Easy Cucumber Salad Recipe {Vegan, Low Carb, Keto, Gluten Free}

Ain’t nothing says summer better than a big old bowlful of this light and refreshing Cucumber Salad.

Yeap we are putting good old cucumbers at the forefront of this recipe and tossing them with a few very well known and well-loved pantry staples to give one perfect centre table summer salad.

This cucumber onion salad one of those side dishes that you can serve with EVERYTHING. And I do mean everything.

Why You Will Love This Cucumber Salad

• It so simple to make – with every pantry ingredients.
• It is extremely frugal and yet so tasty.
• It is so easy that you can set the kiddoes to make this.
• This can be made ahead – simply remix and adjust seasoning just before serving.
• You can triple or quadruple the recipe to feed a crowd. #winningealready.
• Great way to use up your excess cucumbers.
• This cucumber red onion salad is very portable – so take along to your picnic, barbeques, potluck, etc.
• The salad is super adaptable – see some suggestions below.
• It is suitable for a wide variety of dietary considerations, including vegan, low carb, keto, paleo and gluten free.

I make this a lot, especially as an after-work snack. Because it is easy, the ingredients were always available and cheap, and because I actually have a taste for lovely sharp salads.

Homemade Cucumber Salad Recipe Materials

How to Make Cucumber Salad

How To Make Cucumber Salad

1. Make the dressing by combining olive oil, lime juice, the best ever sea salt, chilli, oregano, stock cube and lemon zest together in a small bowl.

2. Add the sliced cucumber and chopped red onion to a larger bowl and toss to combine.

3. Pour dressing on top of the salad and gently mix to coat.

4. Serve the cucumber salad immediately or cover in a bowl, refrigerate and allow to marinate for a couple of hours.

Cucumber Onion Salad Tips

Here are some tips to make a great cucumber onion salad.

• Slice cucumber thinly – maybe use mandoline or a very sharp knife.
• Peel the cucumber for a more delicate flavoured salad. But you can leave unpeeled if you prefer.
• You can use apple cider vinegar instead of lime juice.
• Feel free to add some sweetness with 1/2 a teaspoon of maple syrup or sweetener to your taste.

What Type of Cucumber To Use For Cucumber Salad

• Use small cucumbers to avoid the salad going watery from the moisture in the cucumbers.
• If however, you use larger ones, then please remove the seeds in the middle, to stop the salad becoming too watery.
• English cucumbers are awesome in this healthy salad.
• You can also use the small Lebanese cucumbers, although you would have to increase the quantity you use.

Removing excess Moisture and Sweating Cucumber Tips

• For larger more watery cucumbers, you can sprinkle some salt over the cucumber slices for about 20-30 mins, to pull out some moisture.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

If you prefer to make this a creamy cucumber salad – then add in a little bit of Greek Yogurt or Creme Fraiche into your salad dressing.

Cucumber Red Onion Salad Variations

Here are some herb, spices, salad variations include

1. using green onions
2. adding veggies like tomatoes and radishes
3. adding in other herbs like parsley, basil, fresh oregano, dill and more

Cucumber Onion Salad – West African Style

What to Serve With Cucumber Salad Recipe

I definitely eat it just as is, mostly. But it rocks alongside some

Air Fryer Fish.

Air Fryer Whole Chicken.

Air Fryer Steak.

Jerk Shrimp Tacos.

Healthy Salad Recipes

For more healthy salad recipes, why not try the following below.

Crunchy Turkey Salad.

Instant pot Thai Quinoa Salad.

Chinese chicken salad.

Weight Watchers Points in Cucumber Salad

One serving of Cucumber Salad contains 2 Freestyle points.

Thank you for reading my Cucumber Salad recipe post. And please visit again as I continue dreaming up recipes, traditional African recipes, African fusion recipes, Sierra Leone recipes, travel plans and much more for you. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, UK food blog.

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4.67 from 3 votes

Chilli Cucumber Salad - Sierra Leone Flavours

A refreshing chilli cucumber salad recipe.

Prep Time10 mins

Total Time10 mins

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Western

Servings: 8

Calories: 76kcal

Author: Bintu Hardy

Ingredients

For the salad:

• ▢ 2 large English cucumbers peeled and thinly sliced
• ▢ 2 tbsp chopped red onions

For the dressing:

• ▢ 4 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 4 tbsp lime juice or more, to taste
• ▢ 1 pinch salt
• ▢ chilli flakes to taste
• ▢ 1 pinch lemon zest
• ▢ 1 pinch Maggi stock cube optional (and the norm in Sierra Leone)
• ▢ 3/4 tsp dried oregano

Instructions

• Make the dressing by mixing the lime, salt, chilli, red onion, lemon zest and maggi together in a small bowl.
• Place the sliced cucumber in a large bowl and then pour in the dressing.
• Gently mix to coat and adjust seasonings, to taste.
• Serve immediately, or cover, refrigerate and allow to marinate for a couple of hours.

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Notes

Feel free to add more or less of what you want. Maggi cubes are stock cubes used in Africa that you can get in ethnic food stores.

Nutrition

Calories: 76kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Fat: 7g | Sodium: 36mg | Potassium: 119mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 80IU | Vitamin C: 4.7mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 0.3mg