Loaded Grilled Watermelon, tenderly charred watermelon enhanced with flavor from grilling drizzled with a honey glaze to draw out its sweetness and topped with a crumbled feta cheese for a salty, creamy contrast in addition to fresh mint and lightly pickled shallots.
The other day I got a hilarious DM from my dear sweet friend and fellow food blogger Fifi from The Divine Hostess (check out her blog and Wonderfully Made podcast).
From time to time we make fun of the culinary deficient by sharing images of really poorly prepared food that we come across. WE ARE NOT MEAN GIRLS, LOL, DON’T ACT LIKE YOU’VE NEVER DONE IT BEFORE. It’s just that there are far too many offensive food images out there perpetrating. Plus, folks are making empires off struggle plates like Cooking4Bae so I don’t feel bad at all.
Anyways our DM convo is filled with this type of stuff and her latest discovery was a video about what appeared to be a really bad recipe for watermelon pizza with step-by-step **ass ripping** commentary.
I about died when I watched the video, cringing at the addition of each ingredient and thinking, who would do something like this?… OH HELL!!! At that moment, I remembered that I, too, had a recipe for watermelon pizza and just hadn’t posted it yet. The thought made me sink into my seat, embarrassed because that could’ve been me on the other end of this video getting chewed out by this guy. It would be a viral disaster!!!! Oh, the shame!
I asked myself, “do I have to scrap this recipe and pretend it never happened?” Then deep in my spirit, a song rose up in my heart with the answer, HELL NAW – TO DA NAW NAW NAW! So I watched the video again, noting all the glaring offenses of the recipe, and realized I am not in the same category. Little Caesars Pizza CANNOT, I REPEAT, CANNOT be compared to Lou Malnati’s, and while I’m not claiming to be Lou, I will proudly own my knack for unique flavor pairings. Plus, my version is so damn good that I really don’t care about the criticism because my belly enjoyed every bite.
And I’m not alone; I actually stumbled upon the recipe while searching for grilled watermelon inspiration. I came across the amazing Chef Jeff Henderson’s recipe for Grilled Watermelon-Prosciutto Pizza. I was immediately enthralled. While I am not big on pork, I knew that it would be easy to switch the recipe up a bit to my liking.
I’m sorry, but I have to say that whoever made that initial video is leading the people off a cliff. To make watermelon pizza, you can’t just add tomato sauce and think that’s ok. The watermelon is already juicy, so you don’t need a heavy sauce. You just need a glaze (honey) to draw out its sweetness and top with a mild, crumbly cheese like goat cheese (which is what I used) for a salty, creamy contrast. I also added a little fresh mint and lightly pickled shallots, which brightened this fruity pizza. I ate it for the next two days; it was so good.
So friends, in the name of my credibility, I need you to give the recipe a try and tell me what you think. You can deck it out even more with cured meats, candied nuts, and dried fruit if you want to be fancy about it. But please, please stay away from the tomato sauce!
@meikoandthedish #meikoandthedish
Watermelon Pizza Recipe Video
Grilled Watermelon Pizza Ingredients
- Watermelon: Choose a ripe and sweet watermelon for grilling, as it caramelizes and intensifies its natural sweetness when exposed to heat.
- Honey: Brushing honey onto the watermelon before grilling enhances its sweetness and helps in creating a lovely caramelized glaze on the surface.
- Shallots: The thinly sliced shallots are used as one of the toppings for the grilled watermelon, adding a touch of pungency and acidity to balance the sweetness.
- Feta cheese: Crumble the feta cheese over the grilled watermelon for a salty and creamy element that complements the sweet and smoky flavors.
- Mint leaves: Roll up the mint leaves and thinly slice them into a chiffonade to garnish the dish with a refreshing and aromatic herbal note, adding a burst of freshness to each bite.
- Lightly Pickled Shallots: Prepare lightly pickled shallots by marinating thinly sliced shallots in a mixture of vinegar, water, sugar, and salt. This will add a tangy and slightly acidic element that complements the sweetness of the honey-glazed watermelon.
Crumbled goat cheese saltiness pairs well with the sweetness of the honey and watermelon. Mint leaves and watermelon are two perfect flavor combinations.
How to make Grilled Watermelon
- Preheat the grill or grill pan to high (about 450˚F to 500˚F)
- Slice the watermelon crosswise into 1-inch rounds
- Brush watermelon wedges with honey.
- Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side to create grill marks.
- Transfer to a platter.
- Layer with crumbled feta, mint, shallots, and a drizzle of honey.
- Serve Enjoy your grilled watermelon wedges!
How to cut a watermelon into rounds?
Lay the watermelon on its side, and slice the watermelon crosswise into 1-inch rounds using a chef’s knife. Always use a sharp knife to make clean cuts, and keep your fingers away from the blade. With a bit of care and precision, you’ll have beautiful watermelon rounds ready to enjoy!
What does grilled watermelon taste like?
Watermelon’s taste becomes beautifully transformed when grilled. The cool, sweet, crisp fruit takes on a warm, hearty, and savory flavor. It’s smokey with mild sweetness, almost like a sweet vegetable such as corn. The watermelon texture becomes more meat-like.
More Tasty Appetizer Recipes
- Watermelon Salsa
- Pimento Cheese Stuffed Sliders
- Healthy Sweet Potato Chips
- Black-Eyed Pea Hummus – Black Girl Baking
Ingredients
Lightly Pickled Shallots
- ⅓ cup white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Grilled Watermelon
- 1 3-4 lb watermelon, cut into 1-inch thick wedges
- 6 tablespoons honey plus extra for garnish
- 2 medium shallots thinly sliced
- ¼ cup feta cheese crumbled
- 1/4 cup mint leaves thinly sliced chiffonade
Instructions
- Preheat the grill or grill pan to high (about 450˚F to 500˚F)
Lightly Pickled Shallots
- In a mason jar or bowl whisk together the vinegar, water, honey and salt until the salt is dissolved.
- Add the thinly sliced shallots and make sure they are fully submerged. Set aside and cover for 20-30 minutes.
Cut Watermelon
- Please watermelon on a cutting board and cut in half.
- Take one of those halves and sit up upright with the cut side down. Cut it in half.
- Take one of those halves, face one of the red sides down, and cut it in half.
- Take one of those halves, face one of the red sides down, and start cutting into 1 inch triangular slices.
Grilled Watermelon Wedges & Assemble
- Lightly brush watermelon wedges on both sides with honey.
- Set watermelon wedges on grill grates(undisturbed) for 2-3 minutes on each side or until you can see grill marks.
- Transfer grilled wedges to a large platter and layer with crumbled feta cheese, mint, shallots and an extra drizzle of honey. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Equipment
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.
**The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products I use and love. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
2 thoughts on “Loaded Grilled Watermelon with Feta & Mint”
I loved the post as much as the recipe! It’s such a great example of how the terrible version of a recipe often circulates more than the original, more ingenious one thus giving it a bad rap. Though this was coincidental, it would be cool to see you do this with other recipes too! Well done! xoxo
Not a bad idea!