4.4 from 17 votes

Mint and Lime Watermelon Salad is a fresh and simple way to dress up basic watermelon that will have your friends saying, ohhh that’s really good!!

bowl of watermelon cubes with mint strips. Two limes in background.

Watermelon is the perfect summer treat because it is just SO darn refreshing! Now, it’s perfectly fine and dandy to eat it plain … buuuttt you may as well add a few other refreshing flavors to take it to another level. Enter: Mint and Lime.

These are watermelon’s best friends and pair perfectly to create the ultimate refreshing snack or side dish! (or drink… put a few cubes into a glass and make this Watermelon Mojito … you won’t regret it!)

How to Slice Mint Leaves

Just a quick tip in case you didn’t know:

The easiest way to slice any herb leaves like mint, or basil, is called chiffonade. All you need to do is:

pinch your leaves off the stems
lay all the leaves on top of each other
roll them up length-wise
using a sharp knife, slice the roll

You’ll end up with long thin strands in just a few seconds!

How to Cube a Watermelon

So for this watermelon salad, I’ll typically buy one of the quarter watermelons that are wrapped in plastic. You can always get one of those bowls of cubed watermelon if you’d like to save on time, but it’s really pretty simple, and cheaper, to cut up a melon yourself! Here’s a good demo on how to easily cut a melon if you aren’t quite sure how to do it or feel intimidated!

Flat lay shot of a bowl of cubed watermelon with chopped mint leaves.

Can You Make Watermelon Salad Ahead of Time?

I’d suggest making the Mint and Lime Watermelon Salad a few hours ahead or the morning of, at most. If you make it a day ahead your mint leaves won’t look so fresh anymore. When making the salad a few hours ahead, there will likely be a good amount of liquid in your bowl so just make sure to give it a good stir to coat it all in that yummy syrup.

Can You Use Bottled Lime Juice or a Lemon?

Bottled lime juice – technically, yes, but should you? No. It absolutely doesn’t taste the same as fresh squeezed limes. Now if you’re someone like my husband, you’ll say eh, I don’t care it’s fine. But don’t be like my husband. 🙂

If you have some lemons, that would be a better choice. It won’t give quite the same flavor, but it’ll still give you that fresh citrus zing.