Melon Salad with Honey Yogurt Dressing
Juicy, refreshing Melon Salad with a Honey Yogurt Dressing is the perfect summertime salad. Honeydew melon and cucumber provide sweetness and crunch while wheat berries, kale and red onion add in layers of flavor. Topped with a homemade cilantro honey yogurt dressing, this side salad is perfect for any summertime gathering.
Oi Gente!!
Seriously, I feel like eeeverything tastes better in the summer! Who agrees with me?!?
This Melon Salad is no different, and it screams summer at your face!
The cucumbers make it super refreshing, the melon adds some delicious juiciness, the wheat berries bring a toasty flavor and the cilantro brightens everything up. And this summer salad is super easy to pull together, which makes it perfect for any event, any day of the week, any time of the day!
In the summer, I usually make a big batch of wheat berries, which I like to cook in the Instant Pot, and keep them refrigerated. This way, I can make as many salads as I want throughout the week, and if it’s too hot, I don’t even have to boil anything! I just toss everything together, and it’s DONE!
What goes into this refreshing Melon Salad recipe
- Wheat berries—they are usually located in the dry goods pantry aisle, close to dry rice, quinoa etc. You may also find them in the bulk section of the market. If you can’t find them in your local store, you should be able to easily buy them online.
- Honeydew melon—make sure it’s super ripe! At the store, give it a sniff. If it smells nice and sweet, it’s good to go.
- Cucumber—English or a standard cucumber works!
- Red onion
- Kale — baby kale is my go-to, but lacinato, also known as dinosaur kale works, too.
The honey yogurt dressing actually has more ingredients than the salad itself, but it’s absolutely worth the effort.
- Plain Greek or European-style yogurt
- Honey
- Olive oil
- Apple cider vinegar
- Brazilian sofrito
- Fresh cilantro
- Fresh mint
Tips on How to Make Melon Salad with Honey Yogurt Dressing
Cook the wheat berries. I like to make mine in the Instant Pot to make my life as easy as possible. (Check out how to cook wheat berries in the Instant Pot here.)
Prep the rest of the ingredients. All you’re going to do is dice, slice and mince. Easy peasy. Add them to a big bowl, and set it aside.
Make the dressing. Add the yogurt, honey, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Brazilian sofrito, chopped cilantro and mint to a medium-sized bowl. Whisk to combine, then taste and season, as needed, with salt.
Dress the salad and add the greens. This is particularly important if you’re making this salad for a picnic or bringing this melon salad on the road with you. Add the greens closer to when the salad will be eaten to ensure they don’t wilt.
Tips and tricks to making the best easy summer salad
- Get a ripe melon (or let yours ripen on the countertop.) It’s important for your honeydew to smell sweet and ripe before you slice into it so it adds the necessary sweetness to this melon salad!
- This salad travels! But hold off on adding the kale and the dressing so they don’t wilt before it’s time to eat!
- Prep the ingredients in advance and store them separately in the fridge for an easy lunch.
- Don’t have a honeydew melon? Cantaloupe works beautifully in this melon salad, too.
- Please, please, please use fresh herbs. They add such beautiful brightness to this salad and its dressing.
Other fruit salads you’ll love
- Pear Salad with Port Wine Dressing and Grilled Cheese
- Strawberry Melon Salad
- Watermelon Salad with Cilantro Mint Yogurt Dressing
Melon Salad with Honey Yogurt Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 cups of cooked wheat berries
- 7-8 cups of sweet honeydew melon – peeled, seeded and cut into cubes from a 2 pounds melon
- 2.5 cups of diced cucumber 1 large cucumber
- 1.5 cups of thinly sliced red onion
- 5 oz package of kale, baby kale arugula or spinach also work
For the Dressing
- 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt plain European style works, too
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon of Brazilian sofrito or 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons of minced fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 teaspoon of minced fresh mint leaves about 6 large leaves
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Add the diced melons, the cucumber, the onion slices and the cooked wheat berries to a large bowl, and set aside.
- Add all the dressing ingredients to a medium bowl, and whisk to combine.
- Dress the melon mixture with the desired amount of dressing, then toss in the baby kale.
YUM!! I can’t wait to try this. I’ve never cooked with wheat berries before but it looks so delish 🙂
Awesome, Rosalie!! Thanks for stopping by. I really do hope you make this delicious dish and I am excited you want to discover new ingredients, such as wheat berries 🙂 I absolutely looooove them, so I use them a lot, over salads, sauteed with veggies, as a rice sub — the sky really is the limit! If you haven’t subscribed to the Newsletter yet, I recommend you do so that you can get yummy stuff delivered to your inbox and see how else you can use wheat berries!! Have an awesome day!! Beijinhos xoxox