This Cucumber, Onion and Tomato Salad is so easy and so out-of-this-world delicious, you will want to make it again and again and again. It's the perfect side dish salad for your summer picnics and potlucks!
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If you want a Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad recipe that will totally knock your socks off, look no further. Seriously. This. Is. It! This is the BEST one I have ever had. The dressing is perfectly sweet and tangy. It's so simple and so delicious, I can't get enough of it!
Summer is not over yet - even though it might feel like it if school has already started where you live (What's with that? We never started school before Labor Day!). I'm definitely not ready to jump on the let's-get-ready-for-fall and everything-pumpkin bandwagon just yet, so I've still got a few summer recipes coming your way! Let's make it last!!
Up here in north Northeast PA where it's just a tad cooler, our gardens are a bit behind everyone else's. Only in the last two weeks did we finally get a boat load of cucumbers, and we are only now starting to see some of our cherry tomatoes starting to turn red!
This salad is the perfect way to use them!
If you have tried my Cucumber and Onion Salad, this recipe is not that salad with some tomatoes thrown in. This salad has some different flavors and is a bit sweeter, so definitely give it a try too!
First off, I have to thank our new friends Dave and Kevin (Hi, guys!!) for this amazing recipe. Last week, we gave them some cucumbers from our garden, and Kevin used them to make this salad and gave us some to try. One word: WOW!
We loved it so much, we ate that batch and then immediately begged for the recipe so I could make it and share it. I have made it three times since, and it's only been a week! This salad is proof that sometimes the simplest recipes are the most delicious!
The secret to this bowl of summer deliciousness? The dressing! It's just a few simple ingredients, but damn, the flavor is sooo good! It's the perfect balance of sweet and tangy with just a hint of garlic and celery seed (the secret ingredient, in my opinion).
Ingredients You Need
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes in red and yellow, but you could use wedges or slices of regular-sized tomatoes)
- Onion (I use red just because I like the extra color)
- Sugar
- Apple cider vinegar
- Olive oil (not extra-virgin) or vegetable oil
- Garlic powder
- Celery seed
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Cucumber, Onion & Tomato Salad
For the absolute best flavor, use the best cucumbers and tomatoes you can get. If you have a garden overflowing with them, definitely use them in this recipe, or try to get them from a local farm stand/farmer's market.
I used cherry tomatoes in my salad because that is what's ripe in my garden right now, but Kevin made it with wedges of regular-sized tomatoes, which was really delicious. Use whatever you've got!
I use regular or light-tasting olive oil (or another neutral-tasting oil such as vegetable oil). I don't recommend using extra virgin olive oil, as it can have a very strong flavor that will overpower the simple deliciousness of the dressing.
The hardest part of this recipe is the waiting! But you have to let this salad sit in the fridge for at least two hours so that the cucumbers and tomatoes can take on the flavor of that super yummy dressing. Longer is better, but I have made this two hours before dinner and the flavor was still amazing!
Your patience will be rewarded. I promise!
Although this salad is at its most fresh and crisp on the day it's made, it holds up remarkably well in the fridge for a few days (and the flavor just gets better and better - although the veggies do start to lose a bit of their freshness).
After all of that first batch of salad was gone, David and I actually sat there eating spoonfuls of the dressing. I am not kidding. We want to put it on everything. I am definitely going to use it on my tossed salads!
I hope you try this Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad recipe and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
More Cucumber Recipes to Try
If you make this recipe, I'd love to know how it went! Please leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
📋Recipe
Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad
Ingredients
SALAD:
- 4 cups sliced cucumbers (about ⅛ inch thick), peeled or unpeeled (up to you)
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup sliced onion (I use red for the pretty color)
DRESSING:
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup regular or light-tasting olive oil (not extra virgin) or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Combine the cucumbers, tomatoes and onions in a large bowl.
- In a medium bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients; whisk until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
- Pour over the cucumber mixture and stir to combine.
- Cover and place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least two hours, stirring occasionally, to let the flavors combine (longer is even better!).
Notes
- For maximum freshness and crisp veggies, serve this the day you make it, although it does hold up pretty well for a few days in the refrigerator. The flavor actually gets better as it sits (but the veggies will start to lose their freshness).
- Instead of cherry tomatoes, you could use wedges or slices of regular-sized tomatoes.
- I do not recommend using extra virgin olive oil because it can have too strong a flavor which will overpower the simple deliciousness of the dressing.
- Calorie estimate is based on most of the dressing being left behind in the bowl and not actually eaten.
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