This vegan cucumber summer salad is perfect for those hot long summer days. It’s refreshing and easy with in-season vegetables.
Jump to RecipeBack in March, when the COVID pandemic hit, we had to cancel Ryan’s birthday party. When we did, I asked friends and family to send him birthday cards so he still had something special. A few people in my sister’s gardening group sent him seed packets to plant. Among those were cucumbers and tomatoes. So, we figured we would try it and see what happens!
We also planted radishes and cooked those up recently. This time, we used the cucumber and tomatoes to make them into a refreshing summer salad. At least, according to Justin and our friends who were over it was refreshing. You may recall, I don’t eat cucumbers. But I know a lot of people like them, and we had so many growing in the garden.
The cucumber summer salad is dairy-free, so it would be great for taking to family picnics. You don’t have to worry about it needing to stay refrigerated unless you just prefer your veggies to be chilled.

Step by Step
Slice the cucumber and yellow onion. Dice the tomato into bite-sized chunks.

Add cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes to a medium mixing bowl. Gently mix with a wooden spoon.

In a small bowl, whisk the dill, thai basil, parsley, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Pour the mixed dressing over the vegetables in the medium bowl. Toss gently to coat the vegetables.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Toss one more time and serve chilled.

Leftovers
Place any leftover Cucumber Summer Salad back in the refrigerator in a covered container. Toss again before serving. This will only last about 1-2 days before the vegetables start to break down in the dressing.

Recipe
Originally Published On: August 28, 2020

Cucumber Summer Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 3 tomatoes
- 1 tbsp dill (fresh)
- 1/2 tbsp Thai basil (fresh)
- 1/2 tbsp parsley (fresh)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Slice the cucumber and yellow onion
- Dice the tomato into bite-sized chunks
- Add cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes to a medium mixing bowl
- Gently mix with a wooden spoon
- In a small bowl, whisk the dill, thai basil, parsley, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper
- Pour the mixed dressing over the vegetables in the medium bowl
- Toss gently to coat the vegetables
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
- Toss one more time and serve chilled
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Such a great way to use up summer produce. A lovely light salad.
We love being able to use fresh produce at the peak of its season 🙂
What a lovely salad! I can’t wait to make this! This looks so delicious!
It’s delicious and so refreshing for hot summer days!
So simple to make and lovely! I really enjoyed the Thai basil addition, it is a bold flavor but really matched the freshness of the salad!
I have so much Thai basil growing in our garden, we had to find ways to use it 🙂
What a great idea for a birthday present! Especially for a spring birthday! This salad looks great, I can’t wait to try it. I love enjoying all the fresh produce this time of year!
It was so perfect for him and for our family! Produce fresh from our own backyard garden is the best.
I finally have cucumbers coming out of my garden. This is the perfect summer salad. I could eat it for every meal.
It’s so great to have ways to use that fresh garden produce. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I love a summer salad! Strawberries and cucumbeers are two of my go to ingredients! Yum!
It’s always nice to have a refreshing salad in the summer 🙂
Nothing beats fresh veggies from your garden. What a refreshing salad this is!
I agree! They taste so much better when they are home-grown.
Looks delicious 🤤This is my favourite salad but I make it in my typical Indian bengali style with small carrot pieces, 2 drops mustard oil, pepper, salt and cilantro 😊I will try it with red wine vinegar, olive oil and dill!
Oh, I didn’t think about adding carrots. I bet that would be a great addition to it.
You always have the best and the quickest recipes and the satisfaction of the fresh home grown organic veggies is a whole new level. Can’t wait to try it this weekend.
Yes! The fresh veggies straight from the garden is the best!