Description
A delicious Cucumber Salad with fresh herbs, citrus, and red onion. Easy to make with the simplest ingredients- it’s cool, crunchy, refreshing, and pairs with many things!
Ingredients
- 1/4 of a red onion, very thinly sliced (or sub-pickled onions, or scallions)
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice
- 2 large English Cucumbers (or 6 Persian cucumbers) thinly sliced (skin on) see notes.
- one garlic clove, finely minced
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, Italian parsley, dill, mint or basil (or a combo)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- Optional spices: 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander , (or ground cumin) and/or chili flakes
- optional: 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
Instructions
- Place the red onion and citrus juice in a big bowl, toss and let marinate while you prep the rest.
- Slice the cucumber, mince the garlic and chop the herbs and add to the bowl. Add the olive oil, salt, and any spices you like, and optional jalapeno. Toss well.
- Taste, and adjust salt and acid. You want this to taste flavorful!
- See the recipe notes below for other flavor combinations. This version above is a good “all around” salad- pairing well with American, Middle Eastern or Mexican Food.
Notes
The salad gets very “juicy” as it sits in the fridge, and I like to use the flavorful juice over cooked quinoa or rice. It’s really flavorful and refreshing- so make sure to add enough salt and acid. 🙂
Cutting the cucumbers thicker with keep them stay crisper longer. I personally like them cut thinly (⅛ inch) and don’t mind when they get soft after a few days in the fridge…but this is my personal preference. If you prefer them to stay crispy, cut them into thicker, ¼-inch slices. 😉
For a Scandinavian twist, sub dill for the cilantro and lemon for the lime. Leave out the jalapeño.
Greek- Try mint and parsley with lemon, leave out the jalapeño.
Middle Eastern – use lemon instead of lime, try a little sumac or zaatar!
Mexican– add a pinch of chipotle powder for smokiness (start very light)
Asian – Try our Asian Cucumber Salad!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 61
- Sugar: 2.2 g
- Sodium: 196.9 mg
- Fat: 4.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 5.1 g
- Fiber: 0.8 g
- Protein: 0.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
