This fresh Watermelon Salsa with Avocado is a perfect summer fruit salsa recipe. Loaded with juicy watermelon, creamy avocado, crisp red onions, spicy jalapeños, fresh cilantro, and tangy lime juice. It's perfect on its own with chips or even served on top of some grilled fish!
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Ingredients
Watermelon avocado salsa is just a few ingredients that all pack such delicious fresh flavor.
- Watermelon: The main ingredient - a seedless watermelon is best. Tips on how to pick a great one below!
- Avocado: Ripe avocado is important for the best texture! If you're shopping ahead of time, get an avocado that will ripen in time for when you need it.
- Red onion: Diced up nice and small for a little extra flavor.
- Jalapeño: With or without seeds to add a little kick.
- Cilantro: What's a salsa without cilantro?!
- Lime juice: Fresh lime juice always! Skip the bottled stuff if you can.
Step by step instructions
Overview
- Chop all ingredients and combine.
Detailed steps
1. Cube watermelon. Cut the two ends off the watermelon, then cut it in half. Place it large cut side-down and slice off the rind. Then make ½" slab cuts, then chop into cubes from there.
2. Dice red onion. Finely dice the red onion.
3. Dice jalapeño. Cut in half and remove the seeds and membrane then dice into small pieces.
4. Mince cilantro. Finely chop fresh cilantro.
5. Cube the avocado. Remove the skin from the avocado, slice it in half lengthwise then cut into cubes.
6. Combine. Add all ingredients to a large bowl with the juice of 1 lime and salt to taste.
Tips and tricks
- Leave the ribs in the jalapeño if you like a little spice.
- Try to cut the watermelon pretty small, you want to be able to get it scooped up on a chip and ideally you get all the ingredients together in one bite!
- If you want a higher avocado to watermelon ratio, just use more avocados!
- To pick out the best watermelon: look for strong, consistent stripes and big yellow patch. Ribbing/veins are also a sign of a good watermelon. It should also be heavier than it looks. More info here.
- If you don't like cilantro, try mint! It'll be a different flavor profile all together, but still delicious.
- Add more fruits/veggies! Adding in corn, cucumber, or tomato would be great.
- Don't want to waste the watermelon rind? Make pickled watermelon rinds!
- If your watermelon isn't quite ripe, you can try placing it in a paper bag at room temp for a few days. However this may not work as once watermelons are picked off the vine they typically do not ripen any further.
- As it stands, this is a watermelon salad without feta or cheese/dairy of any kind, but if you wanted to add cheese, I'd recommend feta.
How to serve
This watermelon salsa (which, is also kind of a watermelon pico de gallo depending on how you define the two) is such a delicious fruit salad and there are a bunch of great ways to eat it.
- Classic tortilla chips
- Pita chips
- On top of any fish (eg shrimp, salmon)
- On top of meats (eg chicken, steak)
- Use as a topping for fish tacos
- On toasts with some queso fresco sprinkled on top
FAQs
In an air tight container in the fridge.
I'd recommend eating within a day of making it. The lime juice will start to break down the watermelon and change its texture, and the salsa will get quite watery from the watermelon sitting.
You can, but I'd recommend keeping all the ingredients separate until right before you serve.
More salsa recipes
📖 Recipe
Watermelon Salsa with Avocado
Ingredients
- 3 cups watermelon cubed
- 1 red onion diced
- 2 avocados cubed
- 1 jalapeño diced
- ½ cup fresh cilantro minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Cube the watermelon – cut the two ends off then cut it in half. Place it large cut side-down and slice off the rind. Then make ½" slab cuts, then chop into cubes from there.
- Finely dice the red onion.
- Remove the seeds and membrane from the jalapeño and dice it.
- Finely chop fresh cilantro.
- Remove the skin from the avocado, slice it in half lengthwise then cut into cubes.
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl with the juice of 1 lime and salt to taste.
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