This vegan watermelon salad is so refreshing and perfect for summer! Easy tofu feta and quick pickled yellow onion offset the natural sweetness of the watermelon. Mint boosts the aroma and adds a fresh, cool, herby flavour. And finally, a balsamic maple reduction tops it off with a deeply sweet and tangy dressing.
Simple to prepare
Summery and beautiful
Sweet, tangy, herby
And sure to be a hit!
Ingredients For Vegan Watermelon Salad
Watermelon salads are popular for a reason! Not only are they beautiful to look at, they are so refreshing and full of flavour. Feta cheese typically adds bulk and protein to these salads which helps us to feel satiated. My tofu based "feta" is the perfect dairy-free alternative.
For my vegan watermelon salad I use:
- About 5 cups of cubed watermelon.
- Half an english cucumber, sliced thinly.
- Quick pickled yellow onion for tang and bite.
- My herby and salty tofu "feta".
- Fresh mint leaves.
- And a deeply sweet and tangy balsamic maple reduction for the perfect dressing.
How To Make Vegan Tofu "Feta"
My quick and easy tofu feta blog post has more detailed information on how to make this feta cheese alternative but here are the basics:
Simply chop a block of extra firm tofu into small cubes, mix up a quick brine and let the tofu sit in the brine for at least 2 hours but preferably overnight.
The brine consists of:
- ¾ cup apple cider vinegar.
- ½ cup water.
- 2 tablespoon miso paste (for deep salty umami flavour).
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (for extra salty bite).
- Optionally, 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (for savoury and cheesy depth of flavour).
- And optionally, fresh or dried herbs like parsley or oregano.
How To Quick Pickle Onion
I love making my quick pickled red onion but for this recipe I thought yellow onion would nicely offset the pink colour of the watermelon.
I follow the same steps for quick pickling white onion as I do for my red onion. Simply:
- Cut your onion in half lengthwise and slice it as thinly as possible.
- In a medium sized jar combine ½ cup white wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon cane sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 cup very hot water.
- Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
- Press the onion slices into the brine until submerged.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving but preferably overnight.
*If you don't have white wine vinegar you could use most any vinegar other than balsamic or malt which would be a little too overwhelming in flavour.
Assembling Vegan Watermelon Salad
The tofu feta and quick pickled onion are best prepared at least a few hours before serving your salad. Preferably, prepare them the day before for the best flavour.
All of the salad ingredients can be tossed together in advance but I like to reserve chopping up the mint and sprinkling it over the salad until just before serving. This helps to keep the mint looking really fresh and smelling nicely aromatic.
Finally, the balsamic reduction can also be made in advance and stored separately in the fridge until you're ready to garnish your salad and enjoy it. You could simply mix balsamic vinegar with maple syrup and use that for the dressing. Making a reduction however, creates a thick syrup that sticks much better to the watermelon without running off.
Recipe Cost
This vegan watermelon salad serves 4 and costs us about $6.60 Canadian. The price of watermelon fluctuates quite a bit for us so I love making this when I can snag a watermelon on special.
The 100 grams of tofu "feta" I use in this recipe costs me about $1.15. If I were to use the same amount of dairy feta cheese my cost would be around $2.60. A store bought plant-based feta "cheese" would be quite a bit more so this vegan watermelon salad is actually pretty thrifty!
Let me know in the comments below if you make this summery salad and if you serve it to your friends and family! Make sure to save your watermelon rind and try my fun watermelon rind jams.
Also... if you have any leftover watermelon you'll want to try my watermelon "tuna" steaks and watermelon tuna poke bowl!
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Watermelon Salad with Tofu "Feta"
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A vegan watermelon salad with easy tofu feta, pickled onion, and a balsamic reduction. So pretty, so refreshing, and perfect for summer!
Ingredients
- 740 g watermelon, seeded and cubed (5 cups, about half a large watermelon)*
- 145 g cucumber, thinly sliced (half an English cucumber)*
- 40 g yellow onion, pickled (see my quick pickled red onion recipe)
- 100 g tofu feta, crumbled
- 4 tbsp mint leaves, chopped*
Balsamic Maple Reduction (yield 50 ml)
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ⅛ cup maple syrup
*Fresh ingredients you need that are not part of our pantry and freezer tips.
Instructions
*If making my tofu feta and quick pickling your yellow onion these are best done at least a few hours prior to serving but preferably the night before.
- Prepare your watermelon by removing the skin and rind (consider saving the rind for my watermelon rind jams). Slice the watermelon in half, then place the cut side flat on your cutting board and slice into one inch half moons. Slice each piece into one inch cubes and transfer to a large serving bowl.
- Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise. Then cut as thinly as possible into half moon slices.
- Add the sliced cucumber to the watermelon with the strips of quick pickled onion, crumbled tofu feta, and chopped mint leaves (you can wait to add the mint leaves until right before serving if you want them to stay really fresh). Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- To make the balsamic reduction, combine the balsamic vinegar and maple syrup in a small pot. With the pot lid off, bring to a very low simmer and maintain that low simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the liquid has decreased by half. It will be ready when it can coat the back of a spoon without dripping off quickly. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Transfer to a small jar and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- When you are ready to serve, drizzle the watermelon salad with the balsamic reduction and enjoy. Best enjoyed fresh but any leftovers will keep for up to 24 hours in the fridge. Leftover salad won’t look quite as pretty but it will still be tasty.
Notes
Approximate Cost: $6.60 with the tofu feta making up about $1.15 of that cost. Making the tofu “feta” from scratch is certainly more cost effective than buying a store-bought plant based option. Even a store-bought dairy feta cheese would cost me around $2.60 for 100 grams.
Feel free to use different herbs in this salad. I think fresh dill or basil would work really nicely.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: American, Canadian
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