This 15-minute Mediterranean cucumber salad is refreshing and light made with cucumber, tomato, parsley, and mint. Vegan, gluten-free, and paleo-friendly, this salad is excellent to bring as a dish to pass at a picnic or as a complimentary side dish to a heavier main course.
This Mediterranean cucumber salad is a vegan salad recipe that pairs perfectly with my black bean quinoa salad, fresh fruit, and a light dessert.
The Mediterranean flavors come from fresh herbs and lemon that make a simple oil-free dressing.
It is chock full of fresh and seasonal produce with crisp cucumber, juicy tomatoes, and refreshing herbs! Easy recipes like these are perfect for nearly every occasion!
👩🍳 Why This Salad Works
- Easy Salad Recipe
- Chock Full of Fresh Ingredients
- Cool and refreshing
- Oil free
- Dairy free
- Vegetarian and Vegan
- Gluten Free
- Low calories and fat
- High in vitamins and nutrients
- Simple ingredients
- Quick and easy to make
- Perfect for picnics and BBQs
🥒 Ingredients and Notes
As you’re preparing to make this Mediterranean cucumber salad in your kitchen, here is a list of ingredients you’ll need to gather. Scroll to the bottom of the post for a free printable recipe card with measurements and step-by-step instructions.
Cucumber-I used an English cucumber. English cucumbers have fewer seeds, so this saved me the step of removing the seeds from an American cucumber. Be sure to use fresh cucumbers with a crisp finish.
Tomatoes-Organic hothouse tomatoes are large and juicy! Alternatively, you could use grape tomatoes.
Fresh Herbs-Mint gives this salad a refreshing twist. Parsley adds texture and brightness to the salad.
Oil-Free Dressing-Lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper are used to make the marinade or dressing.
📖 Variations and Substitutions
For Picky Kids-If you have children who do not like raw onion, fold the cucumber, tomatoes, mint, and parsley together first. Set a portion aside for the kids before folding in the onion. My kids also don’t like dressing, so I left the dressing off their salad.
Additions-You could add chickpeas, and kalamata olives to make this a hearty main dish. Chickpeas add protein, while the olives add healthy fats. You could also add vegan feta cheese!
Different Fresh Herbs-If you don’t have mint or parsley. You can swap out the herbs, using dill instead of mint, or cilantro in place of parsley.
📋 Step by Step Instructions
Prepare Vegetables: Dice one small onion. In a small bowl soak the onions in white vinegar to quickly pickle. When the rest of the ingredients are chopped, drain the onions, and discard the vinegar. Dice the English cucumber and tomatoes, and finely chop the mint and parsley.
Make Marinade: In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Fold Ingredients Together: In a medium bowl gently fold together the pickled onions, cucumber, tomatoes, mint, and parsley.
Add Marinade: Pour lemon dressing over the vegetables. Stir to combine. Let marinate for an hour or so before serving.
❓ Recipe FAQS
Cucumbers, mint, parsley, and lemon are not on the EWG’s Dirty Dozen or their Clean 15 list.
The Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen list, is a list of fruits and vegetables that have the highest amount of pesticide residue vs. the lowest amounts of pesticide residue to help shoppers determine which produce is best to buy organic.
If you have the opportunity I would buy organic cucumbers, mint, parsley, or lemons, but wouldn’t be too concerned since they do not fall on the Dirty Dozen list.
Onions are on the clean fifteen list, so you can purchase non-organic onions without concern.
Tomatoes, however, do rank #10 on the EWG’s Dirty dozen list, which means it’s recommended that you buy organic.
Allow the salad to marinate for an hour before serving for the best flavor. Keep in an airtight container for up to 1 day.
This salad is best when consumed the day it is prepared. Chopped cucumber can get soggy if left overnight, especially if it is dressed.
This salad pairs well with other Mediterranean dishes such as pita and hummus, and falafel. Place it on top of your protein as a garnish, or serve as a side dish. Add chickpeas to the salad to create a protein-rich meal!
💭 Expert Tips
Preparing in Advance-Leave the dressing off, and dress the salad before serving.
Serving a Large Crowd-If you have a larger crowd, or you’re bringing this salad as a dish to pass at a picnic or party, you can double the amounts to serve up to 12 people.
🥗 More refreshing salad recipes!
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Mediterranean Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 1 small white onion
- ½ cup white vinegar
- 1 English Cucumber
- 2 large tomatoes
- ¼ cup fresh mint finely chopped
- 1 cup flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
- ¼ cup lemon juice about 1 lemon juiced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Dice onion, and allow to soak in white vinegar for a minimum of 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Dice the cucumber, and tomatoes. Chop the mint and the parsley. Gently fold the ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- Whisk together the lemon juice, and salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- Pour dressing over vegetables. Refrigerate and allow to marinate for an hour before serving.
Video
Notes
- Preparing in Advance-Leave the dressing off, and dress the salad before serving.
- Serving a Large Crowd-If you have a larger crowd, or you’re bringing this salad as a dish to pass at a picnic or party, you can double the amounts to serve up to 12 people.
- Allow the salad to marinate for an hour before serving for the best flavor. Keep in an airtight container for up to 1 day.
- This salad is best when consumed the day it is prepared. Chopped cucumber can get soggy if left overnight, especially if it is dressed.
Doubled this for a holiday party and it was devoured! Making it again this week, thank you!
Don’t you love it when healthy food gets devoured!
I make one similar with chickpeas, dill instead of mint and kalamata olives instead of vinegar and it’s a hearty meal
That sounds delicious!
I love cucumber salad but have never made it like this with tomato! I definitely need to try this asap with all of the fresh summer veggies!
This is so fresh and healthy! I would use it as a salad, a dip for tortilla chips or as a salsa over chicken or fish! So versatile!
Love how simple and fresh this recipe is. Greek salads are the best!
This is my go-to salad especially for summer. So light and delicious!!
I make something similar but I have never put onion in so I’m going to give this a try. I love how light and refreshing this salad is without having to cook a thing.