Strawberry Cucumber Salad! If you’re looking for an easy picnic salad, a crowd-pleasing potluck side dish, or a fun salad that still feels light and seasonal, this one delivers.
This Strawberry Cucumber Salad is the ultimate summer salad: fresh, bright, and seriously irresistible. Juicy strawberries bring that natural sweetness, while crisp cool cucumbers add the perfect crunchy bite in every forkful. The best part? A light, tangy vinaigrette that tastes like sunshine: fresh, zippy, and not too heavy. It’s the kind of dish that disappears fast because it’s refreshing and flavorful.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
Okay, real talk, this summer salad is sooo delicious! We made it, took one bite, and then suddenly… it was gone. Like, devoured in no time flat. It’s sweet, crunchy, tangy, and just balanced enough to keep you coming back for “one more bite” (which turns into the whole bowl).
If you want a salad that tastes like summer and gets serious compliments, you gotta give this one a try!
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This Strawberry Cucumber Salad is the perfect summer salad. It is a delightful mix of sweet strawberries and crunchy cool cucumbers. The vinaigrette is light, fresh, and tangy.
- Cutting the Strawberries: Cut the strawberries into fine cubes, then measure the amount needed (2 ½ cups).
- Cutting the Cucumbers: Use mini cucumbers, unpeeled. Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise, then take each half and cut it in half lengthwise. Then cut each lengthwise in half, in other words, cut the cucumbers into 8ths, lengthwise, then dice in ¼-inch pieces. After dicing, then measure the amount needed (1 ¾ cups). This is approximately 3 to 4 mini cucumbers.
- Fresh Cucumbers: Cucumbers are 96% water. They will leach some water into the salad over time. If you plan to eat right away, this isn’t an issue; however, if you do plan to serve this salad later to guests, we advise not dressing the salad until ready to serve. Store the cucumbers separately from the rest of the salad until ready to serve if refrigerating overnight or serving later. Make sure you drain off any water that accumulated from the cut cucumbers before mixing the salad.
- Make Ahead: Dice the strawberries, cucumbers, and onions and store each separately in individual containers as cucumbers tend to leach water after cutting. Make the vinaigrette and store separately. Right before serving, mix the cucumbers (drain off any water first), strawberries, and white onions together, then pour over the vinaigrette, mix well and serve.
- Maple Syrup: You can increase or decrease accordingly based upon the sweetness of the strawberries. We found that 2 teaspoons perfectly balanced the flavors.
- White Onions: We used white onions because they are mild and sweet. You can substitute with red onions or green onions if you wish. If using green onions, the salad will have a spicy hit to it. If using red onions, then consider soaking the diced red onions in some cool water for 5 to 10 minutes, then drain off the water and pat dry. This helps eliminate any sharp notes. Do not use yellow onions; the flavor will be off. Finely dice the white onions.
- Dried Mint versus Fresh Mint: You can use finely chopped fresh mint if you wish. We used dried mint simply because that is what we had on hand. If using fresh mint, you may need to add more than a teaspoon. Taste test and adjust accordingly.
- Tahini Substitutions: You can substitute the tahini with other nut or seed butters with the understanding that the flavor and texture will be impacted accordingly.
- Amount of Sea Salt: Our family was completely divided over how much sea salt was needed to properly season this salad. Feel free to adjust accordingly to suit your family’s preferences.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator, undressed. Store in a covered air-tight container.
This salad does not freeze well.
Pantry Products:
- Tahini: We used Ziyad Premium Tahini (Sesame Paste). Feel free to use your favorite brand of tahini.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- No special equipment used.
If you try this flavorful salad, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
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Strawberry Cucumber Salad
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Total Time: 20 Minutes
- Yield: 4 1/2 Cups 1x
- Category: Salad
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Strawberry Cucumber Salad is the ultimate summer salad: fresh, bright, and seriously irresistible.
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups finely diced strawberries
- 1 ¾ cups finely diced mini cucumbers, unpeeled
- ½ cup finely diced white onions
Vinaigrette Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon tahini *
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup (+/-) *
- 1 teaspoon dried mint (+/-) *
- ¼ to 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
Instructions
- Prepare the Vinaigrette by placing all the Vinaigrette Ingredients into a small bowl, whisking well until smooth and emulsified, set aside.
- Place all the prepared Based Ingredients into a bowl, mix well to evenly distribute, then pour the Vinaigrette over top and toss well to thoroughly coat all the ingredients. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Servings: 5 (makes 4 ¼ cups)
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