The boys eat watermelon like nothing else, so when we’re having a summertime celebration I always try to pick one up.

The other day when I went to purchase food for our annual gathering to celebrate the start of the
football season, there weren’t any small-to-medium sized watermelon in sight. I purchased the smallest of the melons on hand and though we ate a lot, I still had more than half the watermelon left.

Combine that melon with all of the peaches that fell off the tree in a storm and you’ve got a bit of a weird fruit combination.

Fortunately, I came across a delightful southern recipe that included both watermelon and peaches. A little alteration and we’ve got a delightful Mozzarella Melon Fruit Salad recipe. 

Mozzarella Melon Fruit Salad Recipe

Ingredients

4 c. cubed watermelon
3 c. peeled peaches
4 c. cubed honeydew melon
3 c. sliced fresh strawberries
2 c. sliced grapes
1 c. raspberries
1 8 oz. container of mozzarella cheese
2/4 c. poppyseed dressing
1 tblsp. lemon juice
3 tblsp. finely chopped basil
mint to garnish

Directions

1. Mix together peeled and cut up peaches, mozzarella, basil, 1/4 c. of the poppyseed dressing  and lemon juice. Set aside.

Tip: Peaches can be difficult to peel. I like to place them in boiling water just long enough to make the skin easily slide right off. Be careful though, you don’t want to actually cook your peaches. 

Tip: I used Brianna’s Poppyseed Dressing for this salad. It’s my favorite dressing brand and I’ve used this particular flavor in many recipes. 

2. In a large bowl or trifle dish layer watermelon, peach mixture, honeydew melon, sliced strawberries.

3. Drizzle  remaining 1/4 c. of poppyseed dressing on top of fruit salad.

Tip: I prefer less dressing. You could add up to an additional 1/4 c. if you like your dressing a bit heavier. 

4. Top with sliced grapes, raspberries and mint to garnish.

This is a salad I would recommend serving immediately if possible. I made mine ahead of time and some of the dressing/juice settled to the bottom before it was served (although easily re-distributed).

This salad met rave reviews from everyone who tried it and many went back for seconds. Mozzarella Melon Fruit Salad is definitely going to become a summer entertaining go-to side dish for me – particularly when you’ve got a crazy amount of extra watermelon and peaches.

Do you have a go to side for the end of the summer? If so leave me a note in the comments…especially if you’ve got a link to the recipe handy!