This Tomato Cucumber Salad Recipe is full of flavor, fresh, and light. It’s an easy salad made with fresh cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, and crunchy red onion, covered in a sweet, tangy, oil-free Italian dressing.
It’s that time of year when the last thing you want to do is cook. But it’s also the season for farmer’s markets and fresh veggies. If you are looking for a delicious and light summer meal, then you need this simple cucumber tomato salad – NOW!
I’ll admit that when the summer months arrive, the last thing I want to do is fire up a hot oven. And, with this recipe, you don’t have to. It’s a simple salad, a great side dish, or a light lunch for a hot day.
Inspired by my Creamy Cucumber Tomato salad with mayo, I wanted to create something light and simple.
Thin slices of English cucumbers, ripe tomatoes, and savory slivers of red onion are drenched with a healthy homemade Italian dressing. This dish is sure to become one of your summer staples at home or any family gathering.
Ingredients & substitutions
A few simple ingredients are all you need to make this delicious salad. Cherry tomatoes, bites of crisp cucumber, tomatoes, and a simple oil-free dressing.
- English cucumbers: Regular cucumbers or even little Persian cucumbers work as well.
- Cherry tomatoes: You can also use grape tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, or even heirloom tomatoes. But you will have to slice the bigger tomatoes into bite-sized pieces.
- Onion: The flavor of red onion is perfect for this salad, but sweet onions are also an option.
- Red wine vinegar: Adds a tangy zing. However, you may also use balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar.
- Sweetener: Pure maple syrup balances the tanginess and is better than refined table sugar. Honey, agave, or even coconut nectar will work.
- Seasonings: Oregano is my personal preference, but you can experiment with other herbs, such as fresh basil or fresh dill.
- Salt and black pepper to taste
How to make tomato cucumber salad
Summer salads are great because they’re simple and require no cooking. This refreshing salad incorporates the best flavors and eliminates all the bad things like olive oil.
- Place the sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, and onion into a large bowl.
- To a small bowl, add the dressing ingredients and whisk until everything is well combined.
- Pour the dressing over the salad mixture and lightly toss until all the veggies are coated.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. But for the best results, I suggest a couple of hours.
- Optional: garnish with some chopped fresh parsley and squeeze lemon juice to add a punch of fresh flavor.
Serving suggestions
This tomato cucumber salad is the perfect summer side dish for carrot hot dogs and veggie burgers. But here are a few of my other recipes to enjoy with it.
FAQs
You can store this refreshing salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a couple of days. It’s even better the next day!
Tomato and cucumber salads can help with losing by satisfying your hunger without adding a ton of calories.
You can if you want, but I leave the peel. The peel is healthy as well.
No. My personal preference is English cucumbers, but any will work.
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My dear friend, Donya, inspired this recipe at A Southern Soul.
Healthy Tomato Cucumber Salad (No Oil)
This Tomato Cucumber Salad Recipe is full of flavor, fresh, and light. It’s an easy salad made with fresh cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, and crunchy red onion, covered in a sweet, tangy, oil-free Italian dressing.
- Prep Time: 10 mins.
- Chill time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 mins.
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Salads & Dressings
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: Vegan
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 English cucumber, sliced
- 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- ½ red onion thinly sliced (I used a mandoline slicer)
For the dressing
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, and onion into a large bowl.
- To a small bowl, add the dressing ingredients and whisk until everything is well combined.
- Pour the dressing over the salad mixture and lightly toss until all the veggies are coated.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. But for the best results, I suggest a couple of hours.
- Optional: garnish with some chopped fresh parsley and squeeze lemon juice to add a punch of fresh flavor.
Notes
Store leftovers for a couple of days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 31
- Sugar: 5.1 g
- Sodium: 4.5 mg
- Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 7.3 g
- Fiber: 0.8 g
- Protein: 0.7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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Wow, top notch! Added a few red flakes. Will definitely make again. Love the no-oil dressing. Well done & thank you!
I’ve made this twice as written. Trying tonight with white balsamic and dried dill weed. So many ways to mix this up and no oil necessary!
I made this yesterday for our family Sunday dinner. It was a huge hit!!! I tripled the recipe for 8 people and there was very little left. I didn’t have English cucumbers, but had 16 cucumbers from our co-op and now have used half of them. Used my dicer for both the cucumbers and onions.
I just made another big batch to eat over the next few days! Great recipe. Thank you so much!
Wow, that’s awesome!!!
This Tomato Cucumber Salad Recipe is full of flavor, fresh, and light. It’s an easy salad made with fresh cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, and crunchy red onion, covered in a sweet, tangy, oil-free Italian dressing.
My new go to recipe for cucumber salad. I’ve been looking for an oil free recipe for several years, and this one hits the spot! Thank you!
Thank you ! Tasty and light indeed
Love it, I added Chic peas to it, I always love chic peas in all my salads,
Hello! What can I sub red wine vinegar with? Dying to try this today! TY!
Hi, Donna! You could use any vinegar really.
Could you use balsamic, instead of red?
Absolutely.
Sure thing.
AMAZING!!! We tripled the recipe and added a can of cannellini beans to it, served it with warm pita bread and had a fantastic super easy meal! Definitely a keeper!! Would be great for a potluck! 🙂
Awesome! That sounds so good!
This is so simple and delicious! Made it in 5 minutes from the early bounty of my small garden. Will definitely make again. Thank you!
Do you know the serving size? Like is it a one cup serving or 1/2 cup. I realize it says 8 servings but I can’t figure out how to tell what the serving size is. I am making it today and I follow WW so it’s very helpful to me if I know the serving size. Thank you
Hi, Melissa. It should be roughly one cup more or less. Hope this helps.
So yummy!! My husband and I cut most of our oil usage four years ago when we switched our family to a plant based diet. This was delicious and had no need for oil!! This is a spring/summer keeper for sure!! Thank you!
Thanks for posting this. Was looking for a no oil recipe of this classic and this worked great. Only recommendation would be to eat that same day, or remove dressing for leftovers as it gets over saturated over night.
Because my vegetable garden is giving me so much tomatoes and cucumbers and wanted to make a oil free salad, your recipe was a big hit! simple to make and a dressing that I will be using often when I want to make a simple salad. Thank You!
I made this salad for a small gathering we had for the 4th. It was a hit! Delicious, super quick and easy. Thank you for sharing your recipes!
Awesome!