Cucumber Tomato Salad Recipe (w/ Easy Dressing) + Video
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Cucumber Tomato Salad is the best of summer’s harvest. Crisp cucumbers and luscious tomatoes tossed in a bright and creamy lemon poppy seed dressing. This tomato cucumber salad recipe is my newest obsession. It’s the perfect way to use those fresh cucumbers and I love making this with other simple ingredients.
Trust me when I say you’ll want a large bowl to make this tomato-cucumber salad. It’s not only a refreshing salad, but it’s one of those summer salads that everyone loves.
This is because it has a mild flavor due to the use of fresh ingredients. (and it’s also an easy recipe to make!)
The combination of tomatoes with crisp cucumber addition is what this simple salad is all about.
Once summer arrives, it’s the perfect time of year to whip up this great recipe.
Cucumber Tomato Salad
Summer is a perfect time to make veggie salads. Vegetables are plentiful at the farmer’s market or in our gardens.
So, if you want to try a few more of my favorites after you’ve made this tomato and cucumber salad recipe, here are a few ideas.
My Asian Inspired Carrot and Cucumber Salad uses fresh vegetables with an Asian-inspired dressing, perfect for lunch!
Creamy Cucumber Salad comes together in 10 minutes with red onions and a spectacular poppy seed dressing. For a delicious salad that is both hearty and beautiful, try our 7-Layer Salad instead!
Or, this Cucumber Vinegar Salad is a Southern classic. It has a delicious sweet vinegar marinade that is sure to be a hit.
Tomato and Cucumber Salad Recipe Notes
- Prep ahead. Cucumbers have a tendency to release a lot of liquid.
To avoid a watery salad, place sliced cukes in a serving dish and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt.
Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, then pour off the liquid (do not rinse). Do not add more salt — there will be plenty left over! - Peel if you’d like. We don’t peel the cucumbers when we make this tomato cucumber salad recipe — it adds a little extra crunch and is less work!
But if you want to, you can peel them before you slice them. - Make ahead tip: Prepare the cucumber tomato salad dressing in a mason jar and store it in the refrigerator.
Give it a good shake, then toss the salad with it the day you plan to serve it.
Best Dressing for Cucumber Tomato Salad
We love a tangy, homemade poppy seed dressing for cucumber tomato salad!
It rounds out the flavors, and the creaminess balances all the crunchy textures in this tomato and cucumber salad recipe.
Not a fan of poppy seeds? Simply leave them out or try one of the other dressing suggestions listed below.
Flavor Varieties
There are many different things you can add to this cucumber tomato salad.
Why not try adding chopped avocado, corn, chopped chives, or even chunks of watermelon — you won’t believe how delicious it is!
- Give it a Mexican twist by adding bell peppers and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Make a Mediterranean cucumber tomato salad dressing with lemon and olive oil instead of poppy seeds.
- For a Greek Cucumber Tomato Salad, add black olives and crumbled feta cheese.
There are a lot of different ingredients that you can add to this simple cucumber tomato salad. Diced green bell pepper, yellow onions, sweet onion, fresh basil leaves, fresh herbs, kalamata olives, fresh dill, more cherry tomatoes or sweet tomatoes, even diced roma tomatoes as well.
It’s a refreshing side dish, no matter how you make it happen.
The recipe card below gives you all the steps that you need to make this easy salad, so gather the main ingredients and get started!
It’s the perfect punch of fresh flavor for the year!
Tomato Cucumber Salad Recipe FAQ
For the best flavor, allow the vegetables in this tomato and cucumber salad recipe to marinate for at least 20 minutes. You can let them marinate for up to twenty-four hours in the refrigerator if you want to make this salad the day before.
When choosing the best tomatoes for this tomato cucumber salad recipe, look for tomatoes with no blemishes or bruises.
They should be a deep, bright red color. If one has a pale color or is mottled with green, the flavor won’t be the best.
Be sure to avoid any tomatoes with black spots on them.
There are many different types of cucumbers you can use in this cucumber and tomato salad. I typically use English Cucumbers because they have fewer seeds.
You can also choose from one of these varieties:
Armenian cucumbers have soft skin and seeds.
Garden cucumbers are the most common and have large seeds.
Gherkins are small and are often used for pickling.
Kirby cucumbers, which are often referred to as pickling cucumbers.
Serving Suggestions
Cucumber Tomato Salad is a perfect summer side to go with any grilled meat.
You can serve it when you Grill the Perfect Steak. It also goes wonderfully with Honey Balsamic Grilled Chicken. Or, why not try it with this Spicy Grilled London Broil?
Storing Leftover Cucumber Tomato Salad
If you store this salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator, it should last up to a week. After that, the tomatoes will start to get soft.
If you remove the tomatoes, you can store this salad for closer to two weeks. Just chop fresh tomatoes right before you want to serve it again.
