30 Light and Healthy Cucumber Salad Recipes

Cucumber Salad with Spicy Tahini Dressing

Sara Tane

Take the humble cucumber to new heights with stunning salads. These recipes make for great side dishes at your cookout or easy lunches to pack for a beach day, providing just the cooling crunch your summer meals need. You'll crave the green veg more than you ever have before.

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Watermelon, Cucumber, and Feta Salad

Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Toni Brogan

Watermelon, Cucumber, and Feta Salad Recipe

Cucumbers add a welcome crunch to this refreshing summer salad of cubed watermelon, fresh herbs, and crumbled feta cheese. You can replace the fresh mint with basil if you prefer, or use a combination of both herbs. A personal-sized seedless watermelon is just the right size for this salad, but you can also use pre-cut melon or a portion of a larger watermelon. Be sure to dress the salad right before serving it to prevent the melon and cucumbers from watering down the vinaigrette

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Shaved Cucumber Salad with Pickled Blackberries

Photographer: Helen Norman; Prop Styling: Hargett Miller; Food Styling: Marian Cooper Cairns

Shaved Cucumber Salad with Pickled Blackberries Recipe
This dish is inspired by a basket of onions, blackberries, cucumbers, and mint that showed up at the kitchen of The Dogwood restaurant at Blackberry Farm. Soak the onions in salted water and ice to crisp them up and mellow them out.

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Herbed Cucumber-and-Tomato Salad

Photo: Greg Dupree; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas

Herbed Cucumber-and-Tomato Salad Recipe
Toss cucumber, tomato, and feta cheese with fresh herbs to make this simple, 15-minute salad.

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Cucumber-Fennel Salad

Caitlin Bensel

Cucumber-Fennel Salad Recipe

Any cucumber will do in this salad, but we love the thin-skinned English variety—no peeling or seeding is required.

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Crushed Cucumber Salad

Photo: Buff Strickland Photography 2015

Crushed Cucumber Salad Recipe
Perfect as a side for an outdoor barbecue, this recipe combines six flavorful ingredients to make cucumbers shine on your summer plate.

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Chicken and Cucumber Salad With Parsley Pesto

Caitlin Bensel

Chicken and Cucumber Salad With Parsley Pesto Recipe

This hearty supper salad is a lean-protein powerhouse thanks to chicken, chickpeas, and edamame; the parsley pesto delivers bone-boosting vitamin K. Pick up frozen shelled edamame to make this meal extra speedy.

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Shaved Honeydew-and-Cucumber Salad

VIctor Protasio

Shaved Honeydew-and-Cucumber Salad Recipe
Sweet honeydew and crisp cucumber make a perfect pair in this bright summer side. Use the remaining honeydew melon for smoothies, or try blending it with cucumber, mint, onion, and a seeded jalapeño for a green gazpacho.

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Spicy Tomato-Cucumber Salad

Caitlin Bensel

Spicy Tomato-Cucumber Salad Recipe

This elegantly simple salad is summer in a bowl. Sunshine-yellow and ruby-red wedges of juicy tomato anchor this dish with a hefty dose of lycopene, a heart-helping, cancer-fighting antioxidant. Cucumber and bell pepper bring their crunch to the party, while lemon and chile keep things lively with heat and zing. Remember—summer tomatoes are extra juicy, so plan to serve this salad soon after making it for the most concentrated flavor.

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Sesame Shrimp with Smashed Cucumber Salad

Victor Protasio

Sesame Shrimp with Smashed Cucumber Salad Recipe
A chilled cucumber salad pairs perfectly with this simple shrimp. Gently smashing fresh cucumber slices helps them absorb more vinaigrette, almost as if they've been marinating overnight. Serve over hot cooked brown rice for a full feast.

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Dilly Cucumber Salad with Yogurt

Dilly Cucumber Salad with Yogurt Recipe
We give the classic cucumber, tomato, and red onion combo a hit of grassy dill for more vibrance.

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Sesame, Tomato, and Cucumber Salad

Photo: Alison Miksch; Styling: Heather Chadduck

Sesame, Tomato, and Cucumber Salad Recipe
Serve a slice of summer with a tomato and cucumber salad. The vinaigrette is made with savory, umami soy sauce, but before serving, sprinkle a pinch of flaky sea salt to add texture to the fresh tomatoes.

