This healthy tomato and cucumber salad is simple to make, low-cost, fresh, and delicious! Best of all, it’s so versatile, you’ll never tire of it – the perfect side dish for all kinds of proteins, at BBQs and potlucks, and healthy addition to wraps!

There are versions of cucumber and tomato salads all over the world, with this version laying somewhere between a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cucumber tomato salad. The simple combination of cucumbers and tomatoes with mint and a simple lemon, garlic, and olive oil dressing is the perfect side dish and addition to wraps!

Many very simple salad dishes make it to the table weekly year-round in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine, whether it’s this tabbouleh, fatteh, Lebanese creamy cucumber yogurt salad (Kh’yar bi laban), and heirloom burrata Caprese salad. This cucumber, tomato, and mint salad is another!

All you need is just a few fresh ingredients for a delicious and nutritious dish! Even better, if you grow your own produce, the freshest, ripest tomatoes and cucumbers will, of course, be spectacular. And the simple salad dressing really allows the fresh produce to shine!

Best of all, this easy cucumber tomato salad is so versatile – there are 1001 different versions you can make for a salad you’ll never tire of. With just a simple ingredient substitution or addition, you can make a Greek tomato-cucumber salad, a creamy version, cucumber tomato and onion salad, etc. Keep reading for some of my favorite add-ins!

The Ingredients

• Cucumber: you can use any type of cucumber, though low-seed or seedless varieties will be less “mushy” if you want to prepare the salad in advance. English, Persian, and garden cucumber all work. I’d peel the garden cucumbers, which have a thicker skin that can be bitter.
• Tomatoes: I love to use cherry tomatoes/vine tomatoes chopped in half. However, feel free to use any ripe, juicy tomatoes and chop them into smaller pieces. Other favorites of mine include heirloom and Roma tomatoes.
• Chili: I love to add a finely chopped red chili to this cucumber and tomato salad recipe. Feel free to substitute the type of chili based on how spicy you like food or omit it entirely.
• Mint: I use a combination of dried mint and fresh mint within this recipe. If you’re not a mint fan, read below for alternatives. You could also, optionally, add a little dried sumac.

The Dressing

The cucumber tomato salad dressing is a straightforward olive oil and lemon dressing with some fresh garlic.

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Garlic: check out this post How to Peel Garlic (6+ Ways Tested).
• Lemon juice: Please don’t use bottled lemon. Fresh every single time!

Optional Add-Ins and Recipe Variations

• Red Onion: not everyone likes raw onion. However, red onion is sweeter than yellow and adds a wonderful burst of tang to the tomato-cucumber salad.
• Other herbs: feel free to experiment with other herbs – parsley, dill, and basil are my other favorite options. Green onion and oregano will also work. 
• Lettuce: if you want to bulk it up, feel free to add some leafy greens such as lettuce or spinach.
• Balsamic: cucumber and tomato both pair amazingly with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar (or you can top them with balsamic caviar). You could also add a splash of apple cider vinegar for the tang (and the health benefits).
• Avocado: for a cucumber tomato avocado salad, keep all the ingredients the same and add 1-2 diced avocados. Feel free to experiment with the herbs and add onion to this version, too.
• Nuts/Seeds: for a bit more crunch, feel free to add some chopped almonds or a little of this omega sprinkle.
• Greek cucumber tomato salad: add a red onion finely sliced, a handful of black olives chopped in half or slices, and some feta cheese (or vegan feta cheese). Feel free to swap the mint for oregano or other more classical Mediterranean herbs for this Mediterranean cucumber tomato salad version.
• Creamy tomato and cucumber salad: similarly to my creamy Lebanese cucumber yogurt salad, you can omit the oil from the dressing and instead add Plain/Greek yogurt to the fresh salad.
• Mexican cucumber tomato salad: use cilantro in place of mint and add avocado, a green (or red) bell pepper, and optionally some corn or black beans.

How To Make Tomato and Cucumber Salad

First, chop the tomatoes and cucumbers. This will vary on the size of the ingredients used. For these small cucumbers and these tomatoes, I halved the tomatoes and quartered the cucumber.

Remove the stem, deseed, and finely chop the chili now too. Once chopped, add them to a large bowl.

Then, add the remaining ingredients. You can mince or grate the garlic. If using a garlic grater plate, juice your lemon over it to loosen it to pour over the salad.

Feel free to chop the mint leaves or leave them larger and then stir gently to combine everything well.

How To Store

This tomato and cucumber salad is best enjoyed fresh when the ingredients are freshest and crunchiest. As they sit in the refrigerator, both the cucumbers and tomatoes will start to soften and release their juices so the salad will become softer. To store, cover the bowl with clingfilm and aim to eat within 1-2 days.

Note: If you want to prepare this salad in advance, omit the salt (which encourages the vegetables to release their liquids). Instead, add the salt just before serving. The marinated salad will actually taste wonderful after a few hours of melding together.

How To Serve

There are several ways to enjoy this cucumber salad with tomatoes. Some of my favorite options include:

• Alongside falafels (traditional fried or baked) and within falafel wraps
• Alongside or within other wraps – like this Healthy Grilled Eggplant and Halloumi Wrap or this globally-inspired tortilla trend wraps.
• As a side dish to your favorite proteins, chicken, kebabs, fish, or even tofu – like this crispy tofu. 
• Serve as a side to this creamy hummus and pita.
• As a side dish to other ‘mains’ like stuffed baked potatoes, stuffed tomatoes or stuffed veggies.
• Adapt the tomato-cucumber salad into a pasta salad with your favorite pasta of choice: oat pasta, vegan pasta, rainbow pasta, etc. Increase the dressing as needed. 

Recipe Notes

• If you want to make this tomato cucumber salad to store in the fridge for several days, use seedless cucumbers or remove the seeds from your cucumbers to avoid them becoming too soggy as the liquid releases. You can do the same for the tomatoes if there are many seeds (as you can do for Pico de Gallo).
• This marinated tomato and cucumber salad actually tastes even better when it’s had a few hours marinating in the refrigerator!
• The garlic will mellow as it sits in the lemon juice – if you want to serve it immediately

Other Salad Recipes

• Heirloom Burrata Caprese Salad (Burrata Salad)
• Massaged Kale Salad with Lemon (+ Variations)
• Lebanese Creamy Cucumber Yogurt Salad (Kh’yar bi laban)
• Easy Spinach and Blackberry Salad
• The Perfect Spinach Strawberry Salad
• Summery Panzanella Salad (Tuscan-style Tomato and Bread Salad)

You can also check out my full list of salads too!

If you try this recipe, then let me know your thoughts and questions in the comments. I’d also really appreciate a recipe card rating (below) and would love to see your recreations – just tag @AlphaFoodie.