Watermelon Salsa

This watermelon salsa recipe is quick, easy, tasty and refreshing! I love how the watermelon’s sweetness balances with the spicy jalapeño, savory garlic and acidic lime juice. Enjoy it with tortilla chips, on tacos, and more!

A few things…

• ・A seedless watermelon works best. If you use a watermelon with seeds and a few get in the blender, it’s ok. They are edible.

• ・The amount of jalapeño seeds that you add to the blender will determine how hot the watermelon salsa will be. More seeds, more hot. Less seeds, less hot.
• ・If you’re not sure about how many jalapeño seeds work for your tastes, add a very conservative amount, blend, taste, and adjust from there. Let your taste guide you!
• ・If you like a mild salsa or are sensitive to heat, grill the jalapeños and then, remove all the seeds before adding the jalapeños to the blender.

This recipe makes ~4 ½ cups of blender watermelon salsa. It’s perfect for summer, because all you need is a grill and a blender. It lasts for ~2 days stored in the refrigerator, but always use your best judgement.

Check out more UVK recipes, like Watermelon Radish Slaw, Vegan Tortilla Soup, Black Bean Avocado Salsa, or Vegan Black Bean Dip.

Watermelon Salsa

2 jalapeños (want to adjust the heat? sensitive to heat? see note above)

3 large garlic cloves, peeled

Olive oil, to drizzle

2 cups cubed seedless watermelon

2 medium tomatoes, sliced into big chunks

1 cup fresh cilantro, packed

¼ cup lime juice

¼-½ tsp onion powder

1-1½ tsp salt

1. First, you’ll grill the jalapeños and garlic for the watermelon salsa. Heat up the grill. Then, line a small, grill-proof pan with non-stick aluminum foil. Add the jalapeños and garlic. Drizzle with a little olive oil.

2. Grill at 400º F for ~3 minutes, and then, flip and grill for another 3 minutes. If it isn’t quite charred enough, flip again, and grill until it looks right to you. Remove from the grill, and allow to cool.

3. In a blender, add the watermelon, grilled jalapeño (see notes above to determine how much of the inner jalapeño seeds to add to the blender for your taste), garlic and ½ of the tomatoes. Blend until the watermelon salsa is mostly smooth.

4. Then, add the rest of the tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, onion powder and salt. Pulse until there are still some recognizable bits, but everything is chopped up fairly small. Taste, and adjust seasonings (more salt? more lime?). Serve.