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Asian Cucumber Salad

Photo: Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Kay Clark

Asian Cucumber Salad Recipe
This cucumber salad is everything you want from a side dish at your cookout—it's simple, refreshing, and the perfect, cooling accompaniment for anything that's on the spicier side. Try it with our Korean Barbecue Spatchcock Chicken with Shishitos and Scallions for a well-rounded, all-around awesome weeknight dinner.

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Cucumber, Carrot, and Orange Salad

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Food Styling: Catherine Crowell Steele; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

Cucumber, Carrot, and Orange Salad Recipe
To get wide, even strips from all sides, slightly rotate the cucumber and carrot after you remove each ribbon with a vegetable peeler. Thinly slice the slender cores and add to the salad for more crunch. Pair this salad with our Grilled Chicken with Satay Sauce.

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Smashed Cucumber Salad

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Heather Hadduck Hillegas

Smashed Cucumber Salad Recipe
Add flavor and punch to a simple cucumber salad with Sambal Oelek, a fiery chili paste found on the Asian foods aisle. Combined with nutty sesame oil and fresh green onions, this easy veggie salad is light and refreshing, yet packs a spicy, unexpected kick. Let it stand to allow the flavors to meld before eating.

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Yakitori Chicken Paillard with Cucumber Avocado Salad

Photo: Annabelle Breakey; Styling: Jeffrey Larsen

Yakitori Chicken Paillard with Cucumber Avocado Salad Recipe
The Japanese dish, chicken yakitori, is traditionally made on skewers, but grilling thin chicken breasts instead makes them more weeknight-friendly. The flavors balance the sweet and crunchy cucumber salad.

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Quick-Pickled Cucumber Salad

Photo: Greg Dupree; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas

Quick-Pickled Cucumber Salad Recipe
Simple ingredients like rice vinegar, sugar and salt are the keys to this quick brine.

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Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Graham Yelton

Tomato and Cucumber Salad Recipe
A sweet peach dressing amps up the summery flavors in this simple salad. Drizzle it over juicy heirloom tomatoes and fresh English cucumbers.

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Cheesy Beef Patties with Tomato-Cucumber Salad

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Claire Spollen

Cheesy Beef Patties with Tomato-Cucumber Salad Recipe
This deconstructed take on a cheeseburger puts some of the season's best and most abundant produce in the spotlight with a simple, dilly tomato-cuke salad.

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Greek Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Farro

Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Claire Spollen

Greek Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Farro Recipe
Whole-grain farro bulks up this hearty Mediterranean salad. If you like the crunch of fresh red onion but not the full pungency, give the slices a 30-second dip in ice water to tame the flavor; drain and toss in the salad.

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Tahini-Marinated Chicken Thighs with Cucumber-and-Tomato Salad

Tahini-Marinated Chicken Thighs with Cucumber-and-Tomato Salad Recipe
Adding tahini to the marinade makes the chicken buttery tender without an overwhelming amount of sesame flavor in the finished dish. It also helps the chicken to char nicely on the grill. A simple chopped salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, and lemon juice makes for a cool contrast.

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Crunchy Cucumber, Feta, and Almond Salad

Crunchy Cucumber, Feta, and Almond Salad Recipe
Crunchy and crisp vegetables taste as vibrant and fresh as they look. Fewer ingredients let you enjoy every kind of crunch, from crisp romaine to crunchy almonds, without overwhelming the palate.

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Cucumber, Onion, and Tomato Salad

Photography: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Anna Hampton; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

Cucumber, Onion, and Tomato Salad Recipe
This simple, refreshing combo will never go out of style. Soaking the sliced red onion in cold water mellows its pungent bite.

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Baby Bok Choy and Cucumber Salad

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Food Styling: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

Baby Bok Choy and Cucumber Salad Recipe
Bok choy and cucumbers are an unexpected but delicious pair. Thinly slice the bok choy stalks and leaves for a salad that's full of color and texture. You can also use larger bok choy, but save the wide, fibrous ends of the stalks for a dish where they'll be cooked.

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Shaved Carrot, Cucumber, and Sweet Onion Salad

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Claire Spollen

Shaved Carrot, Cucumber, and Sweet Onion Salad Recipe
A five-minute soak in the vinaigrette softens the carrots slightly and removes a bit of the pungent bite from the onion. Thinly sliced cucumbers keep the texture even.

