Watermelon and Jicama Salad Recipe: Fruit Salad for Summer Parties
This recipe for watermelon salad makes a fun and unique party food for your Fourth of July party or summer cookouts. It’s a hydrating and refreshing summer fruit salad recipe that has a beautiful presentation and unique flavor. Keep reading to discover more about jicama. Plus learn how to make this watermelon and jicama salad as a healthy treat for your outdoor summer parties.
It’s too hot during the summer for hot foods, and I’m always on the lookout for summer fruit salad recipes. Most cold salad recipes are similar and made with only fruits and sometimes a cream cheese based dressing.
This red, white and blue fruit salad has a unique twist with jicama. Jicama isn’t a common food, but it complements the fruit in this watermelon and blueberry salad. It gives it a little bit of crunch similar to what apples do in a fruit salad, but it doesn’t turn brown as it sits.
This simple watermelon jicama salad recipe is easy to make, too. You can prepare it in about 10 minutes, so it’s perfect for summer parties. I made mine a red, white and blue fruit salad with star shaped jicama, but you can simply mix watermelon and blueberry salad together if you’re serving it as a summer fruit salad and not for the holiday.
What is Jicama?
Jicama is the start of this Mexican watermelon salad. This root vegetable has a white interior. It’s crunchy and juicy, so it’s a perfect addition for a watermelon blueberry salad.
Jicama is slightly sweet, but it has an almost nutty flavor. It tastes almost like a mix between a pear and a potato. Some people say it tastes like a water chestnut with a similar texture. It gives this watermelon salad recipe a crunch similar to using apples, but the jicama doesn’t brown when exposed to the air.
This watermelon and jicama salad is a simple recipe made with healthy ingredients. It only uses fresh fruits and vegetables, so there are no preservatives or artificial ingredients.
Watermelon Nutritional Benefits
The nutritional benefits of eating watermelon are as follows:
- Watermelon is 92 percent water, so it can help you hydrate.
- Each 1 cup serving of watermelon has only 46 calories.
- Watermelon is a good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamins B1, B5 and B6. It also has potassium and magnesium.
Jicama Nutritional Benefits
The nutritional benefits of eating the vegetable jicama are as follows:
- A 1 cup serving of jicama has 49 calories, 12 grams of carbs, 6.4 grams of fiber and 1 gram of fat.
- Jicama is also a good source of Vitamin C, folate, iron, magnesium, potassium and manganese.
- One serving of jicama has 17 percent of the recommended daily intake of fiber for men and 23 percent for women.
What Seasonings and Additions Can I Add to This Summer Fruit Salad Recipe?
This simple Mexican watermelon jicama salad is delicious on its own, but you can also add one of the following flavors:
- Cayenne pepper
- Jalapeno and lime
- Feta cheese
- Cotija cheese
- Fresh mint leaves
How Far Ahead Can I Make a Watermelon and Jicama Salad?
Most fruit browns rather quickly. Therefore it’s best to make a fresh fruit salad for summer no more than a day ahead of time. This way, it has the best flavor and appearance for your party or cookout, and it’s still great leftover the following day.
As a fruit salad with watermelon and jicama does not contain fruits that normally brown when exposed to air as apples, pears, bananas and peaches do, you can enjoy this salad for up to week after preparation. Simply store tightly covered in your refrigerator.
For more information on jicama, serving suggestions and tips, discover more about this watermelon salad recipe here.
Watermelon and Jicama Salad Recipe: Fruit Salad for Summer Parties
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 1 pound Watermelon
- 1 pound Jicama
- 7 ounce Blueberries
- 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup, optional
Instructions
- Use a vegetable peeler to peel the jicama. Cut the jicama into slices about ½ inch thick.
- Use a 1 inch star shaped cookie cutter to cut out stars. Then slice the rest of the jicama into slices.
- Cut the watermelon into sticks.
- Use a shallow dish to place the watermelon and jicama slices to create a flag, leaving room for the blueberries in the upper left hand corner.
- Now use blueberries to fill in the blue portion of the flag and top with jicama stars.
- Drizzle maple syrup over the Mexican watermelon salad, if desired. You can also serve it on the side.
Tips
- If you are serving this fruit salad for a crowd, you can make this in a large dish or use two dishes. You can also cut the watermelon and jicama into 1 inch cubes and combine with the blueberries for a mixed 4th of July fruit salad.
- You can substitute the maple syrup with honey if desired.
Comments
Share your thoughts, or ask a question!
Adore jicama and have been using it since the beginning of time. However, I am in Southern California where Hispanic cuisine is everywhere. Every fruit cart vendor offers jicama and I pop over early in the day before they run out. I do a mix of home prepared, (jicama is dirt cheap here), and purchasing from the fruit cart vendors to support those in my area. Agree with those that describe as a water chestnut, as that is how I answer when asked. Some people don't know what it is and are afraid to ask. This is such a cute idea! Will prepare for our shared food table at work. And for my bubble buds. Thanks for sharing!