You’re gonna want “just one more bite” ! Mediterranean Cucumber Tomato Salad is easy, delish & summery bright!
Crisp Cucumbers, sweet juicy tomatoes, savory red onion and hearty chickpeas all add texture and need-another-bite flavor. This scrumptious Mediterranean Cucumber Tomato Salad is tossed in a bright, lemony herb dressing that brings all those delicious flavors into beautiful harmony!
This refreshing and tasty cucumber salad is a popular side dish, but hearty enough to be a meal. Mediterranean Tomato Cucumber Salad is naturally gluten free and sugar-free, as well as vegan. You’re gonna love it!
I love ANY good Mediterranean salad recipe. The choice of ingredients is vast and bright. A Mediterranean salad is so good for you, as well as being flavorful and loaded with texture.
Mediterranean Cucumber Tomato Salad is one of my favorite versions for its sheer simplicity. The easy Mediterranean salad recipe has only four ingredients. The dressing uses only five and is blitzed together in the blender in seconds. This recipe for a Mediterranean Salad couldn’t be easier or more delicious.
Summer brings such a gorgeous array of rich flavored in-season vegetables. Cucumbers and tomatoes happen to be two of my favorites. So, putting a scrumptious cucumber salad together just made sense.
I also added red onion, because … um, onion. Deep savory, umami flavor. Sharp contrast and balance to sweet. Gorgeous texture. And, I just love them. lol You could leave them out, switch them out with sweet yellow onions or even a mild shallot.
Chickpeas are the protein in my Mediterranean Salad recipe and they help to take it from just a side dish to a filling and nutritious vegan meal. (As a meal salad, I would, personally, toss in some feta, too. But, that takes it out of the vegan category. There are definitely some good vegan cheese options you could add, though. Choose your favorite.)
The Ingredients
For the Salad Recipe:
- Tomatoes: Salad Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Grape Tomatoes, Heirloom Tomatoes, Beefsteak Tomatoes – Choose your favorites
- Cucumbers: Mini Cucumbers, English Cucumbers, Persian Cucumbers, Armenian Cucumbers or Slicing Cucumbers – Again, choose your favorite.
- Red Onion
- Chickpeas
For the Salad Dressing:
- Olive Oil
- Lemon Juice and zest
- Minced Garlic
- Fresh Mint Leaves
- Fresh Parsley
- Salt and Black Pepper
Choosing the Best Cucumbers for a Mediterranean Salad Recipe
There is really no wrong type of cucumber for this cucumber salad. My personal preference is to use thin skinned cucumbers, that don’t need peeled, like: English cucumbers, Persian cucumbers or mini cucumbers.
By leaving the peels on the cucumbers you increase the pops of color and beauty of your salad. It also helps to retain vitamins, minerals and fiber that are ONLY in the skins, since cucumbers are mostly water. 96% water, in fact.
Cucumbers can be stored in the fridge or at room temperature. Storing them properly will make your Mediterranean Tomato Cucumber Salad even more flavorful. So here are a few easy tips.
1. Remove cucumbers from plastic wrap and/or plastic bags as that causes them to ripen even more quickly. Then, regardless of where you store them, start by washing and fully drying the cucumbers.
2. To store cucumbers in the fridge, wrap individual cumbers in paper towels, to absorb any moisture that is released while storing them.
3. Place the wrapped cucumbers in a zip-top bag or an airtight container and place them in the crisper drawer or in the warmest part of your fridge. Crisper drawers are best, but if you don’t have the space, look for the warmest spot in your refrigerator. Where that is will vary depending on your refrigerator design and location of the freezer. Cucumbers start breaking down at temps lower than 50° F.
4. To store cucumbers at room temperature, you can just keep the washed and fully dried cucumbers on your counter. They should last about a week.
Technically, yes. But mostly, no. lol As I mentioned previously, temperatures below 50° will cause cucumbers to develop mushy spots and rot more quickly. Whole cucumbers can definitely not be frozen.
If you’re interested in the way to freeze cucumber slices to then be used later in purees, soups, smoothies or sorbets, I recommend reading this Masterclass article. But, frozen cucumber slices are not going to be a good option for this Mediterranean Tomato Cucumber Salad recipe.
Choosing Tomatoes for Mediterranean Salad
The best advice I can offer about choosing tomatoes for Mediterranean Salad is to make the most of summer, in-season tomatoes. The freshness and flavor are unparalleled. No hot house or hydroponic tomato will ever compare to an in-season tomato, fresh from the vine.
