This cucumber and tomato salad is so good that you could eat it alone and never think of eating anything else with it, like bread, meat, etc. It's one of those salads that is so balanced and so tasty that you crave it, like you would chocolate. I get those cravings. The good thing is that this salad is very easy and quick to make.
As a matter of fact, my 8-year-old daughter made this salad that you see on the pictures all by herself, from peeling and chopping the veggies, to making the dressing and mixing it all together. She was so proud! This is the first dish she had ever made all by herself, and the salad was so good that she received a ton of compliments for it.
This salad is a close sibling of the family favorite Tomato, Cucumber and Avocado Salad but without the avocado and with different herbs. Yes, not everyone likes avocado and basil as much as I do, and most people that I know love parsley and cilantro. If you want, you can substitute herbs in this salad for basil. Either way, this salad will impress.
Tips for making this cucumber and tomato salad
When picking tomatoes for this salad make sure they are aromatic and ripe. Buy the best tomatoes you can find. It will make a huge difference. If the tomatoes are not fully ripe, leave them on a windowsill for a couple of days to ripen. You want them fully ripe, slightly soft, fragrant and juicy. That's the kind of tomato that makes this cucumber and tomato salad shine. The cucumbers, on the other hand, should be fresh and crunchy, to create a textural contrast to the tomatoes. Speaking about this salad already makes my mouth water.
The tomatoes must be cut into large chunks. This may seem crude and lazy, but it makes perfect sense. Large chunks of tomatoes will burst in your mouth with delicious juices, while thinly cut ones won't impress as much. So, yes, they must be big and chunky.
Finally, when making the dressing, use a very good quality olive oil. Not the one that you cook with, but a good quality extra virgin olive oil. Low-quality oil will ruin this otherwise magnificent salad. What does good quality olive oil taste like? Here is a resource from Olive Tomato that describes it very nicely, better than I ever could.
Oh, and try this salad with freshly baked no-knead bread, or its sourdough cousin, or the whole wheat sourdough bread for a healthier version. Use the bread to soak in every last drop of the delicious dressing.
Rustic Cucumber and Tomato Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the vegetables:
- 5 large tomatoes (fresh and fully ripe; tomatoes on the vine are a very good choice)
- 1 pinch brown sugar
- 1 English cucumber (fresh and firm)
- 1/2 large red onion
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
For the dressing:
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (very good quality)
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 garlic cloves (pressed)
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp dried oregano
Instructions
- Core the tomatoes, cut into 6-8 wedges, then cut each wedge in half. Place the tomatoes into a large bowl, sprinkle with a pinch of brown sugar, salt, and pepper, and toss really well.
- Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise, then slice it into 1/4" thick slices. Add the cucumbers to the tomatoes.
- Slice half the red the onion into very thin slivers crosswise. Then cut the slivers in half, or leave as is, depending on you preference. Add to cucumbers and tomatoes. Add the chopped parsley and cilantro.
- To prepare the dressing, throw all of the dressing ingredients into a small bowl and whisk together vigorously, until well blended.
- Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss gently using both hands. Cover the bowl with plastic and let sit at room temperature until ready to serve, for 1 to 6 hours. This will allow the flavors to meld together.
Nutrition
My other favorite salads that you may also enjoy:
Cherry Tomato Salad with Mint & Cilantro Vinaigrette
Carol S. says
I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this recipe! I made it exactly as described except I left out the cilantro and added a ripe avocado (had one that I didn’t know what to do with, so I chopped it in large chunks & added it). This salad is absolutely amazing & will be my go-to salad from this day forward!! Thank you for posting!!
victor says
You are very welcome. Enjoy!
Nadine says
I used cherry tomatoes and mini cucumber, but eliminated the onions. My dressing was similar. My recipe: 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, several shakes of Franks red hotsauce and 1 packet of stevia. Also add fresh basil. I use this over romaine lettuce with a can of mandarin oranges and toasted almonds. It’s my family’s favorite!
victor says
Enjoy!
Mercy says
I have made this it's so yummy. Perfect.
victor says
Enjoy!
Cally Ford says
I have made this one and I luv it too.
victor says
Happy to hear it. Enjoy!
Wendy says
This salad is delicious. I used cherry tomatoes and mini cucumbers. I didn’t have cilantro but had fresh basil. Once I mixed the dressing and poured it over the salad I wanted to eat it right away. The smell is amazing. But letting it sit for an hour just blended the flavors even more.
victor says
Happy to hear it, Wendy. This is one of my favorite salads, it never gets old. So good!
