A refreshing low-calorie melon salad with cucumber slices and cantaloupe. This recipe comes together in a few minutes with a melon baller and is vegan, gluten free, paleo, aip, & whole30.
Prep Time: 5 minutesminutes
Melons are popping up at the store now, and they’re only going to get sweeter and plumper so you will be needing this cucumber cantaloupe salad in your life. My husband and I shared a big bowl in the sun by the pool this morning, and he told me “this is really weird and good.”
He has a way with words…
What he’s actually communicating is that he really likes it (and you will too)! We also decided that black pepper on cantaloupe is a flavor revelation. He greedily ate those pieces first (note to self: portion into 2 bowls, not 1).
When you start to crave fresher, cooler, and easier meals that are also lower in calories and higher in water content: you can’t go wrong with a melon salad.
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This is a 5 – ingredient salad that involves cutting the melon into cubes or using a melon baller. There’s a tiny bit of red onion that gets soaked in water to mellow it out. I recommend soaking for up to 20 minutes if you don’t like the taste of onion. Then, persian cucumbers are used because you don’t have to peel them or remove the seeds. You can find persian cucumbers sold in bags usually in the produce section of your grocery store.
How to Make the Melon Salad with Cantaloupe and Cucumber
Rather than tiny sea salt, I really love flaky finishing salt (like Maldon) because it does a better job accentuating the sweetness of the fruit, and makes the flavor of cucumbers go from 0 to 100. You want to save the salt for the last possible moment because it tastes better that way.
I’ve eaten this as a side salad, a snack, and breakfast — it’s great for all 3. You can even make it ahead and store in the fridge for a couple of days. If you want to do this, just keep the salt off until you’re ready to eat!
A refreshing low-calorie melon salad with cucumber slices and cantaloupe. This recipe comes together in a few minutes with a melon baller and is vegan, gluten free, paleo, aip, & whole30.
Start by slices the red onion very thinly – you only need about 10 slices total. Submerge the onion under water for up to 20 minutes to dull the bite.
Cut the ripe melon in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Using a melon baller, scoop the flesh into a bowl or use a knife to cut into chunks about 1″ by 1″.
Mix into the mellon: freshly torn mint leaves, red onion, the juice of 1 lime, black pepper, and sprinkle with salt just before serving.
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