Grilled Steak and Watermelon Salad with Feta

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Safeway. All opinions are 100% mine.

The recipe for this bright and refreshing salad includes grilled tri tip steak, watermelon, red onion, feta cheese, basil, mint and a delicious balsamic vinaigrette. Perfect for serving at summer dinner parties!

Time to fire up the grill and head to Safeway for the freshest, highest quality steaks, fruits and vegetables in the Seattle area – a quintessential addition to your next BBQ, large or small!

taste and texture

Every combination of flavors in this recipe contains something incredibly satisfying, whether it is the sweet and juicy watermelon paired with tangy feta cheese and sharp red onion, hearty greens with grilled beef, croutons and balsamic vinaigrette, or watermelon, steak and mint – it’s all phenomenal.

This recipe is a joyous and bright celebration of summer tastes. Part of the fun lies in trying different combinations and deciding what you like best!

shopping at Safeway

For this recipe, I tried Safeway’s Grocery Delivery and it was really convenient! To do this, I logged into the Delivery & PickUp app on my phone (this is separate from the regular Safeway app) and since I had a list ready to go it was easy to use the search function to add products directly to my online cart.

Pro-tip: check out the deals tab for promo codes to use during checkout. I also found it helpful that deals are sorted by things like department and Buy One, Get One Free.

I got my groceries delivered same day and text updates on my phone throughout. It was great being able to continue with the rest of my day while groceries magically appeared on my doorstep.

Safeway also offers a DriveUp & Go™ service for online shopping and easy pickup.

I shopped at Safeway in my local area, but you can also find quality grilling and produce items at the Albertsons Companies family of stores, including Albertsons, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Randalls, Shaw’s Supermarket, Star Market, and Tom Thumb.

what is tri-tip steak?

Tri-tip is a type of beef that’s cut from the bottom sirloin. While it is a leaner cut it still has a lot of nice marbling and rivals a ribeye for a much cheaper price.

However, it can be pretty elusive under that name. Tri-tip is also known as triangle steak, Santa Maria or California cut, culotte steak, bottom sirloin tip or Newport steak. When in doubt, just talk to your butcher.

There were two rules I followed when developing this recipe: the steak needs to be full of flavor and it needs to cook quickly on a grill. Tri-tip delivers on both and works even better when it isn’t cooked above medium.

For best results, grab a meat thermometer and use this handy guide:

120-130°F Rare – seared on the outside, 75% red inside
130-140°F Medium Rare – seared on the outside, 50% red inside
140-150°F Medium – seared on the outside, pink inside
150-160°F Medium Well – seared on the outside, some pink inside
160°F + Well Done – brown throughout

Take the steaks off the grill about 5 degrees before your desired result, then rest for 10 minutes while the juices redistribute. If you plan to cook this above medium, marinate it first. Tri-tip gets very tough when overcooked.

To assemble, start with a bed of 50/50 baby spinach and spring mix (Safeway sells this as half and half blend), then top with 5-6 slices of steak, 4-5 pieces of watermelon, 2 Tablespoons of feta cheese, 1 Tablespoon finely diced red onion, croutons and shaved Parmesan cheese. Garnish with 2 leaves of fresh mint and 1 leaf of fresh basil and top with the balsamic vinaigrette.

But feel free to get more creative! Maybe serve it deconstructed, or with the steak and watermelon on the bottom and the lettuce, cheese, red onion and herbs on top. Salads are super versatile for this reason, so have fun with it!

In all, I think you’ll agree when I say this is a fantastic way to fire up the grill and get the most out of Safeway‘s fresh, high quality meat and produce this summer – I know I did!

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