Sweet & Spicy Jalapeño Watermelon Salsa

This colorful watermelon salsa is a delicious and refreshing alternative to your everyday tomato-based traditional salsa. Light and fresh, with a touch of sweetness, this easy fruit salsa pairs perfectly with grilled chicken, pork chops, or salmon, as well as your favorite tortilla chips or pita chips!

Is there any fruit that gives off more summery vibes than a perfectly ripe, fresh watermelon?! Nothing else hits like the ultra juicy, sweet melon slices that can only be found during peak season.

Sliced into wedges, watermelon is a classic cookout staple. But there are so many other delicious ways to serve it!

Diced watermelon adds a colorful pop to a fruit salad, as well as a sweet twist to a savory salad. Its flavorful juice is ideal in a thirst-quenching agua fresca or vibrant margarita.

And it's an amazing addition to any fruit salsa, which is why it plays a starring role in this easy watermelon salsa recipe!

Fresh Watermelon Salsa Ingredients

This flavor-packed recipe pairs sweet watermelon with an array of fresh ingredients for a crunchy salsa that's deliciously spicy, sweet, savory - all at once!

Use a ripe seedless watermelon to skip over some or the prep work or a conventional one with the seeds removed. Not sure how to pick the best one? See my melon selection tips below.

Additional ingredients and notes:

• English cucumber: I prefer a seedless cucumber, but a regular one with the seeds removed also works.
• Yellow or green bell pepper: Or red if you don't care about color contrast. Red and yellow bell peppers are sweeter than green, so choose whichever you prefer.
• Small red onion: This should be very finely diced so it's not overwhelming.
• Fresh cilantro: Fresh basil or fresh mint are good alternatives, if you don't care for cilantro.
• Jalapeno peppers: Diced jalapeno pepper is essential in this recipe, so don't skip it! Controlling the heat of the salsa is very simple. For just a little heat, remove the ribs and seeds, which are the spiciest part of the chile pepper. For a spicier salsa, leave some or all in, or substitute Anaheim peppers for even more heat.
• Medium lime: One should provide plenty of fresh lime juice and zest for this recipe. Lemon juice can be swapped for the line, as desired.
• Honey: A small amount to add a touch of sweetness.

How To Choose A Watermelon

Have you ever bought a watermelon that turned out to be bland and not very sweet? Or even worse, one that had a dry, mealy texture? Same - and it's always intensely disappointing.

After doing a little research on choosing a watermelon, I discovered that there are some simple clues that can be used to judge ripeness. Start by searching the bin for symmetrical, unblemished melons that feel heavy for their size. Then use these three simple tips to (hopefully) select one that's ripe: 

1. Find the field spot: Also called the ground spot, this appears on the side of the watermelon that rested on the ground. A creamy yellow spot is a good indicator of ripeness. A pale vanilla cream white indicates the melon is underripe, and dark yellow spot is evidence that it's probably overripe.
2. Use the thump test: Holding the watermelon in the palm of one hand, knock with your other hand on the opposite side from your open palm. If the watermelon is ripe, you will hear a vibration, as well as feel it reverberating through the hand holding the melon.
3. Dull rind: Contrary to many other fruits, bright and shiny skin is not an indicator of a good watermelon. As they grow, watermelons naturally develop a waxy coating on their rinds, which serves to seal in the water content after harvesting. A dull, matte rind is a good sign that a melon is mature and ripe.

Unfortunately, these tests aren't foolproof. But they do greatly increase your chances of picking up a perfectly ripe watermelon!

Tips For Making The Best Watermelon Salsa

If you've never considered swapping watermelon for tomatoes in a classic salsa recipe, you're gonna want to try this ASAP!

Light and fresh, with a touch of sweetness, this watermelon cucumber salsa is amazing on your favorite tortilla chips. In this case, I paired it with some crispy multigrain tortilla chips - the perfect vehicle for scooping up this flavorful salsa.

But before you run off to track down the perfect sweet and juicy melon, scan these additional tips for making the very best salsa (whether it's watermelon, classic, or anything in between):

• Keep the diced ingredients uniform in size. The watermelon, cucumber, and bell pepper can be a larger dice. However, more potent ingredients, like the red onion and jalapeños, should be more finely diced.
• Chill the salsa well. This allows the flavors to meld together and intensify. Refrigerating the salsa for one hour is the minimum, but a few hours is even better.
• Taste the salsa on a chip before serving. This is my #1 Most Important Salsa Tip! If a salsa is being served as a dip, don't season to taste without first tasting it on a salty tortilla chip.

Okay, NOW you can run to the grocery store!!

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