Cucumber Tomato Salad is a classic salad, light, cooling, and oh-so refreshing. This easy salad is made with sliced cucumbers & juicy tomatoes and enhanced with slivers of red onion and a tangy vinaigrette dressing.
Serve cucumber tomato onion salad next to grilled or roasted meats or fish, such as marinated beef or chicken kabobs, grilled salmon, or pork tenderloin.
How to Make Cucumber Tomato Salad
When the farmer’s markets start overflowing with juicy garden fresh veggies, I take my cue to make a big bowl of cucumber tomato salad.
- Combine all dressing ingredients (per recipe below).
- Slice all vegetables and toss with the dressing.
I love using a combination of fresh or dried oregano and basil in this salad to bring out its Mediterranean essence. Chopped fresh dill and-or parsley deliver equally excellent herbal notes.
English cucumber is ideal for this recipe. The peels are tender enough that there’s no need to remove them, and the seeds are virtually nonexistent. If you only have regular salad cukes on hand, those are perfectly suitable as well. Just peel them, and, if the seeds seem tough, scoop them out and then slice.
Dressing for Cucumber Tomato Salad
Honestly, this salad really doesn’t need much, a simple dressing allows the flavor of the veggies to shine and keeps the salad light and fresh.
A splash of vinegar and a bit of olive oil with salt & pepper. I most often use red wine vinegar but you can use your favorite (infused oils and vinegars are great here too).
Can I Make it Ahead?
This salad tastes great served cold and can be made ahead. Of course it’s best made the day you’re serving it but you can keep it for a couple of days and drain any juices. Whenever I’m planning this dish and need to get a jump on dinner, I partially prep the tomato-cucumber salad.
- In the same bowl you plan to make the salad, whisk together the wine vinegar, olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper.
- Peel and cut the onion into slivers and toss in the vinaigrette.
- Cover and refrigerate for up to a day in advance.
The onions will stay crunchy while helping the dressing mellow and develop flavor. To assemble the salad, all you have to do is slice the cucumbers and tomatoes, toss with the onion and vinaigrette mixture, and briefly refrigerate before serving.
More Fun Additions
You can have a lot of fun with this recipe, by treating it as a foundation. Go ahead and layer in other fresh and tasty ingredients like crumbled feta, mozzarella balls, avocado chunks or chopped fennel bulb. Got stale bread? Even better, turn this into a Panzanella Salad to make it a meal!
The options are limited only by your own creativity!
Salads with a Cucumber Crunch
- Creamy Cucumber Salad – summertime staple!
- Cucumber Onion Salad – light & refreshing
- Cucumber Avocado Salad – simple 3 ingredient dressing!
- Cucumber Dill Salad – made with a lemon vinaigrette
- Creamy Cucumber Pasta Salad – potluck favorite!
Cucumber Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 1 long English cucumber sliced
- 2-3 large tomatoes diced
- ½ red onion sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh herbs parsley, basil and/or dill, optional
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss well.
- Refrigerate at least 20 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Salad
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this was yum n so simple. I added all 3 herbs mentioned and one clove of garlic. my red wine vinegar spilled over so I tamed it with a dash of sugar. wish I could attach my picture!
I made this to use up some of my garden tomatoes. I added mozzarella and chickpeas. Absolutely refreshing and delicious. Served as a side to grilled salmon and also enjoyed alone as a I hit lunch. Very easy and very good!
I will be making this tomorrow. I’m going to slice all of my cucumbers(I have quite a few) and refrigerate until tomorrow when I’m ready to make the salad, that way I can add the tomatoes and onions and not have to worry about it getting to liquidity. we will eat it after going to the beach.
love your recipes, goog tasting
Fabulous fresh and light salad recipe! That is my review of the salad…….
Your recipes are always so good. On top of that your writing is clear and easy to follow. Thanks for giving options that would work including ideas for those who like to make ahead. Some readers need to check their understanding before commenting in such an unnecessary way. That being said, your blog is one of my go-tos!
Thank you so much Kim, I’m so glad you’ve loved the recipes!
So your saying “Make Ahead” is not really
Prep Time. Uhm. OK. So. With this 10 minute recipe. I have to prep..(excuse me) “make ahead” the onions and vinegrette and let them soak for 24 hours in order to actually Prepare the salad which only takes 10 minutes since you advise that slicing onions and giving them a bath is just” Make Ahead” and not really Prep time since one would slice and not really prepping. So your recipe is actually “Make A Day in Advance Cucumber/Tomato Salad” then invest another 10 minutes throwing it together later in a bowl. (Oh excuse me Prep) in a bowl. Brilliant
You do not HAVE to make ahead. If you WANT to make ahead only mix the onion part.
If you do not wish to make ahead, slice the onions and add them with the remaining ingredients and eat it right away right after stirring. There is no need to “bathe” the onions or make them the day before. This just indicates how long you can store it.
The Salad was DELICIOUS
I’m guessing you had to “Make Ahead” all that sarcasm! Wow.
This salad was delicious Holly, thank you!!
I hope your comments were made in jest, but I somewhat doubt it.
I’m sorry your reading comprehension ability seems to be on a sabbatical.
Holly, your blog is a go to for so many – and your recipes and helpful tips have always been spot on, with every recipe of yours being a family favorite. Thank you so much for all of your awesomeness!