Experience summer's bounty with this Tomato Watermelon Salad. It features cherry tomatoes, berries, watermelon, and mint. The salad is a refreshing twist on fruit salad, and perfect for New England gatherings.
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This recipe is one of the best ways to celebrate all the best and juiciest New England produce of the summer. Tomato Watermelon Salad combines fresh berries, sliced watermelon, and bright cherry tomatoes.
Make a batch for your summer picnic or to bring to the barbecue. This easy and colorful salad is proof that tomatoes have far more possibilities than just savory dishes.
In a nutshell... 🐿️
- What this is: A beautiful summer salad that celebrates New England seasonal produce: sweet watermelon and juicy cherry tomatoes.
- You'll love this part: This is a refreshing and colorful fruit salad that's perfect to share at summer barbecues. And it's proof that tomatoes shine as part of a sweet fruit salad!
- How it's made: Layer sliced watermelon and cherry tomatoes with strawberries. Then dress everything with a light orange-honey sauce and garnish with mint leaves.
Jump to:
Is a tomato a fruit or vegetable?
Even though tomatoes star in so many savory dishes, from spaghetti sauce to pizza to soup, tomatoes are actually a fruit!
The Old Farmer's Almanac explains that botanically, tomatoes are considered fruits because they develop from the fertilized ovary of a flower and because they contain seeds. Other vegetables that are actually fruits are pumpkins, zucchini, and cucumbers.
The Almanac shares that grocery stores and nutritionists classify tomatoes as a vegetable because they're less sweet than many fruits, are used in main dishes, and are not usually eaten in desserts and snacks the way fruit is. No wonder we're so confused!
Even though tomatoes are less sweet than, say, grapes, they do still have a notable sweetness. This is especially apparent in cooked and concentrated tomato ingredients like tomato paste.
So, tomatoes are a fruit, and tomatoes are sweet. It follows logically, then, that tomatoes belong in a fruit salad! The authors of The Flavor Bible , Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, agree. They list watermelon, oranges, and cantaloupe as just a few of the fruits that pair well with tomatoes.
This Watermelon-Cherry Tomato-Mint Salad recipe will prove it to you: cherry tomatoes mixed with sliced watermelon and strawberries is one of the most refreshing fruit salads you'll ever try. And those jewel-tone colors make it a beautiful salad to serve, too.
Notes from fellow cooks:
"Sounds so fresh and delightful. Can't wait to try it! — Anonymous
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
More watermelon love!
Watermelon, Berries, and Cream
A mason jar dessert that's easy to make, especially with kids!
Why you'll love this recipe
While it sounds a little unusual, I promise that fruit salad with tomatoes is really delicious. This easy watermelon tomato salad recipe is a tasty way to celebrate the bounty of perfect summer produce. (It's just one of many tomato recipes you can find here!)
And if you're a New England gardener like me, let's face it: there are always too many tomato plants in the garden and more tomatoes than we sometimes know what to do with! The good news is that our garden-grown cherry or grape tomatoes are absolutely divine in this salad.
Whole cherry and grape tomatoes are naturally bite-sized; the pleasant pop as you bite into a ripe cherry tomato is a fun contrast to the soft fruits.
I really like how yellow cherry tomatoes look combined with chunks of red fruit, but red or orange cherry tomatoes will also be lovely here. Combine them with locally grown strawberries, raspberries, and mint. And pick up a perfectly ripe watermelon from a local New England farmstand.
The slight acidity of the tomatoes is a nice foil to sweet strawberries and watermelon. Raspberries are quickly cooked down with a little sugar before they join the party. This sweet-tart sauce ties the salad together.
🔪 How to make Tomato and Watermelon Salad
Ingredients:
- Raspberries: Pick your own or pick up at the store some fresh red raspberries.
- Strawberries: Use the best-looking fresh strawberries you can find at local berry farms or the market. They should be plump and vibrant with no soft spots or shriveling.
- Watermelon: Choose one that's ripe! (Here's how to pick the perfect watermelon.)
- Cherry Tomatoes: Grape tomatoes are also a good choice here. I use a mix of red and yellow; whichever color and variety you select, make sure they're ripe and sweet.
- Mint: Use fresh peppermint or spearmint leaves as the finishing touch to the salad.
- Orange juice: Refrigerated juice is fine, but since you only need a quarter cup, it's easy to fresh-squeeze some juice, too.
- Honey: It's blended with the juice to make a light sauce for the fruit salad.