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Tomato, Cucumber, and Basil Salad

Caitlin Bensel

Tomato, Cucumber, and Basil Salad Recipe
The combination of cherry, teardrop-shaped, and heirloom tomatoes bring a variety of colors and shapes to the bowl. You can cut up the vegetables a little ahead of time, but dress them fairly close to serving or they'll get soupy.

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Cucumber and Pea Salad with Mint and Feta

Photo: Kate Schwager

Cucumber and Pea Salad with Mint and Feta Recipe
Creamy feta cheese, avocado, and fresh peas contrast beautifully with crunchy bites of cucumber and radish in this minty salad.

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Short Ribs with Cucumber and Orange Salad

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Claire Spollen

Short Ribs with Cucumber and Orange Salad Recipe
Short ribs are typically braised, but they also hold up beautifully over low heat on the grill. The surprise star of this dish: the lightly charred orange, peel and all. It's fragrant, fruity, and removed of most of its bitterness.

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Pepper, Cucumber, and Chickpea Salad

Photography: Eva Kolenko; Food Styling: Robyn Valarik; Prop Styling: Natasha Kolenko.

Pepper, Cucumber, and Chickpea Salad Recipe
A bright cumin and lemon dressing works well with any thin-skinned pepper. Try a rainbow of them, or focus on one palette, like yellow-orange for a more dramatic presentation. To turn the salad into dinner, add hard-cooked eggs and thin strips of salami.

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Shaved Cucumber Greek Salad

Shaved Cucumber Greek Salad Recipe
Easy to make and absolutely stunning to look at, this fresh riff on a Greek salad offers beautiful flavor combinations. Mild Castelvetrano olives are meaty and buttery, green tomatoes are bright and acidic, green onions are pungent and savory, and feta cheese is creamy and salty. We love the subtlety of Champagne vinegar, but you can substitute white wine vinegar if you don’t have it. Likewise with green peppercorns—they offer a different sort of peppery kick and stick with our color palette, but black peppercorns would be just as delicious.

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Cucumber Salad with Spicy Tahini Dressing

Sara Tane

Cucumber Salad with Spicy Tahini Dressing Recipe
This simple veggie side salad incorporates the rich nutty flavor of tahini with toasted sesame oil, fish sauce, and fresh herbs for a flavor-packed dish. Serve it at a summer picnic or cookout, toss it into a bowl of greens for a heartier bite, or top it with a cooling dollop of Greek yogurt for added tang. Make a double (or triple) batch of the spicy tahini dressing and use it to amp up other dishes throughout the week.

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30 Light and Healthy Cucumber Salad Recipes

1 of 31

Watermelon, Cucumber, and Feta Salad

2 of 31

Shaved Cucumber Salad with Pickled Blackberries

3 of 31

Herbed Cucumber-and-Tomato Salad

4 of 31

Cucumber-Fennel Salad

5 of 31

Crushed Cucumber Salad

6 of 31

Chicken and Cucumber Salad With Parsley Pesto

7 of 31

Shaved Honeydew-and-Cucumber Salad

8 of 31

Spicy Tomato-Cucumber Salad

9 of 31

Sesame Shrimp with Smashed Cucumber Salad

10 of 31

Dilly Cucumber Salad with Yogurt

11 of 31

Sesame, Tomato, and Cucumber Salad

12 of 31

Asian Cucumber Salad

13 of 31

Cucumber, Carrot, and Orange Salad

14 of 31

Smashed Cucumber Salad

15 of 31

Yakitori Chicken Paillard with Cucumber Avocado Salad

16 of 31

Quick-Pickled Cucumber Salad

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Tomato and Cucumber Salad

18 of 31

Cheesy Beef Patties with Tomato-Cucumber Salad

19 of 31

Greek Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Farro

20 of 31

Tahini-Marinated Chicken Thighs with Cucumber-and-Tomato Salad

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Crunchy Cucumber, Feta, and Almond Salad

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Cucumber, Onion, and Tomato Salad

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Baby Bok Choy and Cucumber Salad

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Shaved Carrot, Cucumber, and Sweet Onion Salad

25 of 31

Tomato, Cucumber, and Basil Salad

26 of 31

Cucumber and Pea Salad with Mint and Feta

27 of 31

Short Ribs with Cucumber and Orange Salad

28 of 31

Pepper, Cucumber, and Chickpea Salad

29 of 31

Shaved Cucumber Greek Salad

30 of 31

Cucumber Salad with Spicy Tahini Dressing

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