Mediterranean Cucumber Tomato Salad is the perfect salad for a hot summer day. Cool crisp cucumber, juicy tomatoes, sweet onion, fresh herbs in a great choice for summer time dining.
Mediterranean tomato cucumber salad is such a refreshing salad and perfect to make when seasonal produce is at its prime. It's an easy salad to make with just a few simple ingredients.
It's makes a great option for a side salad for almost any main dish especially with grilled recipes like our Mediterranean chicken kabobs or Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken. It just makes a summer meal when the availability of ingredients is abundant.
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What makes this skinny?
- The Mediterranean salad is full of fresh ingredients which are low calorie. It's a simple salad with delicious Mediterranean flavor.
- We swapped in fat free feta cheese (reduced fat feta can also be used) for half the calories. One ounce of regular feta cheese has 75 calories and fat free feta has 35 calories. The flavor is the same.
- We reduced the olive oil by 1 tablespoon to lessen the calories in the dressing while keeping the same Mediterranean flavors.
Recipe Ingredients Notes
English cucumber. These fresh cucumbers are essentially seedless with thin skins that, unlike regular cucumbers, does not need to be peeled. You'll need one English cucumbers or the equivalent volume of Persian cucumbers (they are smaller but also seedless with a thin skin).
Grape tomatoes. These little tomatoes are the size of grapes and wonderfully sweet. You'll need a pint, rinsed, patted dry and halved.
Red onion. Half of a medium onion will be cut into small pieces.
Fresh herbs. Fresh basil and fresh Italian parsley add a wonderful herby flavor to the Mediterranean cucumber salad.
Fat free feta cheese. Crumbled fat free or reduced fat feta cheese give the salad a distinct slightly salty flavor.
How to make Mediterranean Cucumber Tomato Salad
STEP 1. Prepare the dressing
In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, honey, salt, and black pepper. Whisk until well combined (photo 1).
STEP 2. Cut the cucumber
Slice cucumber lengthwise down the middle and then slice each half into moon-shaped pieces (photo 2). Add them to a large bowl.
STEP 3. Assemble the salad
Combine the cucumbers, halved grape tomatoes, raw onion, fresh basil, fresh parsley and feta cheese in a large salad bowl (photo 3).
Pour the dressing over the cucumber tomato salad and gently toss to coat (photo 4)
STEP 4. Chill
Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator. Allow the salad ingredients mix for 30 minutes before serving.
Variations
Add Kalamata olives. If you are an olive lover, sliced or chopped Kalamata olives can be a delicious addition of Mediterranean flavor. Olives are more calorie dense so factor that into the salad nutritional facts if concerned.
Swap in roma tomatoes. We love the grape tomatoes due to their size (very little prep needed) and their sweetness. If you like a savory tomato add chopped roma tomatoes or plum tomatoes instead. They have a stronger tomato flavor and are less juicy that other types of tomatoes so won't make the salad watery. Use 2 cups. Cherry tomatoes can also be substituted. Use 1 pint.
Try different fresh herbs. Adding some fresh mint along with the fresh basil and fresh parsley gives a refreshing flavor.
Don't love red onion? Sliced green onion has a milder flavor than the red raw onion.
Add some lemon juice. Swap in fresh lemon juice for the red wine vinegar for a fresh bright flavor.
Add it to a bed of fresh spinach. If you need to finish up the cucumber tomato salad recipe and want to change it up, add it to a bed of spinach for more delicious flavor. It's an easy way to add low calorie leafy greens to the vegetable salad and no additional dressing should be needed.
Expert Tips
For best results serve just after chilling. This salad is best eaten soon after it is made.
Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled. This offers the best flavor from the
How to Store
Once the dressing is added to the salad it's best to eat it within 1-2 days. The ingredients will begin to become soggy though it will still taste great. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Frequently Asked Questions
You'll want it to chill for 30 minutes after it is assembled for the flavor. You can assemble the salad ingredients earlier the day of serving and store without dressing added in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Make the dressing separately and store in a sealed jar also in the refrigerator. Assemble 30 minutes before serving, chill and serve!
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Recipe
Mediterranean Cucumber Tomato Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the salad:
- 1 English cucumber (see recipe instructions for preparation)
- 1 pint grape tomatoes rinsed, patted dry and halved
- ½ medium red onion chopped or thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped Italian parsley
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
- ⅓ cup crumbled fat free feta cheese
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, honey, salt, and black pepper. Whisk until well combined.
- Slice the cucumber lengthwise down the middle and then slice each half into moon-shaped pieces. Add them to a large bowl.
- Add the halved grape tomatoes, red onion, parsley, basil and fat free feta cheese to the bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the cucumber tomato salad and gently toss to coat.
- Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend before serving.
Celia says
This was summer in a bowl and we loved every bite.
Tayler says
I’m always looking for new salad recipes to try during summer, and this one was great!
kushigalu says
I love the combination of ingredients here. SO refreshing and delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Aimee Mars says
I am all about Mediterranean-style dishes this summer because they're so refreshing and this salad falls right into that perfect hot summer day category.
Jess says
One of my favorite lunches!
Gwynn says
I went to my farmers market this morning and this is the perfect recipe to make with the fresh vegetables I just got!
Mairead says
This salad is crisp and refreshing and perfect for summer meals outdoors.
Caroline Y says
Seriously, this is my perfect salad!! Such a crowd pleaser!