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Slice the strawberries
Hull the strawberries and slice them into chunks. Place them into a small bowl. Slice the cherry or grape tomatoes in half; hold these aside in a second bowl.
Cut the watermelon
Cut the watermelon into 1-inch-thick slices. Use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out stars.
Layer the fruit and sauce
Stir the honey and orange juice together. Layer the fruit into a large serving bowl: first the watermelon stars, then the strawberries, then the tomatoes. Pour a little sauce over the fruit. Repeat these layers two more times. Add the fresh raspberries to the top.
Chill, garnish, and serve
Cover the bowl and chill the salad for an hour. Before serving, place whole mint leaves on top of the salad; another option is to cut the mint into slivers and sprinkle them over the top. The fruit salad is ready to serve!
FAQs
Because they develop from a fertilized flower and contain seeds, tomatoes are fruits! Other produce that we think of as veggies that are botanically actually fruits are peppers, pumpkins, and zucchini.
Tomatoes have been part of so many savory dishes for so long that I think we just completely forget how much natural sweetness they really have. There's no reason NOT to include fresh tomatoes in fruit salad—I hope this recipe for easy Tomato Watermelon Salad convinces you of that!
Serve the simple watermelon tomato salad with mint in the same way as you would other fruit salads. It can be served as a breakfast dish; set a bowl out with muffins or bagels with cream cheese. The watermelon mint salad can be served with lunch, too, as a side for sandwiches or meats hot off the grill. And of course, the summer salad is yummy as a snack, too!
Tips:
- Choose the freshest fruit possible for this salad to get the best possible flavor! Locally grown and in-season fruits and tomatoes are ideal choices whenever possible.
- The delicate ingredients in this salad are layered into the bowl (not tossed) so that they won't break apart.
- Leftover salad can be covered and refrigerated, and it's just as delicious served cold. It's best to eat the salad within 48 hours of making it.
The Watermelon and Tomato Salad recipe is below. Here are more salad ideas, too:
💬 Did you make and devour this recipe? Leave a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Tomato Watermelon Salad
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Ingredients
- 16 ounces fresh strawberries, washed and air-dried
- 1½ pints small cherry tomatoes, rinsed (Grape tomatoes can also be used.)
- 4 pounds watermelon (Look for a 3 to 4-pound whole watermelon)
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 6 ounces red raspberries, rinsed and air-dried
- Fresh mint leaves for garnish
Instructions
Slice the strawberries and tomatoes:
- Hull the fresh strawberries and then slice them into 1 inch-or-so-sized pieces. Hold the sliced strawberries aside in a small bowl.
- Slice the cherry or grape tomatoes in half; hold them aside in a separate small bowl.
Cut the watermelon:
- Slice the watermelon into 1-inch thick slices. Use a star cookie cutter to cut out watermelon stars. (I use a 2½ inch star cutter.)
- Hold the watermelon stars aside on a plate. (You may have leftover watermelon; save it to snack on later.)
Make the sauce:
- Whisk the orange juice together with the honey. Have it ready in a small container.
Layer the salad:
- Have ready a large serving bowl.
- Arrange a third of the watermelon stars over the bottom of the large serving bowl. Next, sprinkle a third of the sliced strawberries and a third of the sliced tomatoes over the melon. Pour a little of the orange-honey sauce over the fruit.
- Repeat these layers two more times.
- Sprinkle the whole raspberries over the top of the salad. If you have any leftover orange-honey sauce, pour this over the fruit.
Garnish and serve:
- Garnish the top of the salad with whole mint leaves. Or, you can dice the mint or slice it into ribbons, and sprinkle it over the top or over individual portions.
- Serve the salad immediately.
- Store leftover fruit salad for up to 48 hours in the fridge; cover the bowl tightly.
Notes
- Choose the freshest fruit possible for this salad to get the best possible flavor! Locally grown and in-season fruits and tomatoes are ideal choices whenever possible.
- The delicate ingredients in this salad are layered into the bowl (not tossed) so that they won't break apart.
- Leftover salad can be refrigerated, and it's just as delicious served cold. It's best to eat the salad within 48 hours of making it.
Nutrition
Anonymous says
Sounds so fresh and delightful. Can’t wait to try it.
Nancy Mock says
Oh, I think you will LOVE it!
Anonymous says
This salad beautifully balances the sweetness of watermelon and berries with the subtle acidity of cherry tomatoes, all brought together by a refreshing mint finish. Wonderful!
Nancy Mock says
Wow, I'm so happy to hear that you loved this salad! Thanks for giving it a try!