SuToday, I am joining Mary Ann, Cindy, and a few friends to share our favorite easy summer recipes. This summer, my go-to is a melon salad with ham, basil, and shallots. It’s colorful and delicious, and you can barely even call it a recipe—it’s so easy! Isn’t that what we want in the summer?

A summer melon salad with hame, shallots, and basil is served on on a large white oval platter.

This salad has many variations. Some make it a little more French, and other variations a little more Italian. You can’t go wrong either way! It’s one of our favorite salads, and it’s a gorgeous salad with the color of cantaloupe melon, basil, and ham. It makes a perfect starter, side dish, or the perfect addition to an apéro. You can read more about our French-inspired casual appetizer party here.

You could even serve this salad as a main course with a sliced baguette and salted French butter.

What are the main ingredients you’ll need to make this salad

A cantaloup sliced in half, basil, shallots, ham, and a vinegarette are all the ingredients that go into this summer melon salad.

Shallots have been peeled and sliced on a small cutting board. A knife is also on the cutting board.

A good cantaloupe melon or two
Thin slices of ham like jambon de Bayonne
Sherry vinegar
Balsamic glaze
Good olive oil
Fresh basil Leaves (whole)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Prepare your melon ahead

Cantaloupe is wrapped with prosciutto ham and is on a white platter. Extra melon is still on the cutting board.

A summer melon salad is on a white oval platter. Basil leave are in a small wooden bowl and some basil leaves have fallen on the kitchen counter.

When serving this salad to guests, I buy a few melons to ensure I have found a ripe, flavorful cantaloupe melon. I love it when I can buy it already sliced in half so I can see the color, but lately, I have not seen melons cut like this at the grocery store. I cut melon slices, trim the rind, and place them in an airtight container a few hours ahead of when I am ready to serve. I dislike storing the sliced melon on the serving platter because cantaloupe is 90% water.

Also, did you know that you should store your melon on the counter and not in the refrigerator? Storing in the refrigerator will halt the melon’s ripening. When you buy a melon at the grocery store, it usually needs to ripen a bit at home. If you need a ripe melon, look for one that feels heavier than you would expect and has a deep, dull sound when you give it a knock with your hand.

Assembling the salad

Cantaloupe is wrapped in prosciutto and topped with basil and shallots and ready for serving.

If you’ve stored your sliced ripe melon in the refrigerator, ensure you allow it to come to room temperature so you have sweet melon.
Then, wrap each slice in a piece of jambon de Bayonne. Arrange on a platter.
Sprinkle with whole basil leaves. I look for the tiny leaves in my garden and snip them off one by one.
Slice a shallot very thin and sprinkle on top of the melon wrapped in ham.
Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Make the dressing with extra virgin olive oil and sherry vinegar, and drizzle over the fresh salad.
Drizzle over a little balsamic vinegar like a glaze.
Serve right away with a baguette and salted French butter.

Olive oil and two different vinegars are ready to be mixed.

A summer melon salad is served on a platter and next to are two glasses of wine and plates, silverware, and napkins.

This is one of our favorite recipes because it’s so good! It’s colorful and easy to make. It is versatile and can be served as a main course for lunch with bread and butter or as a delicious starter.

A summer salad, baguette and butter, wine, and plates and napkins are on a counter and ready to serve to guests.

Watch this short video to see how easy it is to put it together for a colorful and delicious lunch.

Variations and substitutions for making this simple salad

Well, you definitely want to start with a juicy melon, but then you can substitute jambon de Bayonne for prosciutto, which is easier to find. You could add creamy mozzarella or Burrata. But if it’s your first time making it, I would stay true to the French way of making it. This recipe was inspired by the one in the book In Love with Paris—Recipes and stories from the most romantic city in the world by Anne-Katrin Weber.

Pin for later

This graphic shows a summer melon salad served on a white, oval platter.

Now, Let’s see what these content creators came up with for easy summer recipes!