Fresh cucumber noodles are topped with sweet grilled cantaloupe wedges in this refreshing cantaloupe cucumber salad.
While melons typically make an appearance in fruit salads, they also shine in more savory fare. The sweet contrast of the fruit brings out the best in vegetables, cheese or nuts and seeds.
I like to pair sweet cantaloupe with cool and crunchy cucumber noodles for a light and summery salad that’s a bit unexpected.
Why grill cantaloupe?
Grilling the cantaloupe brings extra complexity to this salad. If you’ve never tried grilling fruit, it’s pretty amazing. Putting cantaloupe on the grill amps up the sweetness and makes it super juicy. The trick to grilling fruit is to cook it hot and quick to get some grill marks and a little caramelization going without your fruit turning to mush.
What's the best tasting cantaloupe?
I like to use Charentais melons which are particularly sweet and juicy to begin with and have a wonderful floral aroma. Charentais are a smaller variety of melon with a deep color and intense flavor and fragrance.
Now you could eat grilled melon all by itself, but throwing a few wedges on top of a pile of cucumber noodles really makes this a meal. The honeyed sweetness of the grilled melon against the silky and cooling cucumber noodles is a winning combination.
How to make a grilled cantaloupe salad:
- You start by creating your cucumber noodles with a julienne peeler, then tossing them with a simple lemon dressing.
- Next brush the melon wedges with oil and season with a pinch of salt. Grill the melon over high heat until charred on both sides.
- Top the dressed noodles with the grilled melon and a sprinkle of goat cheese for creaminess and hemp seeds for a nutty finish and you are ready to serve. (If you’d prefer to keep this salad vegan, go ahead and skip the goat cheese or substitute a nut cheese instead.)
Cantaloupe Cucumber Salad
Fresh cucumber noodles are topped with sweet grilled cantaloupe wedges in this refreshing cantaloupe cucumber salad.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons/ 30ml Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon/15ml fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon/5ml white wine vinegar
- ⅛th teaspoon sea salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- 2 long English hothouse cucumbers
- ¼ cup, chopped Kalamata olives
- 2 Tablespoons, chopped fresh basil
- Coconut oil, for brushing
- ½ a Charentais cantaloupe, halved, seeded, cut into 1-inch wedges
- pinch of fine sea salt to taste
- 2 Tablespoons/20g hemp seeds
- 2oz/56g fresh goat cheese or (nut "cheese” for vegan)
Instructions
- Whisk together the extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Using a julienne peeler or spiralizer create long noodles from the peeled cucumbers. (If using a julienne peeler, run it lengthwise until you reach the core then turn a ¼ turn and repeat all the way around.) Toss the cucumber noodles with the dressing. Add the chopped black olives and basil and set aside.
- Lightly brush grill with oil. Brush the melon wedges with more oil and season with a pinch of salt. Grill the melon over high heat, turning once, until charred on both sides, (about 3-4 minutes). Transfer the wedges to cool.
- Place a mound of cucumber noodles on a plate, top with a few wedges of grilled cantaloupe. Garnish with hemps seeds, goat cheese, another pinch of salt and pepper and serve.
Notes
For Vegan and Paleo substitute "nut cheese" for the goat cheese.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 206Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 445mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 2gSugar: 9gProtein: 5g
Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.
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Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.
Kankana says
Love grilling fruits but never grilled melon! I have to try this. Such a refreshing plate of salad that is.
Taylor Kiser says
I love grilling fruit! This salad is going on my need to make list for sure!
jules says
Oh my gosh - this is positively brilliant! And gorgeous!!!!
Chrystal @ Gluten-Free Palate says
We have the same zoodler! I would have never thought to put cucumber and cantaloupe together but it sounds amazing.
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes says
We love our spiralizer and look for any excuse to use it! This salad looks amazing. The combination of flavors is awesome. The Kalamata olives, basil and goat cheese take it to another level. And it's pretty, too!
Marye says
This looks absolutely delicious, definitely a yummy summertime lunch!
Felesha Bell says
How refreshing does this look!!! Grilled melon i o yummy! Thanks for sharing?
Renz says
Never had a Charentais. It looks sweet! Lol. The idea and with the goat cheese sounds delicious. Great pics!
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
What a lovely little light starter. Anything with goats cheese gets the thumbs up from me, and I love cucumber noodles.
janie says
Oh man, they look stunning! I love grilled fruit, although have never tried grilling melon - I have a feeling that'll soon change 🙂
Janie x