This Melon Salad with Fresh Mozzarella and Pine Nuts is a light and refreshing side dish for the hot days of summer. The tangy sweet lemon honey vinaigrette adds a zip of flavor to the cool salad.
This melon salad is a lifesaver! It’s one of my go-to side dishes to keep my time in the kitchen to a minimum when the temperatures are soaring in the 90s.
The last thing I want to do on a scorching hot and humid day in late July is stand over the stove and cook dinner. At our house, we fire up the outdoor grill for Cider Honey Chicken Skewers or Burgers with Fresh Tomato Relish so as to keep the kitchen as cool as possible. This pretty as a picture melon salad is one of my favorite no cook side dishes to pair with any grilled entree.
the ingredients in this delicious melon salad
- cantaloupe ~ honeydew or watermelon are tasty options too
- fresh mozzarella
- pine nuts
- butter lettuce or mixed greens
- basil
- extra virgin olive oil
- lemon juice
- honey
- Dijon mustard
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
how to pick a ripe and delicious melon
Need some help in choosing a deliciously ripe melon? Here are a few of my tips to pick a juicy and sweet melon every time.
- Pick a melon that is heavy for its size.
- Make sure it does not have any soft spots, dark spots, or bruises
- For cantaloupes, choose melons that have a sweet smell. Also the stem end should be slightly soft and concave.
- For watermelons and honeydews, the skin should be dull and not shiny. Honeydews color should be light yellow. As for a watermelon, look for a large yellow spot on one side. That is where it rested on the ground as it ripened.
- Give the melon a good thump. The melon should have a hollow sound when tapped.
You may get some odd looks as you are smelling and thumping the melons at the grocery store. But the inquiring looks are well worth it when when you pick a delicious melon.
chef tips for making melon salad
- I love musky, sweet cantaloupe in this melon salad. But feel free to substitute watermelon or honeydew melon in the recipe.
- Skip the packaged block of mozzarella for this recipe. It is best to use it in cooking as it melts beautifully. Use creamy fresh mozzarella with its buttery texture and delicate flavor for the melon salad. I like to ciliegine or cherry sized mozzarella. Tear them in half or bite sized pieces for a rustic look.
- A tender lettuce completes the delicate flavors of the salad. Choose butter lettuce or mixed greens.
- Crunchy. mild and slightly sweet pine nuts are my first choice for this salad. Be sure to toast them in a dry hot pan for 2 to 3 minutes for the most flavor. Give them a shake so they do not burn. You can also sub toasted pecans, almonds or walnuts in the melon salad too.
- Add the vinaigrette just before serving. Otherwise the delicate lettuce will get wilty. Also, drizzle the vinaigrette sparingly. No one wants to eat a soggy, vinaigrette laden salad. You can always add more vinaigrette but, you can’t remove it once it’s added to the melon salad.
If you make this cool and delicious melon salad, I’d love hearing from you all. Be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating ~ I do my best to reply to all your comments. And snap a photo to post to Instagram. I’ll add the photos to my Insta stories as I love seeing all your creations.
Melon Salad with Fresh Mozzarella and Pine Nuts
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This Melon Salad with Fresh Mozzarella and Pine Nuts is a light and refreshing side dish for the hot days of summer. The tangy sweet lemon honey vinaigrette adds a zip of flavor to the cool salad.
Ingredients
- 8 cups of mixed greens or butter lettuce torn in bite sized pieces
- 5 cups of bite sized cantaloupe pieces
- 3/4 pound fresh mozzarella, torn in bite sized pieces (I use ciliegine sized mozzarella)
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
- 20 basil leaves, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon, about 2 tablespoons
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- On a large platter, add the lettuce in a single layer.
- Scatter the cantaloupe, mozzarella, pine nuts and basil over the lettuce.
- In a small bowl whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, and mustard. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Drizzle the salad with the vinaigrette.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- I love musky, sweet cantaloupe in this melon salad. But feel free to substitute watermelon or honeydew melon in the recipe.
- Skip the packaged block of mozzarella for this recipe. It is best to use it in cooking as it melts beautifully. Use creamy fresh mozzarella with its buttery texture and delicate flavor for the melon salad. I like to ciliegine or cherry sized mozzarella and tear them in half for a rustic look.
- A tender lettuce completes the delicate flavors of the salad. Choose a butter lettuce or mixed greens.
- Crunchy. mild and slightly sweet pine nuts are my first choice for melon salad. Be sure to toast them in a dry hot pan for 2 to 3 minutes. Give them a shake so they do not burn. You can also sub pecans, almonds or walnuts in the melon salad too.
- Add the vinaigrette just before serving. Otherwise the delicate lettuce will get wilty. Also, drizzle the vinaigrette sparingly. No one wants to eat a soggy, vinaigrette laden salad. You can always add more vinaigrette but, you can’t remove it once it’s added to the melon salad.
- Category: appetizer, side dish
- Method: assemble ~ no cooking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe
- Calories: 309
- Sugar: 15.1 g
- Sodium: 314 mg
- Fat: 13.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40.2 g
- Fiber: 11.3 g
- Protein: 9.2 g
- Cholesterol: 2 mg
Keywords: melon salad, cantaloupe salad, summer salad, salad recipes
I absolutely love this salad! This was the perfect recipe to show off my fresh buttercrunch lettuce out of my garden. And my family loves fresh mozzarella and sweet melon so it was a win-win for mom when I served it. This is now one of my go-to sides when summer grilling. Thanks!
★★★★★
I am so jealous of your garden fresh lettuce. I’m sure it tastes amazing!
I love salads like this in the summertime! And this was fun and fancy – felt like I was dining out!
★★★★★
So true! And it’s great with a simple grilled chicken or fish.
This salad sounds so refreshing and nutritious! I love the combinations that you added into this salad, it all goes very well together. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
★★★★★
You are welcome Ramona. Thanks for stopping by my blog 🙂
We made this on Monday and this was such an incredibly fresh salad! We subbed the pine nuts with pecans, and it was just as good!
Love the substitution of pecans Julia.
This is a perfect salad for the Summer! So refreshing and tasty! Can’t wait to make it 😉
★★★★★
Awesome! Let me know how it turns out for you.
Such a fantastic salad! The flavors are obviously amazing, but what really gets me every time are those awesome textures! It keeps salad from being anything but boring!
★★★★★
Thanks Amy! I love toasted pine nuts in salads.
Tried this yesterday and I have to say I was just so taken by the lovely flavors of this salad. Loved the recipe.
★★★★★
Thanks! Salads are such fun to make!
This salad looks amazing- perfect for summer while refreshing and tangy at the same time!
★★★★★
Thank you!
I love that you used cantaloupe for this recipe but I have to say, I would also love to try it with Watermelon! Both are fabulous choices!
★★★★★
Love the watermelon idea. Can’t wait to get a delicious on this summer.
I love fresh mozzarella in salads, and this recipe was just how I like it, from the combination of the sweet canteloupe until the delicious dressing. This salad is a keeper.
★★★★★
Me too! It is such creamy deliciousness!
Wow,vwgat a beautiful salad. Love the my Elon with the mozzarella, also kicking up texture with the walnuts! I get that dressing just punches up the flavors beautifully! Thanks for sharing!????
★★★★★
You are welcome!