Karen Czajka says
I made this salad several times now. It’s very good and so easy and quick. Everyone loved it. I liked that I could make it 5 hours ahead of time- one less thing to do when my guests arrived.
victor says
I am glad you liked it. Happy cooking!
Janice Crape says
This is the Best of the Best Cucumger Tomato Salad!
victor says
Glad you liked it, Janice. Enjoy!
Dorothy says
Excellent salad, took to share at a friends house and they all enjoyed it.
Cindy says
Made this for a party. Everyone was asking for the recipe. Made exactly as described and it was delicious. Making tonight for dinner. Lots of fresh garden tomatoes and cucumbers. This is a nice change/alternative to tomatoes and mozzarella. 👍👍👍
Sandi B. says
This is fabulous!! I've made it three times now & have loved it every time. Thanks!
Nickie says
this salad it so good..is there 228 calories in this entire bowl?
victor says
Nickie, the calories are per serving and there are 6 servings in this recipe. Enjoy!
Brenda says
I’m a big fan of tomato and cucumber salads and this was excellent! I just moved it to my favorites folder.
victor says
Happy to hear it, Brenda. Be sure to check out my recent salads, they are really good too.
Julie Lee says
This salad was especially good because our tomatoes were sweet and juicy. Thanks for the great dressing recipe.
victor says
You are very welcome. Please, try my latest salad recipes too, I am sure you will like them.
Thomas Glass says
Nope can't refrigerate the left overs because there never is any
victor says
😉 I hear you, we rarely have any leftovers here too.
Vilko says
Italian Dressing
This tangy, bell pepper-and-herb flecked salad dressing is a favorite in many American restaurants. But “dressing” as Americans know it doesn’t exist in Italy—there, salads are exclusively dressed with oil and vinegar, or sometimes just oil.
Ellen whalley says
Thank you Victor! I made the tomato and cucumber salad with a few tweaks because of what I had or didn’t have on hand. I didn’t add the garlic or cilantro and instead of regular olive oil I used blood orange olive oil.
It came out great and was a big hit at the bbq we went to.
I will make this again with the garlic and cilantro next time. Yum!
victor says
You are very welcome, Ellen. Enjoy!
Captain says
Top with a good feta cheese sea salt and fresh cracked plack pepper
Alison says
Delicious! I could eat this all day! Came out great!
Jan says
Absolutely delicious & so easy to make . The marinade certainly improve the taste of the winter “out of season “ supermarket tomatoes , which is all that is available in a Scotland right now. Looking forward to trying it out with home grown tomatoes next summer.
victor says
Oh, you must try this salad with heirloom tomatoes, it's delicious. I grew tomatoes first time this year and I am hooked. Also, try my most recent tomato salad recipe with garlic citrus dressing. Love it.
Paula says
This was fantastic! My husband doesn't care for cucumber, so next time I'm adding fresh mushrooms for him. For supper, we had this and a beef roast in the crock pot. Leftover salad will be our lunch tomorrow. Definitely a keeper!
Mike says
Wonderful salad, I added small chunks of feta and some green pitted olives
Anna Gurney says
Going to make this for the first time this weekend for a get together. Wondered if anyone had tried adding fresh mozzarella? If so, thoughts on the results?
victor says
My daughter loves adding fresh mozzarella or bocconcini to this salad, I like it too.
Suzanne Horkey says
I’m a big fan of cilantro but as I didn’t have any ,I Substituted With fresh dill. Was great!
Percy Ealy says
This was amazing. I made lunch for my wife. I added a grilled cheese sandwich. It was so good she ask for it again tomorrow for lunch.
Suzanne says
Delicious, thank you for sharing!
Michelle says
This is so good! I took a portion of the salad, added a diced chicken breast and goat cheese, and it made a perfect work day lunch!
Denise says
Thank you for this wonderful recipe ! It so hits the spot on this very hot day 😊
Phyllis Dalli says
Calories calculated as per serving or whole lot pls?
victor says
Per serving.
Kate Panthera says
This looks really good - I .really like sesame oil. Do you think that would work with this, or stick with the EVOO.
Kate
victor says
As someone who uses sesame oil quite a lot, I think it will work. But, don't go with sesame oil all the way, perhaps just a small substitution to get the flavor but not overpower.
Jessica says
This was amazing! As someone who is trying to eat “cleaner”, this will always be made! Thank you for sharing! Question though. With the nutritional facts. It’s that for the whole 6 servings, or is that per serving?
victor says
Happy to hear that, Jessica. The nutrition facts are per serving, 1/6th of the total recipe.
