🥒Cucumbers plus tomatoes are an unbeatable summertime duo. Crisp, refreshing cukes and juicy, sweet tomatoes are at their best in terms of taste and nutrition.
The twist on this classic salad is to combine apple cider and tamari (gluten-free soy sauce) in the dressing along with some chopped cilantro to increase the contrast between cool and refreshing cucumbers and tart tomatoes.
Although it can sit and marinate for a couple of days, this beautiful, healthy salad tastes best soon after tossing!
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Ingredients
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Shallot
- Cilantro
- Olive oil
- Apple cider vinegar
- Tamari or soy sauce
- Honey
- Garlic
- Red pepper flakes
Cucumbers: Look for a mild variety like English cucumbers or the small Persian cucumbers. Regular cucumbers are also good but often more bitter, and you may want to remove the seedy center.
🍅Tomatoes: Choose small Campari tomatoes or cherry varieties for best flavor. Here again, almost any tomato that doesn’t come from a can will be okay.
Shallots: They are not usually as aggressive as many onions. If they're not available, swap in some onion or, as a last resort, sprinkle the salad with dried, minced onion.
🌿Cilantro: Almost any tender green herb will be acceptable. Flat-leaf parsley is particularly good. Please don’t use basil, though. Its sweet flavor does not mesh as well with the dressing and the cukes.
Olive oil: Pull out the green, extra-virgin stuff for this dressing.
Apple cider vinegar: Mother? Yes, you can use Bragg’s with the funk on the bottom known as a mother. Or, simply use another gold-colored brand. White vinegar will work, too, but the best substitute is white balsamic vinegar.
Tamari: Basically, it’s gluten-free soy sauce. This ingredient offers umami flavor with a salty kick. I don’t find any extra sodium necessary despite using lower-sodium versions of this soy sauce dupe. Feel free to add more of this if you want a saltier salad.
🐝Honey: All the acidic ingredients beg for some offsetting sweetness. Use sugar if you are vegan.
🧄Garlic: Fresh will have the most kick, but frozen garlic like Dorot make an excellent swap. You could also use some paste, or, if absolutely necessary, granules or powder.
🌶️Red pepper flake: Take the amount listed as a suggestion and adjust down or up, depending on how much heat you like.
🔪How to Make
Before beginning to prep the salad, wash your hands thoroughly, lathering with soap and rinsing under running water for about 20 seconds.
1️⃣Wash and prep all the vegetables and herbs.
- Wash and peel the cucumbers. I like to partially peel, so that some of the vitamin K that’s in the skin goes into the salad. Chop into halves or quarters depending on the diameter. Remove the bitter seeds if using regular cucumbers.
- Wash and chop the tomatoes. If using cherry tomatoes, please cut them in half so that they are easier to eat and infuse the mixture with bright, sweet flavor and nutrients.
- Wash and slice the shallots and wash and chop some clean cilantro.
- Place the vegetables and herbs in a medium bowl.
2️⃣Make the dressing.
- Pour the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, honey, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes into a measuring cup or bowl. Or, place all the ingredients in a jar with a lid.
- Whisk together until emulsified, or put the lid on the jar and shake vigorously until well combined.
3️⃣Toss all together.
- Place the cucumbers, tomatoes, shallots, and herbs in a medium bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss until well combined.
4️⃣ Serve as soon as possible. 🍴
✨Make-ahead tip: Store the prepped veggies and herbs and the dressing separately until ready to serve. This salad will accumulate liquid if it sits for too long. It still tastes great, but you may not want so much liquid.
💡Serving idea: Place the salad over a bed of lettuce or green leafies and let the dressing coat the leaves as well as the cucumbers and tomatoes.
❄️Storage
This salad is not a keeper. At most, it will last three days in the refrigerator (and let’s not even discuss freezing).
To make it hold for longer, store the fresh ingredients and the dressing separately. Toss them together shortly before you plan to serve the salad.
Variations and add-ins
The recipe completely changes character depending on what kind of cucumbers, tomatoes, and herbs are used. Versatility is a hallmark of cucumber and tomato salads.
If you like onions, play this up. Replace the shallot with onion and double the amount, slicing them into half or whole rings.
Scatter feta cheese on top before serving and while you’re at it, may as well sprinkle with za’atar.
Acid choice
Replace the apple cider vinegar with any of the following:
- White vinegar: Use a teaspoon of dried dill in place of the fresh cilantro and sugar rather than honey.
- 🍋Lemon juice: Gives the salad a more Mediterranean character. It’s especially good sprinkled with sumac or za’atar.
- Red wine vinegar: Very fresh and French. Leave out the herbs or use flat-leaf parsley or perhaps some herbs de provence.
- Balsamic vinegar: Be careful with this intense vinegar! Start with half as much as the recipe calls for. Fresh flat-leaf parsley or basil would be good in this variation, or perhaps some dried Italian herbs seasoning.
Do you have another acid variation? Would love to hear it!
Who can eat this salad (diets)?
If ever there was a salad that fits perfectly in the Mediterranean Diet, this is it. Rich in vegetables and tossed in an olive oil vinaigrette, this recipe follows the guidelines for this heart-healthy plan.
It’s appropriate for vegetarians and vegans, of course. But, vegans may want to substitute sugar for the honey in the recipe.
It can be a vegan main course with the addition of tofu or tempeh, and/or some chopped nuts. Vegetarians could add an egg or feta cheese to increase the protein.
