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Now that we’re solidly into the month of June we are officially getting to that point here in Connecticut that it will soon be too hot to cook inside. Or wear pants. In the summer months I am all about the no-cook meals. I hate heating up the apartment every single day making food. Completely reverses all of the hard work our air conditioners from the 1980’s are doing. So during the summer more than ever I try to meal prep as much as possible. This usually happens on Monday nights after I get home from work since we hike most weekends during the summer. Monday nights I’ll make a big batch of food that I’ll eat for the rest of the week either for lunch at work or for dinner after work.

For the in between times, I try to go for the no-cook meals, which this delicious salad is one of! No-cook meals are my favorite for refueling after weeknight summer runs, when my stomach sometimes feels a little jumbled and funky. Usually about 4 or 5 miles into a long run during the summer, I start to crave cold juicy fruit. I crave it now without even thinking about anything else. Back when I used to be addicted to Coke (the soda, not the drug) I would crave that like crazy every time I was on a long hike. The first thing I would do after getting back to my car was stop at a gas station nearby and limp inside for a freezing cold Coke. Well now I do that same thing, just with fruit. I know they say that sugar is sugar, but I am a fruit LOVER and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

Watermelon and cucumbers are in my top ten favorite foods, so it only made sense to combine my two great loves into one even greater tasting salad to enjoy all summer long. The mint adds a unique and unexpected flavor in this salad that works so well with the other flavors. I was a bit hesitant at first to add salt in with the other three ingredients, but it actually makes the watermelon sweeter! As another added benefit, the salt helps to preserve the crispness of both the cucumber and the watermelon. Typically when I make fruit salads they become a soggy wet mess after about two hours. There was definitely some liquid at the bottom of this bowl, I will not lie, but I ate this salad over the course of 72 hours and I was not once disappointed in the flavor of the texture of the ingredients. I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that it gets better with time (what do you expect? it’s not a soup recipe) but it’s definitely edible and still delicious after sitting in the fridge for a few days.

I hope you love it just as much as I do!

thehungryhungryhiker

Watermelon Cucumber Salad

The flavors of juicy, sweet watermelon, crisp, refreshing cucumber, and cool, soothing mint combine in this salad to create a side dish you'll want to eat all summer long!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 6 cups watermelon chopped to ¾" dice
  • 1 English cucumber quartered and chopped
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • 10 mint leaves minced

Method
 

  1. Add 3 cups of watermelon and half the English cucumber pieces to a large bowl. Top with ⅛ tsp sea salt and half of the minced mint leaves. Use a spoon to gently stir to combine. Add the remaining 3 cups watermelon and cucumber pieces to the bowl. Top with the remaining ⅛ tsp sea salt and mint leaves. Stir to combine again.
  2. Best if served immediately, or store covered in the fridge until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Notes

I chose to leave the skin on my cucumber because I like the added crunch, but feel free to peel your cucumber before you chop it up if you want. It’s a matter of personal preference!