Start Summer Meals With Watermelon Appetizers

Cool, quenching watermelon is a no-brainer summertime snack, but it’s also an enticing way to introduce a seasonal meal. The fruit’s natural sweetness works as a terrific foil in all kinds of savory applications, balancing out salty bacon, peanuts, feta, and more. From Chile-Coconut Watermelon Crudo to salsa-topped grilled watermelon wedges, these watermelon appetizers are sure to perk palates at your next summer shindig.

Grilled Watermelon with Chamomile-Cocoa Salt

Photo by Jessica Pettway / Food Styling by Micah Morton / Prop Styling by Paola Andrea

Writer Nicole A. Taylor’s smoky grilled watermelon wedges are made even more special with a toasty, crunchy spice blend of benne seeds, chamomile, fennel, and cocoa. Serve them as an appetizer, snack, or whenever the grill’s hot and the mood strikes.

Peanut and Watermelon Chaat

Cedric Angeles

Fun-to-eat chaats are often served as appetizers or enjoyed as street snacks throughout South Asia. Here, chef Vishwesh Bhatt marries sweet, succulent watermelon with crunchy, salty peanuts and sprinkles it all with the tangy spice blend chaat masala.

Chile-Coconut Watermelon Crudo

Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

This sweet, spicy, and punchy upgrade to classic slabs of salted watermelon is the palate-pleasing appetizer your cookout guests deserve. Fresh coconut water is much sweeter and has a greater depth of flavor than bottled versions, so crack open a coconut if you can.

Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint

Julia Hartbeck

The secret behind Jacques Pépin’s stunning salad is using a melon baller to make spheres of juicy watermelon. It’s tossed with savory olives, onion, and feta cheese, and garnished with cool mint.

Bacon-Wrapped Watermelon Rind Pickles

Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Sweet-and-sour store-bought pickled watermelon rind is swaddled in crispy bacon for this salty, tangy, chewy hors d’oeuvre that takes just 40 minutes to prepare. As they bake together in the oven, the bacon absorbs the fruity brine, while the watermelon rind takes on the savory, smoky aroma of the bacon.

Tomato and Watermelon Bites

Greg DuPree

2018 F&W Best New Chef Michael Gallina tops blocks of watermelon with a mixture of tomato sofrito and goat cheese, pickled green tomato slices, a tomato-flavored salt made with the skin of the fruit, and mixed fresh herbs. The starter brings together two summer stars with an enticing presentation.

Grilled Watermelon with Avocado, Cucumber, and Jalapeño Salsa

Grilled watermelon is the ideal smoky-sweet canvas for cool, creamy, and crunchy salsa made from avocado and cucumber. A bit of minced jalapeño adds just enough zing to make the dish interesting.

Marinated Watermelon with Whipped Feta

Eva Kolenko

Chef Joe Kindred marinates watermelon in a mixture of Champagne vinegar, shallot, ginger, and olive oil for half an hour to draw out the fruit’s juices and intensify its flavor. Cut the watermelon a bit smaller than directed and serve with toothpicks for a refreshing, complex-flavored appetizer.

Grilled Cobia Salad with Corn and Watermelon

John Kernick

Grill and chill flaky white fish for this watermelon salad with corn, poblano chile, fresh lime juice, cilantro sprigs, and plantain chips. Chef Kevin Willmann of Farmhaus in St. Louis developed the recipe with wild cobia.

Watermelon Gazpacho

Tomatoes, watermelon, and cucumbers are the base of this cool, sweet-tangy riff on the Spanish staple, inspired by an abundance of watermelons from a farm on Nantucket.

Spicy Tomato-and-Watermelon Gazpacho with Crab

Brothers Matt and Tedd Lee add habanero and poblano chiles and jumbo lump crab to watermelon gazpacho in this recipe inspired by a historic Southern cookbook.

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