This easy summer cucumber and tomato salad is easy, simple and goes with just about anything. It’s our favorite salad to have on repeat all summer long. I make a huge bowl just to have to for when the mood strikes. Perfect for lunch, snacks, potlucks, backyard BBQs, playdates.
Cucumbers and tomatoes go together like peanut butter and jelly. This cucumber and tomato salad is super fresh, has a pop of color and the best combo of sweet and tangy. It comes together as quickly, all you need to do is boil water for the pasta and chop a few vegetables.
The Ingredient List
Tomatoes: For photos, I used colorful cherry tomatoes from the grocery store, but this salad is so delicious with fresh red ripe tomatoes and if you can grab them off your own tomato plant, even better. Since I live in DC, I usually find mine from the local farmer’s market.
Cucumbers: You can use any type you can find. I am currently a huge fan of the small Persian cucumbers. I also love a good garden cucumber.
Purple Onion: A purple onion provides a little zing to the fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. If you’re not an onion lover you will still want to add a few of these thinly sliced onions just so the unique flavor of the purple onion can mix in and add a little pucker to the salad. I have no shame in admitting that I eat around the purple onion.
Vinegar: You can use whatever you already have in your pantry. My favorite is red wine or apple cider vinegar. You can use white or sherry vinegar as well. You will need to use a few tablespoons to help draw out the flavors of your other ingredients and to give the salad a fresh “bite”.
Additional Add-Ins:
Pasta: I love my salad to feel more like a meal so I add pasta to it. If you’re making this salad gluten-free or as a simple side for a backyard BBQ on a hot summer night, the pasta can be left out. When I make this meal on Sunday to have lunches for the week, the pasta helps keep me full until dinner.
Feta Cheese: Feta cheese has a soft crumble and an unique acidic tang, the flavor and texture makes it the perfect add in.
Kalamata Olives: These Greek olives are just the best. Make sure to buy already pitted olives.
Basil: To make this summer salad fresher I like to garnish it with a simple basil chiffonade. This is totally optional. Watch this video about how to complete the SAVEUR technique.
Make it Gluten-Free
Skip the orzo pasta. It’s still a great salad.
Prep Ahead
This easy cucumber and tomato salad only gets better with time. It’s so easy to prep ahead and store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If you do this, wait to add in the optional feta cheese, olives and basil until you are ready to serve.
Easy Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups Cucumbers, chopped (about 2 cucumbers)
- 2 cups Tomatoes, chopped
- ½ small Purple Onion, thinly sliced
- 3 TBSP Vinegar (see notes above)
- Pinch of Salt
Additional Add-Ins
- Cooked Orzo Pasta about 1 cup
- Crumbled Feta Cheese
- Kalalmata Olives
- Chiffonade Basil (see instructional video link in notes above)
Instructions
- If you are adding pasta, cook pasta al-dente in salted water. Drain and let cool.
- While the pasta is cooking, you can do your prep for the salad, dice the cucumbers and tomatoes into about 1/4 inch cubes. If you're using cherry tomatoes, I half them. It's most important that they are all similar sizes.
- Thinly slice the purple onion.
- In a bowl, mix together the cucumbers, tomatoes, onion. Add in your vinegar and salt, toss until coated.
- Add in your pasta. With a spoon carefully stir bottom-up to combine ingredients until evenly distributed. Right before serving, add the feta cheese, olives and the basil.
Video
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