This cucumber tomato salad is one of our go-to summer recipes. It works beautifully as a light meal, a colorful appetizer, or an easy side dish for everything BBQ.
For more summer salads, try our panzanella, chickpea salad, rice salad, and Greek cucumber salad.
This tomato cucumber salad is a winner because it’s quick to make, bursting with color, and endlessly customizable.
Whether Louise and I are grilling BBQ tofu or flipping black bean burgers for a backyard dinner, this salad is always on the table. And usually right next to a bowl of chilled dill potato salad and a big pitcher of something cold and fizzy.
In Italy, where we live, we often eat this kind of salad as part of a simple summer lunch or light dinner, usually with a slice of rustic bread to soak up the juices. It’s common to find variations on every family table, jazzed up with crusty bread (like in panzanella).
Want to make it more filling? Toss in creamy avocado, canned or roasted chickpeas. Feta, olives, and homemade croutons add great flavor and texture, too.
However you spin it, this salad is fresh, flexible, and guaranteed to be a summer favorite, whether you’re hosting a cookout or just making a quick lunch for two.
Ingredients
- Tomatoes: Use ripe, meaty, naturally sweet tomatoes—like heirloom, cherry, grape, beefsteak, or San Marzano. Mix varieties for color and flavor. Tip: Serve tomatoes at room temp, not straight from the fridge.
- Cucumber: Any fresh kind works—English, Persian, or garden cucumbers. Peel on or off; we like to keep it on for crunch and color.
- Red onion: Adds a sharp, zesty bite. Too strong? Soak slices in cold water for 10 minutes. For a milder flavor, swap with shallots.
- Olive oil: Use high-quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
- Vinegar: Balsamic for sweetness; red/white wine vinegar or lemon juice for tang. Apple cider vinegar is a nice all-rounder.
- Fresh Herbs: Go with basil, flat-leaf parsley, or dill. Sub with dried mint or oregano.
- Optional Add-Ins:
- Protein: Crispy tofu, roasted or canned chickpeas.
- Cheese: Feta or dairy-free alternatives.
- Crunch: Homemade croutons, air fryer croutons.
How to make tomato cucumber salad
Cut the red onion in half, peel it, then cut it into thin slices. Separate the onion layers by pinching them with your fingers.
Soak the onion in a bowl with cold water for 10 minutes for a milder onion flavor.
Wash, dry, and chop the tomatoes into bite-size chunks.
Cut small tomatoes in half and larger round tomatoes in half, then in wedges. If the wedges are too big, cut each wedge in half. Cut them in discs or wedges if you use long and narrow tomatoes.
Wash and dry the cucumber, cut it in half lengthwise, then in half again, and dice it.
Add chopped tomatoes and cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, and finely chopped parsley to a large bowl.
Season with extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, salt, and black pepper. Toss well, taste, adjust for salt, and serve.
Variations
- With romaine lettuce: to make it, add a few leaves of chopped Romaine lettuce to our Italian cucumber salad recipe.
Serving Suggestions
This cucumber tomato salad is the perfect side for your favorite BBQ dishes. We love serving it with:
- BBQ tofu or grilled tofu.
- Black bean burgers or lentil patties.
- Creamy pasta salad or black bean salad.
- Toasted pita or garlic bread for scooping.
It’s light, refreshing, and balances out all the smoky, savory flavors on your plate ☀️.
FAQ
You could chop up the ingredients for this salad half a day in advance, but I recommend mixing and seasoning it just before serving it so you won’t compromise its flavor and texture too much.
The biggest problem you’ll have making this ahead of time is that tomatoes and cucumbers will release a lot of water, especially if you season them with salt. This will make the veggies too wet and soggy, losing their crunchy and juicy texture.
If you make it in advance, store it in the refrigerator. Take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving it because tomatoes are most flavorful at room temperature.
There is no need to peel the cucumber for salads, but you can do so if you like.
Storage
- Make ahead: we don’t recommend making this recipe ahead of time because the veggies will release water as they are chopped and seasoned with salt.
- Refrigerator: keep tomato cucumber salad leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 12 hours. You might have to drain excess liquid and season the salad again with fresh olive oil and vinegar if the veggies release too much water.
We recommend taking the salad out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before eating.
- Freezing: this recipe is not suitable for freezing.
More Salad Recipes
- Chickpea pasta salad
- Tofu salad
- Chickpea salad
- Quinoa salad
- Fennel and orange salad
- Italian salad
- Watermelon salad
If you tried this Cucumber Tomato Salad or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it goes in the comments. We love hearing from you!
Cucumber Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound tomatoes cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 large cucumber diced
- ½ red onion thinly sliced
- ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons vinegar white wine, red wine, balsamic or apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Start by prepping the veggies. Cut the ½ red onion in half, peel it, then cut it into thin slices. Separate the onion layers by pinching them with your fingers. Soak the onion in a bowl with cold water for 10 minutes.
- Wash, dry, and chop 1 pound tomatoes into bite-size chunks. Make sure tomatoes are at room temperature.Wash and dry 1 large cucumber, cut it in half lengthwise, then in half again, and dice it.Add chopped tomatoes and cucumber, thinly sliced red onion drained from the water, and finely chopped ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley to a large bowl.
- Season with 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Toss well, taste, adjust for salt, and serve.
Video
Notes
- Tomatoes: heirloom, cherry, grape, beefsteak, or San Marzano. Mix types for color and flavor.
- Cucumber: Use English, Persian, or garden cucumbers.
- Red Onion: Swap with shallots for a milder taste.
- Vinegar: Use red or white wine vinegar, lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar instead of balsamic.
- Fresh Herbs: Replace basil, parsley, or dill with dried mint or oregano.
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Optional Add-Ins:
- Protein: Crispy tofu, canned or roasted chickpeas.
- Cheese: Feta or plant-based alternatives.
- Crunch: Homemade or air fryer croutons.
Nutrition
Hi! We are Nico & Louise
We’re here to share delicious, easy, and healthy plant-based recipes (vegetarian & vegan) 🌿✨.
Welcome to our blog, we are glad you are here.
Easy and very refreshing, many thanks for sharing
Thanks Milena! For taking the time to comment, we’re happy you like the recipe 🙂