This easy Watermelon Jicama Salad is packed with sweet watermelon, crisp jicama, tart lime juice, and a kick of cayenne spice! The perfect quick and refreshing summer salad for when it’s too hot to cook.
Who else just can’t wait for watermelon season to roll around? Everything about it is just quintessential summer: sweet, crisp, juicy, refreshing, everything you want for a summer fruit! There’s just nothing better than biting into that first delicious slice of the season, so good!
So when my sister-in-law introduced me to a watermelon jicama salad for the first time, I knew I needed to re-create my own version. This salad is so easy to throw together and is the perfect salad to bring along to your summer cookouts. While a traditional fruit salad is great, this watermelon salad switches things up by adding crisp jicama, acidic limes, cooling mint, a pinch of salt, and a little kick from some cayenne.
All these flavors come together and make magic. The salad is fruity, sweet, acidic, cooling, and balanced out perfectly to wow everyone with your salad skills.
What is jicama?
First let’s address the big question, what even is jicama? While this delicious root vegetable seems to be gaining popularity, I’ve found many folks still have yet to be introduced to it so let’s dive in!
Jicama is an edible root vegetable native to Mexico. If I were to compare it to another vegetable I would say it has the same crunchy factor and ever so slightly sweetness similar to that of a water chestnut. Overall the flavor is on the subtle side so it lends itself well to add a crunch factor to a salad or as a vehicle for your dip of choice (I love dipping jicama sticks in hummus).
Reasons to love jicama:
- You can eat it cooked or raw. Unlike other roots like potatoes, jicama can be eaten raw. We love an easy vegetable/root.
- Tastes great sweet or savory. Added to a sweet salad or dipped in savory hummus, jicama is delicious in both sweet and savory flavor profiles!
- Easy to find. Even if this is a new addition to your vegetable knowledge, jicama has become more widely used and thus should be available at your local grocery store.
- Packed with nutrients. Not only is jicama low in calories it is high in antioxidants, vitamins, and fiber.
- Good for your gut bacteria. Jicama is high in inulin, which is a prebiotic fiber which makes your gut happy. Love that for us.
Let’s take a look at the ingredients in this refreshing salad:
- Watermelon: Both sweet, hydrating, ultra delicious, and full of vitamin C.
- Jicama: Refreshing, mild taste, and extra crunchy. Plus full of fiber and more vitamin C.
- Mint: Cooling, anti-inflammatory, and great for digestion.
- Lime: Brightens and makes all the flavors pop. Plus it stimulates digestion & supports the immune system.
- Cayenne: Adds the perfect kick of heat while also boosting your metabolism. Heck yes!
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Watermelon Jicama Salad
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
This easy Watermelon Jicama Salad is packed with sweet watermelon, crisp jicama, tart lime juice, and a kick of cayenne spice! The perfect quick and refreshing summer salad for when it’s too hot to cook.
Ingredients
- 5 cups cubed watermelon
- 2 cups peeled and cubed jicama (raw)
- juice from 1/2 lime
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves (or more to taste)
- 1/8 tsp salt (or more to taste)
- pinch of cayenne or to taste (omit if you want a spice-free salad)
Instructions
- Toss the watermelon and jicama together in a large bowl.
- Add in the lime, mint, salt, and cayenne and toss again to combine.
- Chill in the fridge and serve topped with extra mint if desired.
Notes
You can eat the salad right away but it will taste better if it has about an hour or so to chill in the fridge. Toss again right before eating.
- Category: side
- Method: no-bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 82
- Sugar: 13.1g
- Fat: .3g
- Carbohydrates: 20.3g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 1.6g
Keywords: watermelon, salad, watermelon salad, jicama
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