It falls within the Whole30 eating guidelines. It can even be enjoyed during the elimination phase of the Whole30 diet if the honey in the dressing is omitted.
It’s also fine for paleo or ketogenic diet plans, although keto followers may want to reduce or remove the honey.
⚕️Health Benefits
🥒Cucumbers
Vitamin and mineral content: Good source of potassium and of vitamin K (depending on how much peel is in the salad). Copper is another notable mineral they contain.
Hydration: Cucumbers are legendary sources of water and tomatoes are high in liquid, too.
🍅Tomatoes:
Vitamin and mineral content: They are very high in lycopene, beta-carotene, lutein, vitamin E, good source of vitamin C.
Olive oil: Excellent source of healthy monounsaturated fats and antioxidants.
Apple cider vinegar benefits: Studies are not conclusive on every point, however, it possibly has many health-promoting qualities.
- Antibacterial and microbial
- Excellent source of minerals
- Weight loss
- Lowers cholesterol
- Blood sugar stabilization
Some people also consume this vinegar to guard against acid reflux and lower high blood pressure, However, there is no solid evidence for these uses.
Antioxidants, phytonutrients: Clearly, the salad has a good amount of antioxidant phytonutrients such as vitamin C, beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin from the vegetables, the dressing, and the herbs and spices.
🧂Low Sodium: Ingredients like herbs and spices and low-sodium tamari (soy sauce) help the salad stay low in salt, making it especially good for a heart-healthy diet like the Mediterranean Diet.
Low in calories: This salad is low in energy, but high in taste! If you’re on a weight loss plan, you can eat this with no worries.
🚫Who should not eat this salad?
🤢Digestion problems: Keep in mind that if you are prone to reflux, the acids in this salad could make your gut uncomfortable.
Nightshade issues: Tomatoes are in the nightshade family and can bother people with arthritis or autoimmune diseases.
FAQ
This salad does not hold up well when made in advance. However, you can store the prepped vegetables and the dressing separately. Toss them together just before you’re ready to eat the salad. This will help it keep in the refrigerator for about three days.
Be sure and drain off any excess water from the cukes or tomatoes before you add the dressing and toss the veggies.
This is a personal preference, but does depend somewhat on the type of cucumbers used. Regular cucumbers tend to have a thick waxed skin that is more bitter. It makes sense to remove at least half of the peel in this case.
English and Persian cucumbers have a thinner, milder tasting peel. Many people completely skip removing the skin with these easy-eating cukes.
Keep in mind that most of the vitamin K in cucumbers is in the skin. Plus it has fiber and antioxidants, so you’ll get more nutrients from the veggie by leaving at least part of the skin.
What to serve with the salad
This is one of those light summer salads that contrasts perfectly with grilled main courses, like chicken breasts or thighs, pork tenderloin, or beef cuts like flank, skirt, and strip steak.
Skewers, whether meat or vegetable, along with a savory yogurt sauce, are also nice accompaniment to this salad.
🌾Add a starch--any sort of potatoes or a whole grain like quinoa or farro and your meal is made. In place of, or in addition to a starchy side, you could have crusty sourdough, pita or naan bread.
🕛Lunch idea: This salad makes a satisfying lunch when piled into whole wheat pita with some feta cheese!
🍒Fruit desserts are nice in the summer and will help you get your five-a-day fruits and veggies. An easy fruit “nice” cream would be refreshing. Cobblers, crisps and pies are always welcome, and especially terrific when the fruit is in season.
Other recipes you might like…
For a healthy grilled main, you can’t beat these Grilled Tofu Steaks accompanied by a yummy Asian sauce made from the marinade. This recipe uses a grill pan.
For an entirely cool meal made for those hot days, try pairing the salad with these simple Poached Salmon Filets with Lemon and Dill.
A couple of other cold salad recipes that eat well in the summer are Zucchini Carrot Salad, with a refreshingly lemony marinade, and hearty Spinach Pasta Salad. You’ll find lemon here as well, but it makes a filling lunch or light dinner.
Cucumber Tomato Salad with Cilantro
Equipment
- 1 large bowl
- 1 serrated knife for the tomatoes
- 1 whisk
- 1 spatula or large spoon for mixing all the ingredients together
Ingredients
- 2 cups cucumbers, sliced and quartered
- 2 cups tomatoes, chopped. Cherry tomatoes or Campari tomatoes work best
- ¼ cup shallot, thinly sliced.
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped, loosely packed
- ¼ cup olive oil, extra virgin
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 1½ teaspoons honey, can use sugar if vegan
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water.
- Wash and dry the vegetables and herbs. Chop them and place in a large bowl together.
- In a a measuring cup, to medium bowl, or jar with a tight lid, add the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and red pepper flakes. Beat the dressing ingredients with a whisk or shake in the jar with lid screwed on tightly until they are emulsified. Taste the dressing, and adjust the ingredients as you like. Add more soy sauce if you like it saltier, more honey if you prefer it sweeter, and more red pepper flake if you want it spicier. (Or, omit the red pepper. Use black pepper in its place.)
- Pour the dressing over the vegetables and herbs and toss thoroughly. Serve as soon as possible.
Notes
Nutrition
Copyright © 2024 Jani H. Leuschel
Jani H. Leuschel
Hope you like it!
Ruth Hall
Sounds great—I’ll have to try it!