Asian Cucumber Salad (Addictive!)

This Asian Cucumber Salad is a quick and easy summer side dish, tossed in a delicious sesame-lime dressing. It takes less than 15 minutes to throw together, and has an addictive crunch that will have you coming back for more.

How Do You Prepare Cucumbers?

The main effort involved in making this salad is slicing the cucumbers into bite-sized pieces. Depending on your preferences, you can remove the seeds or leave them alone. The salad will be slightly more watery if you leave the seeds in and let the salad sit out for too long.

When I’m making this for my family, I quickly slice the cucumbers leaving the seeds in for maximum speed and nutrition. However, if I’m bringing this salad to a party where it might sit out for a bit, I’ll take the time to slice the cucumber lengthwise first, then I’ll use a spoon to scoop the seeds out.

How Do You Cut Cucumbers for Salad?

There are two ways you can cut the cucumbers for this salad. The first way is into larger, 1 1/2-inch chunks, which leaves you with a sturdier salad. The second way is to slice the cucumber in half lengthwise first, and then cut the cucumber halves into thin, half-moon shapes.

This is the texture I prefer when eating cucumber salad, but keep in mind that the cucumber will start to wilt and sweat a little faster with this method. It’s best to toss the cucumbers in the salad dressing just before serving to help keep their crunch in tact.

How to Make Cucumber Salad

Once you’ve sliced the cucumbers, making this salad is easy. In a large bowl, combine the lime juice, sesame oil, ginger, salt, and honey, and whisk to combine. Then you’ll add in the chopped cucumbers, green onions, and fresh mint leaves.

I recommend serving this salad as soon as you’ve tossed the cucumbers with the dressing, as the cucumbers will sweat as they sit in the bowl. This can dilute the flavor if it sits too long, but you can always add an extra squeeze of lime juice or season with extra salt, as needed.

If you’re planning on making this salad ahead of time, store the cucumbers separately from from the dressing so that they will stay crisp, then toss them together right before serving.

Cucumber Salad Recipe (1-minute video):

Asian Cucumber Salad (Addictive!)

5 from 7 votes

This Asian Cucumber Salad is a refreshing summer side dish, featuring an easy sesame-lime dressing. You need just one bowl and 15 minutes to make it!

prep15 mins cook0 mins total15 mins

Servings:4

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Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil
• 1 teaspoons freshly minced or grated ginger , or to taste
• 1 tablespoon honey (use maple syrup for vegan)
• salt
• 1 English cucumber (or 5-6 baby cucumbers); sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves , finely chopped
• 3 green onions , chopped
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds , for serving

Instructions

• In a large bowl, whisk together the lime juice, sesame oil, ginger, honey and ½ teaspoon salt.
• Add in the cucumbers, mint, and green onions, and toss gently to coat. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
• Sprinkle sesame seeds over the top and serve right away. This salad will become watery when stored in the fridge, so I recommend storing the cucumbers and dressing separately if you need to store it for more than a few hours. The sliced cucumbers should last for up to 3 days in the fridge before getting soggy.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 107kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 288IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 1mg

Author: Megan Gilmore

Course: Salad

Cuisine: gluten-free

Keyword: asian cucumber salad

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Cucumber Salad Nutrition (for 1/4 of the batch): Calories: 107, Fat: 8g, Carbohyrdates: 9g, Fiber: 1g, Protein: 1g

Recipe Notes:

• You can swap lemon juice for the lime juice, or use a mix of both.
• For a vegan salad, use maple syrup instead of the honey, or try coconut nectar. These are both slightly less sweet than honey, so you might want to use a little more to your taste.

If you try this salad, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it. And if you make any substitutions, I’d love to hear how that works for you, too. We can all benefit from hearing about your experience.

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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite way to serve cucumbers?