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Cool and crisp, this flavorful Greek Cucumber Tomato Salad will easily become your new favorite summer side dish.
You’ll be snacking on this straight from the fridge.
Refreshing. Unfussy. This Crunchy Greek Cucumber Tomato Salad is jam-packed with summer flavors. And the varying textures make it even more palatable; think crunchy toasted walnuts and crisp cucumbers tossed with juicy tomatoes and pillowy mozzarella balls. This medley is the perfect summer side dish, but leftovers make for a perfect lunch! I’ll also confess that this one’s a snacker. One that’ll have you picking at it straight out of the fridge. (No shame.)
The fresh list of ingredients:
- Mini cucumbers (you could use regular cukes, too.)
- Grape tomatoes
- Black olives
- Mozzarella pearls or bocconcini
- Roasted red peppers
- Red onion
- Walnuts
And if you’re making the vinaigrette:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Red wine vinegar
- Dijon mustard
- Honey
- Sea salt
The gist on making this Crunchy Greek Cucumber Tomato Salad.
First, toast your walnuts.
Heat a small pan over low-medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the roughly chopped walnuts to the pan and toast them until fragrant and lightly golden, tossing them occasionally to keep them from burning. This process shouldn’t take more than five minutes. Once they’re nicely toasted, remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.
Prepare the vinaigrette.
Whisk all of the vinaigrette ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste it, and adjust to your preference (a dash more salt, a bit more honey, etc.)
Bringing the salad together.
Place everything from the cucumbers to the toasted walnuts into a large serving bowl. Drizzle the vinaigrette over top, and toss to evenly coat all of the ingredients. Hit the salad with some cracked black pepper and give it another toss.
Recipe tips + tricks.
- If you prefer, you can use bottled Italian, Greek, or Balsamic vinaigrette instead of the recipe provided here. Or use your own trusted vinaigrette recipe! Start with 1/4 cup and work your way up. You don’t want to add too much.
- You can use crumbled feta instead of mozzarella.
- Toasted pine nuts in place of walnuts is a total hit. I use walnuts in this published recipe because they’re cheaper, but if you want to splurge, I highly recommend pine nuts.
- You can use kalamata olives if you’d like, but the taste is overpowering in the salad, so keep that in mind. Regular black olives are a little more tame and more suitable for this salad.
Other summer side salads you may like:
- Easy Dinner Side Salad with Lemon Juice
- Roasted Potato Salad with Citrus Bagna Cauda
- Healthy Crab Meat Salad with Lime
- Creamy Greek Pasta with Mackerel
Hope you enjoy!
If you plan on making this recipe, be sure to snap a pic and tag us on Insta! @killing__thyme.
Crunchy Greek Cucumber Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups roughly chopped mini cucumbers (about 4 mini cucumbers)
- 2 cups halved grape tomatoes
- 1 cup pitted black olives, cut in half
- 8 oz mozzarella pearls, drained, You can use bocconcini, but since they're a big bigger, cut them in half for better distribution.
- 4 oz jar of roasted red peppers, drained (if the peppers are whole, slice them into small strips)
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
- Cracked black pepper, to taste
Balsamic Vinaigrette.
- 1.5 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 1.5 TBSP balsamic vinegar
- 1 TBSP red wine vinegar
- 1 TBSP Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp pure honey
- Pinch of sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- To toast the walnuts, heat a small pan over low-medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the chopped walnuts and toast them until they're fragrant and lightly golden, tossing them occasionally to prevent burning. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.
- Place all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning to you preference.
- Transfer all ingredients, from the cucumbers to the toasted walnuts, into a large serving bowl. Drizzle it all with the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Add some cracked black pepper and give it another toss.
Nutrition
Oh wow, this easy, flavor packed, crunchy Greek cucumber tomato salad looks incredible. It’s perfect for a picnic or BBQ.
It definitely is!