As far as varieties, choose the ones you like best. I usually choose juicier tomatoes for making Mediterranean salad. And I want a variety with a good balance of acid to sweetness. I generally leave the seeds and peels on. That is just a matter of preference, though.
For quick and easy prep, halving grape, cherry or salad tomatoes is a good solution for Mediterranean Tomato Cucumber Salad. But, heirloom tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes or any of your full-sized favorites will work as well. Just chop them into bite-size pieces for your tomato cucumber salad.
The only tomatoes I probably wouldn’t choose for Mediterranean salad are the paste varieties, like Romas or Amish paste tomatoes. Tomatoes meant for sauce or paste are meaty, but not as juicy, usually. Again, it’s a matter of preference, so choose your favorite tomatoes with bright color and deep flavor.
Storing Tomatoes
The answer isn’t as cut and dried as I once imagined. It has more to do with where you get the tomatoes than I ever realized.
Storing fresh tomatoes from your garden or farmer’s market:
(They’ve never been refrigerated.) These are the best choice for Mediterranean salad, in my opinion. Remove stems and store upside down on a cutting board or a plate until they are ripe. Eat ripe tomatoes immediately, or preserve them by canning or freezing. Though it flies in the face of all I have ever learned, ripe tomatoes can apparently be stored in the fridge up to 2 or 3 days. This allows you to keep them a little longer. Then, bring the tomatoes back to room temperature before serving, for the best flavor in your Mediterranean salad.
Storing tomatoes that have been kept in the fridge, at some point:
If they didn’t come from your garden or a farmer you know and trust, assume your tomatoes have been refrigerated at some point in processing and/or shipping. These tomatoes should be stored at room temperature until they are fully ripe. Then refrigerate them to prevent spoilage.
For full details and information on the personal studies that led to this information, take a look at this article.
How to Make Mediterranean Cucumber Salad
- Slice cucumbers and tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. I halve small tomatoes, most often.
- Cut thin slices of red onion and them cut those into shorter slivers.
- Drain the chickpeas.
- Place the chickpeas, tomatoes, red onions and cucumbers into a large mixing bowl or salad bowl. Set aside while you make the dressing.
- To make the easy Mediterranean salad dressing, in the smoothie cup or pitcher of your blender, add the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, parsley and mint. Process on high speed until mixture is smooth and all the oil has been emulsified. 30 seconds is about all it takes for me.
- Pour the salad dressing over the salad ingredients and toss to combine so everything is evenly coated in dressing.
- Store in fridge until ready to serve.
I hope you will make this easy Mediterranean Salad sometime soon, Friend. Share it with people you love most for a refreshing and hearty main dish or as a side dish at your next barbecue. Have a wonderfully blessed week and I’ll see you around the blog!
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Mediterranean Cucumber and Tomato Salad
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Mediterranean Cucumber Tomato Salad is light, crisp, juicy and bursting with some of the best flavors of summer! It’s perfect as a side dish, but it can also be great as a meal. This refreshing and tasty cucumber salad is tossed with a gorgeous Mediterranean salad dressing made from olive oil, fresh lemon, garlic, mint and parsley. You’re gonna love it!
Ingredients
- 5 mini cucumbers, washed and sliced
- 1 cup salad or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 can chickpeas, drained
- 1/4 cup red onion, slivered
For the Dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- 6–8 fresh mint leaves
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon garlic
- salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Slice cucumbers and tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. I halve small tomatoes, most often.
- Cut thin slices of red onion and them cut those into shorter slivers.
- Drain the chickpeas.
- Place the chickpeas, tomatoes, red onions and cucumbers into a large mixing bowl or salad bowl. Set aside while you make the dressing.
- In the smoothie cup or pitcher of your blender, add the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, parsley and mint. Process on high speed until mixture is smooth and all the oil has been emulsified. 30 seconds is about all it takes for me.
- Pour the salad dressing over the salad ingredients and toss to combine so everything is evenly coated in dressing.
- Store in fridge until ready to serve.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Category: Salad, Side Dish, Main Dish
- Method: Cold Prep
- Cuisine: Mediterranean-American
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About Glenda
I believe cooking from scratch doesn’t have to be complicated and that YOU can do it. My simple recipes, tutorials, and cooking tips will help you get weeknight dinners on the table with less stress. Forget takeout or the drive-thru. Let me show you how to make homemade easy. Read more...
