Happy National Watermelon Day! How do you show your love of the perfect summer snack? Make some cool, creatives recipes of course! From drinks to salads, here are some cool ways to incorporate watermelon into your meals.
1. Watermelon Feta Salad Recipe by pbs.org
Ingredients:
- 6 cups cubed watermelon
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
- ¼ cup chopped fresh mint
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Directions:
- Combine watermelon, feta cheese, red onion, and mint in a large bowl.
- Pour the lime juice and olive oil over the watermelon mixture and toss gently to coat.
- Serve immediately.
2. Watermelon Cake Recipe by Razzle Dazzle Recipes
Ingredients:
- 1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix
- Water, vegetable oil and egg whites called for in cake mix directions
- 1 package (0.13 oz) cherry or other red-colored unsweetened soft drink mix
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons miniature semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 container (12 oz) Betty Crocker® Whipped fluffy white frosting
- Green and red food colors
- 2/3 cup green jelly beans
Directions:
- Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms only of two 8- or 9-inch round pans with shortening or cooking spray.
- In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, egg whites and drink mix with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds; beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips. Pour into pans.
- Bake 27 to 32 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
- In small bowl, stir 1 cup frosting with 10 to 12 drops green food color. Stir 10 to 12 drops red food color into remaining frosting. Cut cake rounds crosswise in half to make 4 halves. Frost uncut sides with green frosting; press green jelly beans into frosting. Frost top of cake with red frosting; press remaining 2 tablespoons chocolate chips into frosting for seeds. To serve, cut into wedges.
3. Boozy Watermelon Mint Lemonade by Host the Toast
Ingredients:
- 2½ pounds watermelon flesh, seeds removed, cut into chunks
- ¼ cucumber, cut into chunks
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice, plus an additional lemon, sliced, for garnish
- ¼ cup packed mint leaves, plus more mint, for garnish
- 2½ cups white rum, vodka, or water
- ¼ cup agave syrup or simple syrup
Directions:
- Put the chunked watermelon, cucumber, and mint in a blender, add the lemon juice, and puree until the mixture is smooth.
- Strain the mixture into a pitcher to remove the pulp and leaves.
- Mix in the alcohol or water and slowly mix in the syrup until everything is well-combined.
- Add the lemon slices and ice. Garnish each glass with a sprig of mint. Serve.
4. Sweet and Spicy Watermelon Salsa by The Girl Who Ate Everything
Ingredients:
- 2 cups finely chopped watermelon, seeds removed
- 1/2 cup finely chopped cucumber, peeled and seeded
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
- 1/2 to 1 whole jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced finely
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- Tortilla chips for dipping
Directions:
- Combine watermelon, cucumber, onion, peppers, cilantro, and basil in a large bowl. Add honey and lime juice and stir to coat.
- Chill for at least half an hour in the refrigerator. Serve with tortilla chips.
5. 4 Ingredient Watermelon Sorbet by Taste of Home
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 8 cups cubed seedless watermelon
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Directions:
- In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved; set aside.
- In a blender or food processor, process the watermelon in batches until pureed. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in the sugar syrup and lemon juice.
- Pour into a 13-in. x 9-in. dish; cover and freeze for 8 hours or until firm. Just before serving, puree watermelon mixture in batches until smooth. Yield: 1-1/2 quarts.
6. Beef and Watermelon Stir Fry by myrecipes.com
Ingredients:
- 1 pound sirloin strip steak, cut into thin strips
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons cold water
- 2 teaspoons lite soy sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
- 1 medium-size sweet onion, halved and sliced
- 12 ounces fresh sugar snap peas
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
- 16 ounces watermelon, rind removed and cut into sticks (about 2 cups)
- 2 cups hot cooked rice
Directions:
1. Toss together first 6 ingredients and 1 Tbsp. wine. Let stand 30 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together hot water, hoisin, and remaining 1 Tbsp. wine.
2. Remove beef from marinade, discarding marinade. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper; cook half of beef in 1 1/2 tsp. hot canola oil in a large skillet over high heat, without stirring, 45 seconds or until browned; turn beef, and cook 30 seconds or until browned. Transfer to a warm plate. Repeat with remaining 1 1/2 tsp. oil and beef.
3. Stir-fry onion in remaining 1 Tbsp. hot canola oil in skillet over medium-high heat 2 minutes or until tender. Add sugar snap peas, ginger, and crushed red pepper; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add beef and hoisin mixture; stir-fry 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in watermelon. Add salt, black pepper, and red pepper to taste. Serve immediately with hot cooked rice.
7. Watermelon and Goat Cheese Bites by The Meaning of Pie
Ingredients:
- One seedless watermelon (with plenty left over)
- One log of goat cheese
- Bacon, cooked and each slice cut into 4 pieces
- Fresh basil leaves
- Balsamic Vinegar
Directions:
- Cut a watermelon into big disks, about one inch thick. Using a small round cookie cutter (bearing in mind that this makes a mouthful even with small diameter circles), cut out little cylinders of watermelon, avoiding the seedy spots. Seedless watermelons are not exactly seedless. Cut each little cylinder into 3 or 4 disks. Set the watermelon disks onto paper towels briefly to drain excess juice.
- Cut the log of goat cheese into disks of approximately the same thickness as the watermelon disks. Use the cookie cutter to trim the cheese to the same size as the watermelon, taking care not to let the goat cheese crumble too much. Place a disk of goat cheese onto each disk of watermelon. Top each with a piece of bacon and a basil leaf. At the last moment, drizzle each bite with a little balsamic vinegar.
