Greek Cucumber Salad

You’ll love this recipe because it is easy to make with crunchy and juicy fresh vegetables.

It’s nutritious, and you can have as a quick and healthy lunch with some pita bread and tzatziki sauce, or you can serve it in smaller portions as an appetizer or side dish.

This Greek cucumber salad is heavily inspired by our traditional Greek salad recipe.

The main difference is in the dressing, which is made with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, maple syrup, Dijon mustard or American mustard, dried oregano, and garlic powder.

The combination of the dressing’s sweet, tangy, and herby flavors with the juicy and crispy cucumbers and tomatoes makes this irresistible.

If you are vegan, you can make this recipe with non-dairy Feta. We tried VioLife’s “Just Like Feta,” and its taste is pretty good.

Cucumber

You can use any cucumber as long as they are fresh and firm. You can peel them or keep the peel on.

Tomato

Pick ripe tomatoes. Our favorite varieties are heirloom tomatoes, beef steak tomatoes, san marzano tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes.

The quality of the fresh produce is important for this recipe, so we recommend getting the tomatoes from a farmer’s market if you can.

Bell pepper

You can use red, yellow, or green bell pepper.

Substitute radishes, fennel, or crunchy Romain lettuce for bell pepper.

Red onion

Red onion adds a pleasant tang to the salad. Substitute shallots or spring onions for red onion.

Olives

Kalamata olives are delicious here. However, you can also use black or green pitted olives.

Feta

If you are vegan, you can swap non-dairy Feta for regular Feta. We like to use diced Feta or crumbled Feta for this Greek cucumber salad.

Fresh herbs

You can pick your favorite. We recommend choosing between fresh basil, mint, dill, oregano, and parsley.

Greek salad dressing

• Extra virgin olive oil.
• Red wine vinegar: substitute apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice.
• Maple syrup: substitute honey.
• Dijon mustard: substitute yellow mustard.
• Dried oregano: substitute dried mint or basil.
• Garlic powder: substitute grated garlic.
• Salt: sea salt is best.
• Black pepper.

1. Make the dressing

Add olive oil, red wine vinegar, maple syrup, dried oregano, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and mustard to a small jar.

Close and shake the jar until the ingredients are combined.

Tip: Whisk the ingredients in a small bowl if you don’t have a jar.

2. Chop the veggies

Chop the tomatoes into wedges, peel and cut the cucumber into slices, cut the bell pepper into strips, and thinly slice the red onion.

If raw red onion is too strong for you, you can soak it in cold water for 10 minutes.

3. Mix the salad

Arrange tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, red onion, and olives onto a serving platter or a large bowl. Top with feta cubes, drizzle with the Greek cucumber salad dressing, and toss.

Garnish with fresh dill, mint, or basil leaves and a pinch of dried oregano.

Light lunch

Try Greek cucumber salad for a quick lunch with warm pita bread and a side dip of tzatziki sauce, a Greek yogurt-based dip made with cool cucumber, garlic, and fresh herbs.

Appetizer

Serve it as part of an appetizer platter (mezze platter) with other Mediterranean and Middle Eastern small dishes such as hummus, eggplant dip, lentil tabbouleh, grilled eggplant, falafel, tahini sauce, and more.

Side dish

Have it next to your favorite dinner; it goes well with anything grilled.

Our Greek chickpea salad is perfect for a quick lunch, a healthy side dish, potlucks, or a light dinner with warm pita bread.

Greek salad (Horiatiki)

Greek salad is a simple, tasty, refreshing dish made with ripe tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, tangy red onions, crisp bell peppers, meaty olives, and creamy feta cheese.

Check out our traditional Greek salad recipe.

Italian panzanella salad

Panzanella is an Italian bread salad with simple summer vegetables and leftover stale bread soaked in water.

It’s unsurprisingly similar to a Greek salad, as both Mediterranean countries rely heavily on fresh tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and herbs for summer meals.

Check out our Italian Panzanella salad recipe

Fattoush salad

Fattoush is a delicious, crunchy, refreshing salad from Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. It has fresh vegetables, herbs, and toasted or fried Arabic bread.

Fattoush salad is a great way to enjoy the flavors of those wonderful eastern Mediterranean countries. It’s perfect for a light lunch or a side dish for any meal.

Check out our Fattoush recipe.

Watermelon salad

This Greek-inspired watermelon salad with Feta substitutes watermelon cubes for tomatoes. It’s a delicious salad that we love.

If you have never had it, you are in for a treat, and we can’t wait to hear what you think.

Check out our watermelon salad recipe.

Cucumber tomato salad

Cucumber tomato salad is similar to Greek salad, minus the Feta and bell pepper, but with fresh herbs.

Enjoy this crunchy and easy recipe during scorching hot summer days. Then, add some protein and upgrade it to a quick, healthy main.

Check out our cucumber tomato salad recipe.

Make ahead: it’s best to make cucumber Greek salad shortly before eating it because the vegetables will release water once they are cut and get in contact with the dressing.

To get ahead in the kitchen, you can chop the cucumber ahead of time and keep it refrigerated. You can also make the dressing and keep it in the fridge for up to 1 day.

Refrigerator: keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one day.

Freezer: this recipe is not suitable for freezing.

If you love vibrant meals packed with fresh veggies, check out our most loved recipes with raw ingredients:

• Avocado salad (avocado, cherry tomatoes, parsley, red onion, olive oil, etc.)
• Farro salad (farro, cucumber, chickpeas, lemon, parsley, olive oil, etc.)
• Zucchini salad (zucchini, lemon, cherry tomatoes, basil, mint, olive oil, etc.)
• Chickpea salad (chickpeas, olives, avocado, corn, parsley, mustard, etc.)

For many more salad ideas, check out our salads category page.