Colleen D says
Absolutely delicious, the perfect summer salad
Celeste says
Lets have this Sunday with the steaks and crab cakes....
Eleanor Myrberg says
Great salad, especially when one has an abundance of tomatoes in the garden. For a dinner party, I bumped it up a notch with artichoke hearts but it is delicious as is.
Leah says
Love this recipe! It was so good. I got tons of compliments and everyone wanted the recipe.
Robert Hefkey says
as promised !!!
Hank says
That was amazing. Made it and left in Frig for four hours and then it's gone. I will make that again.
Mary says
Absolutely delicious!
Carrie says
Could I sub red wine vin. with apple.cider vin?
victor says
You sure can. Both have a pronounced tangy taste and that's what you want. Apple cider vinegar will add a hint of apple flavor.
Marie says
Oh my! Don’t stop at tomatoes and cukes. Enjoy this dressing with greens and anything else
You can imagine! Love love this dressing!
Lynne says
Hi, looks amazing looking forward to giving it a go this week for a family dinner. Can add anything to replace the red wine vinegar.? Thanks!
victor says
Try freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime and 1/2 an orange. This is my other favorite way to make a salad dressing. I use about 50/50 oil to combined juices. It's delicious.
Britnee says
Making this for the 4th as well!! Adding in some fresh mozzarella balls for the kiddos.
Rosy says
Made this salad a couple weeks ago and it was quite the hit! So making again for the 4th.
Thank you very much for this simple and delicious recipe.
victor says
You are very welcome. Enjoy and Happy 4th of July!
Gina says
This salad is so good! I used fresh basil and oregano from my garden. Will definitely be making again.
Renee says
This looks delicious. Has anyone added bread to it, sort of like a "panzannella" ?
victor says
I did and it was fantastic. Here is my recipe for panzanella.
Sophia says
Made it today, it was delicious!! Thank you for the recipe. Will make it all Summer!
Doni says
Loved this - made with cilantro and added avacodo. So good!
Daphne says
Made this Tomato and Cucumber Salad and
It was great! The only problem is I live alone
and had to eat it all by myself but it was worth it! 😊
victor says
Glad to heat that you liked it, Daphne. My favorite salad right now.
Carmen says
Exemple of good quality olive oil please...
victor says
The rule of thumb that I use is that if the oil smells and tastes good on its own, it's good for a salad. I know, it's easy to say but how do you tell that it smells and tastes good? What is good when it pertains to olive oil? Here is a resource that will tell you better than I ever could: https://www.olivetomato.com/how-to-recognize-good-and-bad-olive-oil/.
Hana says
It’s yummy and amazing, so tasty. I love it
Barbar says
I live in AZ. We don't have tomatoes that are large and flavorful. I can get ping pong ball size and cherry tomatoes. Can you tell ne approximately how many cups ?
victor says
A large tomato that I use is about 1/2 a lb or 225 grams, give or take. For this recipe you will need about 2 1/2 lbs. Cut them in half and you are good to go. When I was in FL last summer, I really liked Georgia and Tennessee tomatoes. You may be able to find them in your neck of woods. The taste varies from year to year, one is good the next is excellent. Some not so good. Big grocery stores' tomatoes aren't that great. Local farm markets offer the best, but limited to season only (August - October here up north). I've had great success with local farmers markets last fall. AZ is very sunny, it's good for tomatoes. I would think you'd have a good supply down there.
Ladena says
I made a modified version of this and got nothing but compliments! I didn't add the sugar, parsley or cilantro. I did add 12 leaves of fresh basil cut into ribbons. Might try it again with a few drops of liquid stevia (about 6 or 7) next time. Awesome!
Peter says
very tasty salad. i am doing this second time .
victor says
Glad to hear that, Peter.
Steve Rainwater says
I have made this recipe for years. Never put cilantro or brown sugar in it though. Most people will literally love this salad. I can tell you that one time I made it and after my guest finished eating it one of the Italian guys actually pick up the bowl and drank every drop of the dressing! That was 25 years ago and my friends and I still laugh about that!
victor says
Funny story indeed. And I do it all the time. I either drink the leftover dressing or pour it over a piece of sourdough bread and eat it like that, or rip off small pieces of bread and dip them in the juices... I am drooling now just thinking about it.
Sophie James says
Nice post... the salad looks delicious.
Linda says
So summery!
Helena says
This salad looks delicious!!!
victor says
Thank you!