Bursting with fresh flavour, this watermelon cucumber bocconcini salad is easy, delicious and perfect for all those upcoming deck parties, picnics and barbecues!

Close-up of a bowl of watermelon cucumber bocconcini salad with fresh mint.

If you’re all about easy summer recipes with minimal fuss, have I got the recipe for you … watermelon cucumber bocconcini salad!

This easy summer salad recipe requires only a handful of simple ingredients and can be whipped up in minutes.

It’s light, fresh and just screams summer. It also makes for an easy picnic recipe (which I happen to love)!

Hubby, fur baby and I went on a picnic last year to Cape Spear and packed a lunch, including this salad, curry chicken salad sandwiches and granola bars. We plan on making it an annual thing!

Love summer salads? Check out this creamy Greek pasta salad!

Why We Love This Watermelon Cucumber Bocconcini Salad

This salad is made with less than 10 ingredients.
It comes together in about 10 minutes with very little fuss.
It’s great for a picnic or to bring along to a summer BBQ. Always goes over well!
Of course, it tastes delicious!

Ingredients for cucumber melon salad with bocconcini.

What Is Bocconcini?

Bocconcini are small balls of mozzarella, usually packed in water.

You can find them in various sizes, including pearl (little tiny tiny ones), regular sized (like I used here), or large ones.

They are semi-soft and absorb flavour really well.

They aren’t intrusive in taste and go well with a variety of things, like this cucumber melon salad, in pasta or eating right from the package (yes, I do that and please, no judgement, they are that good).

Can I Make Ahead of Time?

This salad is best made and enjoyed right away. The salt in the salad pulls some of the moisture out of the cucumber and melon and if it sits to long, it will get watery.

Having said that, if you do want to prepare the salad a few hours in advance simply have everything chopped up (cucumber, watermelon, bocconcini, red onion and mint) and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. When you are ready to serve, add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and black pepper and stir to combine.

Ingredients for cucumber melon salad with bocconcini in a bowl before being mixed together.

Tips for Making This Recipe

I left the seeds in the cucumber. Because I enjoyed immediately, the salad didn’t get watery. However, if you like you can scrape the seeds out with a spoon. Just carefully cut cucumber in half and run a spoon down the centre to remove those seeds. Continue with the recipe.
If you can’t find bocconcini, no worries! Just use mozzarella (preferably the kind packed in water). Tear or cut into bite-sized pieces.
Prefer not to use bocconcini or mozzarella? Try feta cheese instead.
If you want, you can use basil instead of mint; both work lovely! Speaking of mint, I can’t wait for our herb garden to start coming in. We grow mint like it’s nobody’s business. It really thrives for us, unlike basil (that one ain’t so easy, even when we tried growing it inside). Any tips? I’d love to hear!

Close-up of a cucumber salad recipe with bocconcini, melon and mint.

More Easy Picnic Ideas

If you make this melon cucumber bocconcini salad, be sure to leave a comment below!