This colorful watermelon salsa is a fun and delicious change of pace from your everyday tomato-based salsa. Light and fresh, with a touch of sweetness, it pairs perfectly with grilled chicken or salmon, as well as your favorite tortilla chips!
Fresh Watermelon Salsa
Ripe, red watermelon just screams summer to me! Every year I look forward to to those ultra juicy, fresh and sweet melon slices. My kids love a good rind-on wedge — sooooo messy, but SO worth it!
Of course you can always remove the rind and slice it so that you can eat it in a more civilized manner. It takes some of the fun out of it, but it's actually really easy to do!
And slicing it this way also makes dicing watermelon a snap, as you'll want to do for the yummy watermelon salsa recipe I'm sharing today...
How To Choose A Watermelon
Have you ever bought a watermelon that turned out to be not very sweet or, even worse, had a mealy texture? Increase your chances of getting one that's juicy and delicious with these simple tips for choosing a ripe watermelon:
- To start, look for a watermelon that's uniform in shape, without any weird bumps or blemishes.
- Next look for what's called the "field spot". This is the lighter colored side where the watermelon rested on the ground. Ideally you want to find a melon that has a deep yellow field spot, but a white patch is better than no spot at all.
- Finally, pick the watermelon up to check its weight. It should feel heavy for its size.
Unfortunately, while this method increase your chances of picking up a perfectly ripe watermelon, it's not always guaranteed. You may also want to use the "thump test" too, as Texas Watermelon Farmer Jack Wallace demonstrates in this video.
🍉 How To Slice A Watermelon
Anyhow, back to to this yummy recipe for watermelon salsa... If you've never considered swapping watermelon for tomatoes in a salsa recipe, you've been missing out!
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.
Turn up the heat by using diced jalapeño peppers or make it milder with Anaheim peppers. Either way, it's a winner!
Printable Recipe ↓
Spicy Jalapeno Watermelon Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 cups watermelon seeded and diced
- ½ English cucumber peeled and diced
- ½ small bell pepper seeded and diced (about ½ cup)
- ½ small red onion finely diced (about ¼ cup)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 3 jalapeno peppers seeded and diced (about 3 tablespoons)
- 1 medium lime zested and juiced
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Combine the watermelon, cucumber, yellow bell pepper, red onion, jalapenos, cilantro, and lime zest in a medium mixing bowl.
- Drizzle with honey and add half the lime juice. Reserve the remaining juice for later. Sprinkle with salt, and toss gently to combine.
- Refrigerate for one hour to allow the flavors to combine. Taste salsa on a tortilla chip and season with additional salt and/or lime juice, to taste.
- Serve cold with tortilla chips or pita chips.
Video
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More Yummy Fresh Salsa Recipes
If you like this watermelon salsa recipe, you might also enjoy these other delicious salsa recipes:
- Easy Fresh Tomato Salsa Recipe — sweet, juicy tomatoes, red onion for a little bite, cilantro, lime juice, and a little diced jalapeño pepper, plus a dash of salt are all you need for a deliciously homemade fresh tomato salsa!
- Pineapple Jalapeno Salsa — this sweet and spicy pineapple salsa is delicious with your favorite tortilla chips or pairs perfectly as a refreshing topper for grilled chicken, pork, and fish!
Did you make this recipe?
I'd love to see how your watermelon salsa turns out... Tag me @Unsophisticook on Instagram or use the hashtag #Unsophisticook so I can check it out. Enjoy!
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