This is my (current) favourite Cucumber Salad. With a can’t-miss combination of fresh Mediterranean flavours – garlicky lemon dressing, fresh dill and mint, salty crumbled feta – it’s good enough for company and quick enough for dinner tonight. Plus swap out options – I don’t always have fresh herbs!
Mediterranean Cucumber Salad
Cucumber might be my favourite vegetable. (By “vegetable”, I mean the fresh, virtuous non-starchy kind. Potatoes are in a separate category – my family doesn’t call me Potato Girl for nothing.)
I think I’ve done more iterations of cucumber salads than any other vegetable – from tangy creamy ones to spicy Asian ones, smashed, pickled, herby, and everything in between. And here I am today with another one. I just love them!
This one is full of bright Mediterranean flavours. I adore the combination of mint and dill, they make cucumbers taste even more refreshing, especially with a fresh lemon dressing. Add a crumble of feta, and watch how quickly this salad disappears!
Ingredients in Cucumber Salad
There’s not much that goes in this. But I’m sharing my swap-out options too, because I don’t always have fresh herbs, or a lemon. Though obviously if you change everything, you’ll end up with a completely different salad!
1. For the salad
Cucumbers – I prefer using Lebanese cucumbers in this salad because it’s juicier and the skin is soft enough to eat without peeling. If you use the long ones (telegraph / continental / English cucumbers), the skin can be a little tough so you might want to do zebra stripe peels or completely peel.
Greek feta – The recipe only calls for a little bit, just 50g (about 1/4 cup crumbled). It’s not much but makes a difference! I can’t think of a substitute. Instead, add an extra 1/4 teaspoon of salt into the dressing (essential, as it’s light on dressing because there’s salt in the feta) and if you want, give the salad another point of interest, like lemon zest (add this into the dressing) or chopped olives.
Fresh dill and mint – This combination is just everything to bring bright freshness to salads! Dill is a natural friend of cucumber while mint makes the whole salad taste extra fresh. If you don’t have fresh herbs, add dried herbs into the dressing instead – dill, mint or oregano. All these have Mediterranean vibes!
Red onion – Just one quarter, finely sliced, to bring a little sharpness and crunch without taking over. Substitute with finely sliced green onion.
2. lemon garlic dressing
Lemon, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper is all you need – in the right proportions!
Lemon juice – You can’t beat fresh lemon juice in a lemon dressing, though if you don’t have any, I’d rather use a vinegar than bottled lemon juice. Red or white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar are my go-to choices for dressings, and all will work beautifully here.
Extra virgin olive oil – The better your oil, the better your dressing! So pull out your good stuff here. 🙂
Garlic – Just one small garlic clove, crushed using a garlic crush or finely grated. Don’t go too wild with the garlic else it will dominate and be too harsh.
Salt and pepper – To season the salad. I only use 1/4 heaped teaspoon of salt, not much for the mound of cucumbers. But you get plenty of salt from the feta.
How to make Mediterranean Cucumber Salad
The jar-shaking method is my favourite way to make dressings because it’s quick and mixes everything together really well so the oil and vinegar don’t separate. Plus, the jar doubles as storage when you make extra.
Dressing – Shake the dressing ingredients in a jar until they are well combined and a creamy yellow colour. (Or whisk in a small bowl). Set aside – Put the dressing aside while you chop all the ingredients. This will give the garlic a chance to meld into the dressing (it only needs a few minutes).
Salad – Put all the salad ingredients in a bowl except a bit of feta, save it for sprinkling on at the end. Then pour the dressing over.
Toss, toss, toss!
Garnish and serve – Pour the cucumber salad into a serving bowl then sprinkle with remaining feta. Ready to serve!
Hand on heart, I had a big bowl of this for lunch yesterday, standing at the kitchen bench as I mentally added up the list of meaty and chocolatey and cheesy and noodly things I’d been making that morning and were to come that afternoon.
This thing I do that I call a job – being surrounded by outrageously good food all day – means I need to find absurdly delicious ways to eat wholesome food, just to balance it all out! But if you’re a normal person making this as a side dish, try it alongside a simple seasoned chicken breast (that’s my go-to recipe) a pan seared fish fillet or Lemon Garlic Pork Chops.
