Watermelon Salad with Cucumber, Mint and Chili-Lime
July on a plate, with no stove. Ice-cold watermelon and crisp cucumber, torn mint, shaved red onion and pistachios, dressed at the last second with lime, olive oil and a whisper of chili. The cool, juicy counterpoint to everything off the grill - and the bowl that empties first.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- none
- Total
- 15 min
- Serves
- 4
- Method
- No-Cook
These come from Weiser Family Farms and Alex Weiser, who I track down most Wednesdays at the Santa Monica Farmers Market - the best melons in California. Watermelon is perfect here, but any ripe summer melon works; Weiser signature varieties like Kinji, Ogen, Sugar Cube, Brilliant and Cavaillon are worth the hunt. No farmers market? A good grocery watermelon does the job - heft it for weight and look for the creamy-yellow ground spot.
What actually matters here
- Dress at the last second. Watermelon and cucumber release water fast - toss right before it hits the table.
- Salt and lime at the end. A pinch of flaky salt and fresh lime make the melon taste sweeter and brighter.
- Chili is the surprise. A little heat against the cold sweet melon is what makes people ask what is in it.
Ingredients
Serves 4.
Salad
- 6 cupscold watermelon, cubed (Weiser Farms if you can)
- 2Persian cucumbers, sliced
- 1/2 cupmint leaves, torn
- 1/2 cupshelled pistachios
- 1/4red onion, shaved
To Dress
- 2 tbspolive oil
- 1lime, juiced
- 1/2 tspred chili flakes (Aleppo or Maras if you have them)
- flaky salt
Before you start
- Chill the watermelon and cucumber so the salad is cold when it hits the table.
- Shave the red onion thin and soak it in cold water for 10 minutes to soften the bite.
Method
- Cube the cold watermelon and slice the cucumbers; pile them on a wide platter.
- Scatter the shaved red onion and torn mint over the top.
- Whisk the lime juice with the olive oil and chili flakes; spoon it over just before serving.
- Finish with the pistachios and a good pinch of flaky salt. Serve right away.
How you know it is right
- The watermelon and cucumber are cold and just-dressed, not sitting and weepy.
- You taste sweet melon, then bright lime, then a little chili heat.
- Pistachios add crunch and the flaky salt ties it together.
How to serve it
Serve cold, immediately, as a light vegan main or the fresh side to anything off the grill. A handful of white beans makes it more of a full dinner.
If you want it simpler
- Pre-cubed watermelon makes this a 5-minute dish.
- No pistachios? Toasted almonds or sunflower seeds work.
- Skip the chili for the kids; add more for the adults.
Keep it cold, dress it last, and do not skip the salt and chili.
This dish came from the SEASON plan for June 29 - July 5, 2026, alongside nine other dinners and one shopping list.
Get SEASON Weekly, free every Monday
A short letter from Chef Michael - what's in season, why this week's menu, and the moments from the market that don't fit inside a recipe.
The recipe above is the cooking. SEASON membership is the system around it:
- Ten dinners chosen for you every Sunday - five Classic, five Plant-Based
- One consolidated shopping list for the whole week, sorted the way a chef shops
- A prep plan that tells you what to do ahead so weeknights are assembly, not cooking
- Servings that scale, hands-free Cook Mode, and the full searchable Library of every dish
More SEASON dinners like this
Written and tested by Chef Michael Rossi, who has spent thirty years in professional kitchens including Napa Rose, THE RANCH, The Masters at Augusta National, and The Beach Club. Every SEASON recipe is one he has cooked on a real line before it reaches a home kitchen.