A watermelon salad inspired by summer and elote! The common corn street food covered in crema, rolled in cheese, and topped with spices is one of my favorite treats when I’m back home in Chicago. Watermelon is a deliciously refreshing summer fruit and since fruits are the new vegetables, let’s make something great with it. Combining the crunchy salt snack with this juicy fruit is a matchmade in heaven. A creamy salad with lots of delicious texture that’s perfect addition to a BBQ, pool party, or taco night at-home. Toss the salad right before you serve and be sure to drain your watermelon!

This is a technically simple salad recipe with mix in components and a dressing. The key to making this salad work successfully and look beautiful is all the technique. If this is your first watermelon salad, welcome to the party! There are some things you must known about watermelon salads.

Rule number one, you MUST lightly salt and strain your watermelon in a colander. As the watermelon sits, it will release it’s water and when you add salt to the equation that happens much faster than you think. The goal is to remove as much water from the watermelon that you can yield a creamy watermelon salad that is not runny.

Think of the process like adding ice to water. The watermelon is the ice and the water is the dressing. You can’t salt ice to remove moisture, but you can salt fruits and vegetables that hold water to remove excess moisture. If you added watermelon directly to a creamy dressing, you will notice heavy wateriness. Think of how tzatziki or bruschetta is made, if you don’t drain the water from the cucumber or tomato it will produce excess water in the final product therefore diluting the flavor.

Rule number two, toss the salad right before serving. Watermelon is 92% water, that is 8% away from pure water. You are never going to get all the water out of the watermelon unless you press it, which will yield stringy watermelon bits. We just want to do this extra step of tossing before serving to yield the best salad we can.

I served my watermelon salad with grilled hot dogs and it was a complete hit. If you’re serving a large crowd, divide the salad in two parts and only toss one bowl at a time. It’s a refreshing crunchy summer salad that will satisfy everyone. Create a fabulous event around this one!