Mediterranean Cucumber Tomato Salad

This Mediterranean cucumber tomato salad is super easy to prepare, very healthy and tastes delicious! It is ready in less than 10 minutes and goes super well with a variety of main dishes, especially if they are Mediterranean.

This Mediterranean cucumber tomato salad recipe is the one we make all the time at home! The reason: it is super easy to make, tastes delicious, goes incredibly well with Turkish dishes and is simply healthy. It combines the spiciness of red pepper flakes with fresh lemon juice, parsley and olive oil, a classic combination you find in Turkish and Mediterranean cooking. So, if you love making Mediterranean dishes, then try this salad as a side! You are going to love it!

Ingredients

The ingredients you need for making this Mediterranean cucumber tomato salad are super simple and basic! Here is what you’ll need:

• Cucumber.
• Tomato. You can use any type of tomato, but I recommend classic tomatoes or cherry tomatoes. I actually prefer classic tomatoes, but I’ll only use them when they are good quality. Otherwise I will get cherry or grape tomatoes. Just make sure you buy ripe and tasty tomatoes!
• Red onion. If you find red onions too strong, you could use green onions. Both work super well with this recipe.
• Parsley. Parsley is a typical ingredient in Turkish and Mediterranean recipes. Make sure you get flat-leaf parsley, as it is the type of parsley used in Mediterranean cooking.
• Lemon.
• Olive oil.
• Red pepper flakes. If you don’t like spicy food, feel free to skip them or reduce the amount of red pepper flakes you use. The salad will still be delicious!

How to make a Mediterranean cucumber tomato salad

I promised you that this recipe would be super easy. And it is. Here are the instructions for making this Mediterranean cucumber tomato salad:

1. Prepare the ingredients. Simply dice the cucumber, tomatoes and red onion. Mince the parsley and juice the lemon.
2. Mix everything. Now add all of the ingredients (including the dressing ingredients) to a bowl and mix them. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add more red pepper flakes if needed.

And that’s it. This recipe is soooo easy, but super delicious and nutritious!

Variations

This Mediterranean cucumber tomato salad recipe can easily be modified so that you don’t get bored with it! I often use this recipe as a base and then add more ingredients if I feel like chopping some more veggies. Here are my go-to add-ins:

• Leafy greens: Leafy greens are super healthy and go really well with this recipe. I often use a mix of baby spinach and arugula, but you could add other leafy greens as well!
• Shredded carrots: Carrots taste really great with this salad. They give a bit of crunch and add flavor. I totally recommend adding them!
• Bell pepper: I have a huge love for red bell pepper, but you could use any kind of bell pepper. It again adds some crunch and tastes great.

If you decide to add some of these vegetables, make sure you adjust the amount of dressing you make as you’ll probably need more of it.

Storage tips

I can absolutely recommend preparing a few extra servings of the salad and storing it in the refrigerator. That way, you’ll always have a tasty side salad that is ready to be enjoyed. Just make sure you don’t add the dressing ingredients to the salad if you want to store it. The salt and other ingredients will make your delicious cucumber tomato salad super mushy and watery, so just add the dressing when you serve the salad.

More healthy salad recipes

If you love healthy and delicious salads, you should definitely check out these recipes! I love all of them and totally recommend trying them.

• Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing
• Pesto Spaghetti Salad
• Beet and Goat Cheese Salad
• Kisir (Turkish Bulgur Salad)