This cucumber tomato salad is full of fresh sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, red onion and green peppers, all tossed in an herb dressing. The perfect light and refreshing side dish for any summer meal!
Cucumber salad is a mainstay of summer parties. It’s inexpensive, easy to make and so refreshing on a hot day. My version is a mixture of cucumber, tomato, red onion and green bell pepper for an amazing combination of flavors and textures.
I am in love with summer salads like this cucumber tomato salad. Not only are they easy to make, but they’re just so fresh, and you can eat a lot of salad without feeling weighed down! I especially love when there’s a summer get together and I get to make more than one delicious chilled salad like this one.
HOW DO YOU MAKE CUCUMBER TOMATO SALAD?
Start by slicing your fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers and red onions and place them in a bowl. In a separate bowl, add the ingredients for your tasty herb dressing and mix well. Pour the dressing over the top of your fresh vegetables, toss to mix, and you have a perfectly light salad that goes with any summer meal!
Tips for the perfect salad
- Any type of cucumber is fine for this tomato salad as long as you remove the seeds before slicing. I’ve made this salad with standard waxed cucumbers, English cucumbers and little Persian cucumbers and it comes out great every time. If you’re using the waxy type of cucumber, you may want to peel them first.
- Red, yellow, or orange bell peppers work just as well as green bell peppers and add a great burst of color. I like to use cherry tomatoes, but diced ripe tomatoes are also a good choice.
- This salad stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store it in an airtight container until you’re ready to eat.
Cucumber Tomato Salad Flavor Variations
This salad is great as-is, but you can absolutely add other ingredients to customize it to your tastes.
- Greek: Add 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese and 1/4 cup sliced kalamata olives.
- Mexican: Stir in a diced avocado, 3/4 cup corn kernels and 1 cup black beans. Swap out the parsley for cilantro.
- Italian: Add 1/2 cup small mozzarella balls along with 1/4 cup diced marinated artichoke hearts. You can also add diced salami and white beans.
- Pasta: Turn this into a pasta salad by adding 3 cups of cooked pasta, be sure to double the dressing amount if you’re going this route.
WHAT ARE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF CUCUMBERS?
Cucumbers are full of vitamins and nutrients, and are low calorie, low sodium and low in carbohydrates. This veggie contains Vitamin C, Vitamin K, magnesium, potassium and manganese. Cucumbers are primarily made out of water, which means that consuming cucumbers will help you stay hydrated.
I make this salad all summer long. It uses simple ingredients that I always have on hand, and pairs perfectly with salmon, roasted chicken and steak for a healthy and hearty meal.
MORE SALAD RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Black Bean and Corn Salad
- Chickpea Salad with Avocado
- Cucumber Feta Salad
- Asian Cucumber Salad
Cucumber Tomato Salad Video
Cucumber Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups sliced cucumbers seeds removed
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/4 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper cored, seeded and diced
- 1/4 cup chopped herbs such as parsley, dill, chives or green onion
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Place the cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, red onion, bell pepper and herbs in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper and oregano.
- Pour the dressing over the vegetables. Toss gently to coat. Serve.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on June 21, 2018 and was updated on May 20, 2020 with new content.
Beatrice says
I love that this salad is good for more than 1 day. I make it and take it for lunch with a sprinkle of feta cheese!
K white says
What can be used in place of the Dijon…. spicy brown? Deli type with horseradish? Why does the recipe say 1 min cook time? Should the cucumbers be peeled?
Sara says
You can use either mustard! It’s up to you whether you peel the cucumbers. If you use a thin skinned cucumber like an English cucumber it doesn’t need to be peeled. The waxy cucumbers are often better when peeled.
Rachel says
How far in advance can you make this recipe, or should it be made and served immediately?
Sara says
You can make it up to 8 hours in advance!
Ben Nordhausen says
Trying it tonight with confetti peppers, a parsley plant I just pulled, garden onions, sun sugar tomatoes and other herb dried and fresh from garden
Bonny L Glavin says
I just made this cucumber tomato salad this afternoon I have a command as a matter of tomatoes some Jerry but mostly bigger and a lot of cucumbers it’s recipe was easy to put together didn’t take long at all to prepare which makes it cost effective best time in the kitchen
For the herbs I didn’t really have fresh parsley so I used a bunch of Basil and some dried dill I also put in a teaspoon of fresh garlic minced everything else was according to the recipe
I had my husband try it first as he always wants to try new tomato salad with cucumbers before because I’m fine but it’s over vinegar or sugary I was surprised he said it was perfect the first time I’m definitely going to keep this on top of my cucumber tomato salad recipe to go to whenever I need a fast side salad
Thank you for posting such a wonderful recipe
Bea says
Loved this recipe! My yard is over full with yummy tomatoes!
Dorothy I Healey says
When making the herb mixure for this salad what are the exact measurements of each herb? I am not good at just “a little bit of this and a little bit of that”. Thank you.
Sara says
I typically use 1/4 cup of one type of herb, the list is just a suggestion of herbs that would work!