THINGS TO SERVE WITH THIS CUCUMBER SALAD
I can also see it stuffed inside a a wrap with Greek Chicken Gyros (or this one from Kalimera Souvlaki Art) or Greek Lamb Koftas. Otherwise, for a mega spread, make big kebab plates with shavings of Chicken or Lamb Doner Kebab meat , homemade Charcoal Chicken Shop Skewers and a steaming pile of Garlic Butter Rice or Lebanese Lentil Rice (Mejadra). How good does that sound!!! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Mediterranean Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 500g / 1 lb Lebanese cucumbers , ~3 medium, sliced in 3-4mm / 1/8″ thick (US: Persian cucumbers, mini cucumbers in the UK) – Note 1
- 1/4 red onion , finely sliced
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh dill (Note 2 if you don’t have)
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh mint (Note 2 if you don’t have)
- 1/3 cup (50g) crumbled Greek feta (Note 3)
Lemon Garlic Dressing:
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (substitute white or red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar)
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small garlic clove , crushed using garlic press or finely grated using microplane
- 1/4 heaped tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Dressing – Shake the ingredients in a jar until well combined (or whisk in a bowl). Set aside to let the flavours meld while you chop.
- Toss – Put the cucumbers, herbs, onion and most of the feta in a bowl (reserve a bit for topping). Add dressing and toss.
- Serve – Pour into a serving bowl. Top with remaining feta and serve straight away, though it keeps well for an hour, and I still enjoy it the next day (it becomes semi-pickled).
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Jaffle
I got this fencing to contain Jaffle. Now I use it to keep him out! The lengths I have to go to give the lawn a chance to heal after Jaffle excavation episodes…..
But, I’m out of fencing. What next? Laundry baskets, I’m thinking. The lawn is going to look ridiculous. 😂
Delicious! Added a little drizzle of maple syrup at the end as I love sweet and sour, it was perfect!
Hello Nagi,
Just tried the cucumber salad, with the lemon dressing, it was a hit! Miigwetch/thank you,
Catherine
So glad you and the family enjoyed it, Catherine! And Miigwetch right back to you 🙂 – N x
Just picked 20 cucumbers this morning and made this for lunch.delicious, hubby loved it too! Your recipes never have failed me. Makes me look like I can cook. Refreshing and light.
Your recipes have gained me so many compliments. Your attention to detail answer all questions before they come up.
Blessings, may Jaffle keep you young for many years to come!
20 cucumbers!! Well this recipe landed at exactly the right time 😂 So glad you and your husband loved it, Tania. And I’m not sure Jaffle is keeping me young – I think he’s ageing me!! – N x
Yum. I make similar using my garden cukes and dill, so fresh and good.
Garden cucumbers and fresh dill – you’re already halfway there! Such a lovely fresh combination 🙂 – N x
I just wanted to add a big THANK YOU for spelling out all the names of each vegetable!! It’s so hard following an international recipe when you have no idea what they’re using! Who knew vegetables have aliases! Cucumber and kale are the worst offenders and they turn up everywhere. Most of the time subbing out for a recognisable item works but other times you get an inedible salty dish (what is kosher salt? I’ve convinced myself it’s rock salt. Looks like dishwasher salt but goes in your salt and pepper grinders 😂). Or an inedible texture dish – I swear cavolo nero and all it’s aliases cooks faster than curly kale, and only one belongs in a salad!… I’ve done a lot of trial and error over the years, research and understanding, but cucumbers are the latest “what” moment.
Vegetable aliases!! 😂 I know exactly what you mean – soooo many different names!! I do try to translate ingredients wherever I can because nobody should need a research project just to make dinner. 🙂 – N x
Re your lawn issues with Jaffle. Try taking the fencing sections apart so you end up with 4 pieces which you can either lay flat over his excavation holes or raise up slightly using bricks etc (keeping it off the recovering grass). Add a few extra bricks on top to weight each section down or he’ll probably just nudge them aside.
*And, tip for you – get one of those rigid plastic paddling pools like for kiddies and fill it with builders sand. Jaffle will probably love digging in that. You can even ‘help’ by burying a couple of his favourite toys in there initially. Dogs, especially young ones, love sandpits to play and dig in. Keeps them from destroying the entire lawn by redirecting that digging behavior that they adore so much.
Love today’s recipe too thanks.
Oh I LOVE the sandpit idea Diane!! Though knowing Jaffle, he’ll dig in the sandpit AND the lawn 😂 I’m definitely going to look into it. And so glad you enjoyed the salad too! – N x
Yum. Yum! And just in case you don’t pick up on the vibe here – YUM! I love cucumber, olive oil, fresh lemon juice and fresh herbs and feta… and I NEED to make this, preferably right now but it’s late so tomorrow will have to do.
Thanks Nagi!
Ha! I am DEFINITELY picking up the vibe Diane 😂 I think this salad has your name written all over it! Hope you love it as much as I do. – N x
I love cucumbers, too. This recipe needs lots more feta and red onion to suit me, and my Lemon EVOO (from Sciabica) will be perfect here. I’ll use fresh-cracked white pepper for its sharper taste. It’ll make a yummy meal with rye bread for dipping.
