Melon Ball Prosciutto Salad

Melon Ball Prosciutto Salad is a colorful, fresh, flavor-packed salad that you can make in minutes. It’s perfect for a light lunch or even for breakfast.

Simple, summery, sweet, salty, stylish – it doesn’t matter how many “S” words I use to describe this colorful salad – it’s just downright fresh and delicious. I get excited when it’s “melon season”.

I can tell when I walk past a large display at the market and I can smell the fresh sweetest. And then I dream about that sweet melon wrapped in bites of salty briny prosciutto. (Is anyone else getting happy or just me?)

Now that you’re ready to run to the market and pick up a few fresh aromatic melons, be sure to use them the same day or the day after for peak freshness.

Sometimes, I like to serve this as an appetizer salad but my favorite way to serve it is a breakfast or brunch. Can you imagine waking up to this?

Cantelope and Honeydew Melons – What’s the difference?

When I was growing up my grandparents used to call both Cantelope and Honeydew melons Muskmelons. 

Later I learned there is actually more of a difference than just the color.

We are all pretty familiar with Catelope melons that have a beige colored rind that is rough and textured. The sweet melon on the inside is orange and it tends to riped very quickly. Honeydew melon is usually a very pale green color with a smooth rind on the outside and greenish, sometimes, almost white on the inside.

Krazy Kitchen Mom Tips:

Here are a few of my tips for making this salad:

1. Buying Prosciutto – If you’ve ever bought Prosciutto, you know it’s very expensive and can run up to $20 – $25 per pound. But let’s face it, when was the last time you actually needed to buy a full pound of prosciutto? My tip for buying prosciutto is to buy just as much as you need. Skip the prepackaged version and head right to the deli. For this recipe, I bought 4 slices (cut thin). That’s all…just 4 slices. The person at the deli counter may look at you a little strangely, but what really matters is that you are not spending a huge amount of money on something when you only need a few slices.
2. Using a melon baller is an art…it’s not difficult; it just takes a little planning. I like to start by slicing my melons in half; removing the seeds and then slicing the halves again lengthwise. Now I have small sections to work on with my melon baller. But don’t stop there, don’t toss any of the extra pieces. Cut them into bite-sized pieces and store them in the refrigerator and you have delicious fresh melon for breakfast the next day…that is if you don’t munch on them while you are making all those cute little balls.

Check out my video on How to Cut Watermelon:

You might also like these recipes:

1. Greek-Style Flatbread Pizza
2. Watermelon Feta Salad
3. Fresh Mango Salsa

Melon Ball Prosciutto Salad

A colorful, fresh, sweet, and savory summer salad that you can make in minutes. It's perfect for a light lunch or even for breakfast.

Print Pin Rate

Course: summer salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: fresh fruit salad, fruit salad, melon salad, summer salad

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Laura Franco

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• 1 Honeydew melon
• 1 Cantaloupe melon
• 4 slices of prosciutto - sliced thin
• 1/2 8oz. package mini mozzarella pearls
• 15-20 fresh basil leaves
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Black Pepper

Instructions

• Using a melon baller, cut the melon into small balls (if you don't have a melon baller you can cut the melon into small pieces).
• Tear the prosciutto into small bite sized pieces.
• Pull the basil leaves off the stems.
• On a large platter, arrange the melon balls and mozarella pearls.
• Tuck in the small piece of proscitto and basil leaves.
• Drizzle with olive oil.
• Add salt and pepper.
• Serve immediately.

Notes

Krazy Kitchen Mom Tips

• Buying Prosciutto - If you've ever bought Prosciutto, you know it's very expensive and can run up to $20 - $25 per pound. But let's face it, when was the last time you actually needed to buy a full pound of prosciutto? My tip for buying prosciutto is to buy just as much as you need. Skip the prepackaged version and head right to the deli. For this recipe, I bought 4 slices (cut thin). That's all...just 4 slices.
• Using a melon baller is an art...it's not difficult; it just takes a little practice. Start by slicing the melons into halves; remove the seeds and then cut the halves again lengthwise. Press the melon baller into the soft melon fresh and spin it to make a ball.