Dairy Free Watermelon Salad (Gluten Free, Vegan)

This dairy free watermelon salad is so easy to make and full of flavour. Refreshing watermelon and cucumber, onion, fresh herbs and a zesty lime dressing, all topped with dairy free Feta cheese. It’s the perfect summer salad for barbecues and parties and is suitable for a range of dietary requirements. And it looks as good as it tastes. Whether you have food allergies or need a vegan friendly dish, this watermelon salad is just the thing.

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Allergen ingredients to watch out for in salads

Salads can be a great option for people with allergies, but it’s important not to assume they are allergy safe. Allergies can be hiding, especially in the dressings. Some salad dressings have milk, egg or fish (such as fish sauce in Asian style dressings or anchovies in a Caesar salad). Watch out for oils used in salad dressings too, which could be peanut, nut or sesame oil. Many salads include cheese, nuts or seeds in the ingredients as well.

Watermelon salad is often made with Feta (fetta) cheese, a sheep or cows milk cheese, and won’t be suitable for people with milk allergies. This dairy free version of the popular watermelon and cucumber is made with dairy free Feta, so it has the same great textures and flavours without the milk. The salad dressing is a simple vinaigrette with olive oil, lime juice and maple syrup.

Dairy free watermelon salad ingredients

To make this refreshing watermelon salad, you’ll need :

• 1 quarter of a watermelon (about 1 kg or 2.2 lbs), peeled and chopped into 1.5cm/half inch cubes
• 1 small red onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 4 Lebanese cucumbers (or 8 mini Lebanese cucumbers), diced
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped or torn
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped or torn
• 1/2 cup dairy free Feta style cheese

For the dressing you’ll need:

• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup (or honey if not vegan)
• pinch salt

Make sure to chose watermelon that is ripe and pink, but still firm enough to dice.

Dairy free Feta cheese

To make an allergy-friendly, vegan and dairy free watermelon salad, we’ve swapped out the Feta for a non-dairy variety. If you don’t have soy allergies, you could use a soy based Feta cheese. We have made our dairy free watermelon salad with a coconut based Feta instead.

For this recipe we used Green Vie Cheese dairy free Feta. This is dairy free, gluten free and vegan and doesn’t contain nuts or soy. (Coconut isn’t a tree nut outside of the US). The flavour is mild and doesn’t taste too strongly of coconut. It’s quite smooth and creamy and crumbles well like other fetta cheeses too. We also like using Bio Cheese and Sheese brand vegan Feta, which are also coconut based and soy free.

Remember that products labelled as “dairy free” aren’t always allergy friendly. Some are made with tree nuts to achieve the creamy texture, so be careful if you have nut allergies. And just because something is labelled “vegan”, doesn’t guarantee that it is dairy free. So make sure that you read the ingredients and any allergen warnings carefully. See our post – is vegan food always dairy and egg free? – for more about vegan dairy products.

If you can’t find a suitable fetta cheese that meets your allergy requirements, you can of course just leave it out.

Method

Using a sharp knife, slice the watermelon, remove the outer rind and cut the flesh into cubes (about 1.5cm or 1 inch square). Place watermelon cubes in a large bowl.

Wash and dice the cucumbers. (You can remove some or all of the seeds from the cucumber before dicing if you prefer, but I prefer to leave them in).

Peel the onion, cut into quarters and finely slice.

Rinse the mint and basil and pat dry. Pick off the leaves and roughly chop or tear.

Add the cucumber, onion, mint and basil to the watermelon and stir gently to combine.

To make the dressing, place the olive oil, lime juice, maple syrup and salt in a small jar and shake well to combine.

Pour salad dressing over the salad and stir through gently.

Top with crumbled dairy free Feta before serving.

Enjoy your dairy free watermelon salad soon after preparing for best results. Leftovers can be stored well covered in the fridge, but should be eaten with 24 hours.

Enjoy this salad with your favourite protein, especially chicken, fish, pork or tofu. It’s also a great summer salad to share at barbecues, potlucks and parties.

More allergy-friendly recipes

For more allergy-friendly salad ideas, try our dairy free Greek salad or fresh pineapple salad with cucumber and mint. Or make a lovely green salad and finish it with one of the amazing dressings in our huge round up of allergy-friendly salad dressings.

For more delicious allergy friendly recipes, don’t forget to check out our recipe page and be sure to subscribe so you never miss our latest.