Cantaloupe Salad With Cucumber, Feta, and Mint
Servings:5 servings
This healthy cantaloupe salad is sweet, fresh, cool, and pretty much summer in a bowl! With cucumber, tomatoes, vegan feta, mint, and a lemon-y harissa dressing. Perfect for summer lunches and backyard cookouts with friends. Vegan and gluten-free with an oil-free option.
Ingredients
- 1 large cantaloupe, cut into cubes (about 3 cups) - It should be heavy and smell sweet and fragrant.
- 1 English cucumber, ends trimmed, thinly sliced
- 2 large handfuls cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, torn or thinly sliced
- ½ to ⅔ cup crumbled vegan feta cheese - Homemade or store-bought.
For the dressing:
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, optional - Omit or sub cashew butter or aquafaba for oil-free.
- 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons dried harissa seasoning - Or 2 to 3 teaspoons harissa paste.
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine the cantaloupe, cucumber, tomatoes, and mint in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, maple syrup, olive oil, lesser amount of harissa, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Taste and add more harissa, if desired. Drizzle about half of the dressing on the salad and toss to combine. Taste and add more dressing, salt, pepper, and/or lemon.
- Top with crumbled feta. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours to allow the flavors to mingle. Serve cool or at room temperature.
Notes
Substitutions
Watermelon is a good replacement for the cantaloupe.
If you need to use a regular cucumber instead of English, I recommend peeling it. Then slice in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and cut into half moons.
Serving and Storage
The salad is best eaten a few hours after it's made, cool or at room temperature. Leftovers till taste great the next day, but after day 2 the mint and tomatoes will look a bit sad. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Calories: 142kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 6g | Sugar: 17g
