Mediterranean Tomato Cucumber Salad
This Mediterranean tomato cucumber salad is full of juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumber, fresh herbs, and a simple lemon-and-olive-oil dressing. Thinly sliced red onion adds just enough bite to keep every forkful interesting.
It takes about 10 minutes to prepare, with no cooking needed. Serve it chilled beside Sumac roasted chicken, tuck it into a wrap, or add it to a summer lunch spread.
This is one of those salad recipes where the dressing is light enough to let the veggies shine.
If you like simple, low-effort salad recipes with a Mediterranean flavor, try my roasted beet cucumber salad recipe next!
Quick Look: Mediterranean Tomato Cucumber Salad
- 🔪 Prep time: 10 mins, plus optional chilling.
- ⏲️ Cook time: None.
- 👪 Servings: 2.
- 📋 Main ingredients: Cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, mint, cilantro, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice.
- ♨️ Cooking method: Chop vegetables and herbs → combine → add dressing → toss → chill and serve.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy.
- 🥣 Best served: With grilled proteins, wraps, or cooked grains.
Jump to:
- Quick Look: Mediterranean Tomato Cucumber Salad
- What's So Great About the Recipe?
- Recipe Ingredients
- Substitutions & Variations
- How to Make Mediterranean Tomato Cucumber Salad
- 💭Top Tip
- Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- How to Serve Mediterranean Tomato Cucumber Salad
- Troubleshooting and FAQs
- More Easy Salad Recipes
- Mediterranean Tomato Cucumber Salad
What's So Great About the Recipe?
- It comes together super quick! There's no cooking- only 10 minutes of kitchen time.
- The salad is naturally dairy-free and vegan, with plenty of options for adding extra ingredients- just like in my Mediterranean Fatoosh salad.
Recipe Ingredients
Cucumber: English or Persian cucumbers work well because their skins are tender and their seeds are small.
Tomatoes: Choose ripe tomatoes with good flavor. Roma tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes are good options.
Red onion: Thin slices add crunch and a little sharpness. You can use Sumac onions too.
Mint: Fresh mint adds a cool, fragrant note. Chop just before mixing.
Cilantro: Adds another layer of fresh herb flavor. Use the tender leaves and stems.
Extra virgin olive oil: Forms the dressing base. I like using my lemon infused olive oil here for a bit of citrusy zing!
Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed juice brightens the vegetables and balances the oil.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Add crumbled feta just before serving for a salty, creamy finish.
- Mix in a few olives or capers for extra briny flavor, reducing the added salt as needed. I like to add some of my marinated olives sometimes when I have them at hand.
- Add drained chickpeas, cooked quinoa, or cooled pasta for a more substantial bowl. Adjust the dressing to coat the extra ingredients.
How to Make Mediterranean Tomato Cucumber Salad
Step 1: Wash and dry the vegetables and herbs. Dice the cucumber and tomatoes, thinly slice the red onion, and chop the mint and cilantro.
Step 2: Add the chopped vegetables and herbs to a large mixing bowl.
Step 3: Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper. Toss gently until evenly coated.
Step 4: Chill briefly if you like, then toss again and taste before serving. For the crispest texture, serve soon after dressing.
💭Top Tip
Dry the vegetables after washing and dress the salad close to serving. Tomatoes and cucumber release water once salted, so a short chill works better than leaving the dressed salad for hours.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- Cut the cucumber and tomatoes into similar bite-sized pieces so the salad is easy to scoop and eat. I always do this when I make Sumac cucumber salad.
- If using a large cucumber with a watery seed cavity, scoop out the seeds before dicing.
- For a gentler onion flavor, soak the slices briefly in cold water, then drain and dry well.
- Use a sharp knife for the tomatoes so you keep more of their juice in the pieces rather than on the board.
- Toss gently to avoid breaking up the tomatoes, and give the salad another quick mix before serving.
- A little finely grated lemon zest can add more citrus aroma without extra liquid. Alternatively, you can use a pinch of lemon infused salt to season the salad.
How to Serve Mediterranean Tomato Cucumber Salad
Serve the salad with grilled chicken, fish, or a vegetarian main like cheesy rice stuffed peppers. Its fresh lemon dressing is especially welcome alongside richer dishes.
Spoon it into wraps or sandwiches, draining off excess dressing first so the bread stays firmer. If you're making this for a get-together you're hosting, pair it with appetizers like Turkish cheese rolls, some crunchy Sumac spiced nuts or a spicy Turkish salsa.
Troubleshooting and FAQs
Yes. Chop and refrigerate the vegetables and herbs separately from the dressing, then toss close to serving. Keep the tomatoes in their own container if they are especially juicy.
Salt draws moisture from the cucumber and tomatoes. Dry the vegetables well, remove large cucumber seed cavities, and avoid dressing too far ahead. Drain excess liquid before serving if needed.
Flat-leaf parsley is a good alternative. Dill also works, though it changes the flavor. Keep the fresh mint if you can for the refreshing note in this version.
Refrigerate promptly in an airtight container for up to 2 days. It tastes best the day it is made because the vegetables soften and release juice as they sit. Toss and drain excess liquid before serving again.
Freezing is not recommended. The cucumber and tomatoes lose their crisp texture after thawing, so make a fresh batch for the best result.
More Easy Salad Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried this Mediterranean tomato cucumber salad or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Mediterranean Tomato Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cucumber diced
- 1 cup tomatoes diced
- ½ cup red onion sliced
- 2 tablespoon mint leaves chopped
- 3 tablespoon cilantro chopped
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp black pepper crushed
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash and chop all the veggies and herbs.
- Add them all to a large bowl.
- Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and toss well.
- Chill for a while in the refrigerator before you serve.
Notes
- To lend some extra flavor to this Mediterranean tomato cucumber salad, you can add a dash of sumac, which is a spice crafted using ground berries. I recently tried using sumac to season my simple sliced onions, and it turned out absolutely fantastic.
- I’ve used a sharp knife to slice and cut the veggies for the salad. If you want nice, uniform and thin slices, you can use a mandolin slicer.
- To make the veggies in the salad extra crunchy, chill them in the refrigerator for a few hours before you chop them.
- If you love the tanginess of lemon, you can amp that up in this salad by adding some lemon zest into the mix.
- Chopped or minced garlic can also be an excellent addition to the salad dressing, and can lend it more of that unique, Mediterranean flavor.
- If you want to bring some heat into this salad, you can add some chili flakes or a pinch of cayenne into it.
- To make this salad more filling and nutritious, you can add some canned chickpeas into the mix, and increase the amount of seasoning you’re adding to lend it a bit more flavor.
- Another good way to bulk up this salad is to mix boiled pasta into it. And of course, you’ll need to increase the amount of dressing too!