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Other Easy Salad Recipes
Cucumber Tomato Salad Recipe (w/ Easy Dressing) + Video
Equipment
- chef's knife A sharp knife or mandolin is always a necessity when slicing cucumbers.
- cutting board A high-quality cutting board comes in handy when prepping this salad.
- mixing bowls Combine all of the ingredients for this salad in a large mixing bowl.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon extra light olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 English cucumbers, cut into half coins
- 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 red onion, sliced thin
Instructions
- Combine lemon juice, sugar, olive oil, poppy seeds, mustard, garlic, salt, and onion powder in a large bowl. Whisk well until dressing is completely combined.
- Add cucumbers, tomatoes, and onion to the bowl. Toss to combine.
- Chill until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Video
Donna’s Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published July 2016, updated and republished May 2024
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Recipes doesn't reflect Poppy Seed
Hi Arkansas Granny, oops. I corrected the recipe. Thank you for your comment.
I love salads but cant eat cucumbers or onions have to eat it early or it kills me
What an awesome salad!!! I will be making this one many times!
Hi Donna, this salad looks so delicious but how much poppy seeds do you add ?
It's not in the ingredient list. Have a nice day !
Hi Danielle! 1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds, I added that to the recipe. Thank you for your message. Enjoy and let us know how it goes!
Excited to try this recipe. How much poppy seed and when do I add it?
So happy you stopped by. I added 1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds to the recipe. Enjoy and let us know how it goes.
The dressing says it is lemon poppyseed dressing. I am wondering how much poppyseed you put in it?
Hi Brenda! Thank you for your comment. I added 1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds. Enjoy and let us know how it goes.
Love your recipes going to make this but you didn't list the poppy seeds☺
Thanks Kat! I added the 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds to the recipe. I appreciate your message, let us know how it goes. Enjoy!
You added poppy seed to ingredients but not when to add it. I assume it is added in dressing mixture.
Just want to say that your recipe may be healthier than mine but I grew up on cucumber & tomato salad. Sometimes simpler is better. I only add a small amount of mayo & lemon zest to the cucumbers, tomatoes, & red onion with S&P to taste. I do plan to try your recipe as I have been looking for the perfect opportunity to use a bottle of poppy seeds that are in my spice cabinet.
Thank you so much Marie! I usually toss this with vinegar and oil, but I wanted to try something different and lemony. It really blows my mind how delicious it is. I am going to try the lemon and mayo and see how that goes. Thanks for the suggestion! Enjoy and let us know how it goes.
How would I change the dressing to a honey poppyseed ? I don't tolerate lemon well.
I also love this an orange honey poppy seed dressing.
1/4 cup orange juice (instead of lemon)
2 tablespoons honey (instead of sugar)
Let me know how it goes. Enjoy!
I'm not a huge fan of lemony dressings but this one sounded interesting and was I happy I tried it!! My new favorite summertime dressing!! I even had to use bottled lemon juice and it was still awesome. I'm going to make a quadruple batch this afternoon so I have it ready to go! I recommend this to anyone that likes a poppyseed dressing.
What other salads this could be used with? can't eat cukes.
I use it on spinach salad….baby spinach, sliced boiled egg, sliced red onion (if tolerated).toss with dressing and sprinkle with mozza cheese…
I often add sliced strawberries as well
Instead of mayo try mashed avocado
I don't know about your daughter, but I sometimes have problems with fresh tomatoes due to the texture of the inner goo. You might try giving some to her with the seed goop scooped or squeezed out and see if she doesn't tolerate them a little better. Love the recipe!
Started to copy recipe, but noted that now the lemon juice and sugar were deleted!
For those who can't tolerate cucumbers, substitute zucchini. Just as crispy and crunchy.
Thanks for the great suggestion, Cherill. I am going to try this over the summer with the zucchini from my garden.
For those who can't tolerate cucumber (like my husband), substitute zucchini. Just as crispy and crunchy and goes just as well with lemon.
Instead of poppy seeds I added chia seeds for a protein boost.
Do I have to use sugar? Thanks.
Thanks
I was looking for a simple healthy salad and came across your site. Just made this salad and it is so delicious…and so easy and quick to make. Thank you for sharing .. I will be making this salad often 🙂
can i use sesame seeds?
Delicious. I'm having a hard time eating vegetables, I'll make this salad often as it's truly delicious. I'd drink that dressing as is – I made it with both sugar and honey, and both orange juice and lemon. I couldn't find poppyseeds, sadly. Next time I'll slice the cucumber very thin. Is there any way to thicken the dressing a bit?
Can you use just regular cucumbers? That is what I have on hand and want to use them up.
How far in advance can u make the dressing?
Delish: made substituting what I had on hand: bottled lemon and lime juice, garlic powder (1/8tsp) stone ground mustard