Cantaloupe and honeydew melons are abundant in the produce section of the grocery store. It makes me happy to inhale the sweet scent when I walk by. I get even more excited to choose a variety of melons to make a cooling melon salad with lime dressing. This dressing adds just a sweet to the taste but allows the tartness of the lime juice and freshness of the mint to enhance the flavor of whatever melon you use.
If you struggle to pick a good melon, see this post for tips for picking a ripe juicy cantaloupe or honeydew melon. But knowing how much fruit you need for a recipe plus snacking is can be difficult as well.
A typical serving of cantaloupe or honeydew depends on how you prepare it. Sliced, made into melon balls, cut into chunks or diced for a salad are all different. And while we will lump both cantaloupes and honeydews (or other types of muskmelons) together, please note that an average honeydew is larger than a cantaloupe by about 20%. A cantaloupe weighs about 3-6 pounds and a honeydew melon averages 4-7 pounds. Plan on each pound of fruit yielding 1-1/3 cups of cubed melon.
Melon Serving Amount Guide
- Sliced melon = 1/8 of cantaloupe or 1/10 of honeydew melon Serving size is 1 slice.
- Melon balls = 25 (1”) balls of cantaloupe or 30 (1”) balls of honeydew (you will have a lot of fruit leftover that can be used pureed) Serving size is 6 melon balls.
- Melon cubes = 4 – 4-1/2 cups cantaloupe or 4-1/2 – 5 cups honeydew. Serving size 15-20 cubes or 3/4 – 1 cup.
- Pureed melon = 2 cups cantaloupe or 2-2/3 cup honeydew. The serving size is 1/2 cup puree.
Lime Dressing for Fruit Salad
You will need 2 fresh limes for the melon salad with lime dressing. Remove the zest from both limes before juicing them. Each lime will give you about 2 tablespoons of lime juice and 2 teaspoons of lime zest. This recipe also uses fresh mint. You will need about 7 mint leaves to yield 1 teaspoon chopped mint. Check out this great mint julep recipe to use the rest of the bundle you may have purchased at the grocery store.
With both cantaloupe and honeydew melons, make sure you wash the rind well to remove any dirt. This food safety tip is important since it is easy to contaminate the fruit with any bacteria on the rind as you cut it off. The extra minute of prep is well worth avoiding the chance of getting sick. You can peel and cube the melon as well as prepare the dressing ahead, but wait to dress the salad until just before serving.
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Melon Salad with Lime Dressing
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: salad
- Method: fresh
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A quick and simple fresh melon salad with lime dressing and a fresh hint of mint. Perfect accent for a hot summer meal.
Ingredients
- 2 limes, (4 teaspoons zest and 1/4 cup lime juice)
- 3 tablespoons honey (or 1/4 cup agave)
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh mint (about 7 leaves)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 cups cubed cantaloupe and honeydew
Instructions
- Remove the zest from the limes with a Microplane or box grater. Then juice the limes.
- Finely dice the fresh mint leaves.
- In a small container combine the lime juice and zest, honey, minced mint, and kosher salt. Stir well to combine.
- Remove the rind and inner pulp of various melons. Cut fruit into small cubes to equal 6 cups and chill.
- In a serving bowl combine the melon cubes with about 3/4 of the dressing and gently stir to combine. Add the remaining dressing as needed. Serve and enjoy.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
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