More feta is never a bad idea in my books! 😂 Sounds like you’ve got your perfect version all planned out, Hollis. – N x
Went to Carriageworks and bought a ton of cucumbers. Normally I can eat them on their own as it’s my lazy girl dinner but I made this tonight, minus the feta and it was awesome! Glad to spruce up my dinners now. Thank you!
Beautiful!! I heard there was a food show on there last weekend?? Did you go?? – N xx
I went to it (The Little Food Market, for anyone wondering) last Friday & thought it was pretty good! Tickets were a decent price I thought ($15 for a basic ticket, but at least ALL tickets included a recycleable cup for tastings, unlike another well known food & wine event that makes you pay extra for it*cough*GoodFood&WineShow*cough*). For their first time holding it in Sydney, they did well I thought.
(In case anyone’s curious, it’s run by the folks behind The Big Design Market AND this market is happening again next year.)
I love dill but have coriander and mint in the garden currently. What do you reckon?
100% yes!! Middle Eastern edge 🎉🎉🎉
😍
I wish you could hear my laughter now. The ‘grass recovery cage’ had me in stitches. I just fenced in an area in our flowerbed, where a very sad, chopped hosta is on life support after a brutal puppy attack. I also used a mini playpen that was supposed to keep our new puppy, Luna (now 13 weeks and 24 pounds), in.
Thank you for sharing! I needed a laugh after the sad news (Dolly passed away 😢). My garden is on life support after suffering 3 months of stupid hot weather (yes I’m aware this weather is normal elsewhere). I’ve never seen it so barren before…
It was so shocking and so sad 😭 I feel like she was universally loved.
She was indeed!
Oh no, poor hosta!! 😂 I love that we’re both using puppy playpens for everything EXCEPT containing the puppy. Luna and Jaffle clearly went to the same gardening school! – N x
Nagi, All summer I’ve been dealing with the same problem with my 3 dogs. I have been using large plastic flower pots and wire tomato cages. My back yard does look ridiculous and they still find places to dig. Good thing we love our dogs!
Definitely going to try the cucumber 🥒 salad. Perfect for the summer weather we are having here in Washington state. Plus good for calorie watching too!
Mine is going to look even more ridiculous very soon at this rate!!! Enjoy the rest of summer Janet, looking forward to ours starting soon!!
Hi Nagi,
Get Jaffle his own sandpit, we did that and they love having their own place to dig.
LOOKING INTO IT RIGHT NOW!!! Thank you so much for this tip Sharon!
Pressed start for the video but got this message “We’re processing this video. Check back later.”.
Yikes! Thank you Pat, checking it now.
Chicken wire for Jaffle, or take the four sides apart and lay them down. It’s so frustrating at the time but as you, they’re not little (and a lil bit naughty) forever!! Be a good boy, Jaffle!!
I know, I keep reminding myself the naughty puppy stage doesn’t last forever! Though Jaffle seems determined to make the most of it 😂 Thank you for the chicken wire tip! I have it in the garden beds to stop bush turkey’s from scratching which totally works. Might have to try it for jaffle too!!- N x
WOW how quickly is Jaffle growing!
TOO FAST!! I swear he gets bigger overnight 😭😂 – N x
I love this; it’s the opposite of perhaps partner to mine; instead of cucumber I use cherry tomatoes, red onion, and the dressing EXACTLY THE SAME!!!! No feta and I use fresh basil, cracked black pepper & lots of raw garlic!!!
NOW IM GOING TO MAKE YOURS NAGI!!!
Ha! It really does sound like the tomato sister to this salad 😂 And I’m fully on board with the lots-of-garlic approach! Hope you love the cucumber version too. – N x
We have a glut of cucumbers 🥒 in the garden so look forward to making this. Also love feta!
This recipe has arrived at exactly the right time! 😂 Hope you love it Caroline. – N x
Looking forward to the future events and fun.
They grow so fast
Way too fast Leeanne! I’m trying to enjoy every bit of this crazy puppy stage while it lasts. 🙂 – N x
Yum yum ! I love cucumber too! Very light and refreshing and I can eat it by itself no worries. Love trying new variations to change it up a bit and easy to put it with other things. Thank you so much !
Yes I don’t miss the puppy stage as I’ve done that enough over the years but my chooks make just as much mess and more digging and scratching around. My lawn (sorry now it’s lumpy weedy half grass half dirt yard looks very poor but the eggs are bl….dy delicious and my chooks are gorgeous and all have personalities so I have to weigh it up 😂
Ha! I think delicious fresh eggs are a very fair trade for a slightly destroyed lawn 😂 At least Jaffle isn’t contributing anything nearly as useful for his excavations!! – N x