelon into symmetrical chunks. Set aside 1 cup for the dressing.
- Add the prepared fruit (minus 1 cup watermelon) gently to a large bowl and refrigerate while you make the dressing.5 cups watermelon, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup cherries, 1 cup raspberries, ¼ cup blueberries, ¼ cup blackberries
- Blend up the 1 cup of watermelon and pour through a fine mesh filter. Keep the juice and discard the pulp in the strainer.¼ cup watermelon juice
- Prepare other dressing ingredients. Juice the limes, zest and chop the skin finely. Also chop the mint leaves.
- Put the juice in a measuring cup or jar with a lid, and add the chopped mint, lime juice and lime zest. Stir or shake.2 tablespoon fresh mint, 2 tablespoon lime juice, 1 tablespoon lime zest
Serve
- Pour the dressing over the chopped fruit and gently stir. If you are adding a light colored fruit like pineapple, don't toss that, insert pieces carefully so they don't stain. Dress the salad with fresh mint clusters.fresh mint
Cinnia
Made this twice! Adding grilled watermelon is such a good idea. Thank you for this recipe!