This Mediterranean Cucumber Tomato Salad is so simple yet SO delicious I probably serve it alongside dinner or lunch about 4 times a week during the Spring and Summer time.
It’s just sooo bright, refreshing, nutritious and light. I could honestly eat it every night of the year and be one very happy gal.
But I usually wait until the juicy, vibrant, plump, red tomatoes start coming into season. Fresh, organic tomatoes in this salad really make all the difference.
Let’s talk for a second about the sandy, wintertime tomatoes offered in the grocery store all winter long. Blech!! Honestly, if you use those grainy, tasteless tomatoes in this salad you’ll be sorry! The tomatoes are the s-t-a-r of this Mediterranean Cucumber Tomato Salad so choose the freshest and juiciest ones you can find! 😉
No sandy tomatoes here.
Unless you are eating this Mediterranean Cucumber Tomato Salad on a sandy beach in the actual Mediterranean. And in that case, I am very jealous.
Do you guys have a particular dish that reminds you of a certain place? One reason I love this salad so much is because it reminds me of the Aegean sea in Turkey. My wonderful Stepmom is Turkish and whenever the family goes back to visit her folks, this salad is one of my favorite dishes. I probably eat it everyday I am there.
I mean, look at that plate of delicious food!!
The sea + the hot sun + family + this salad – what more could a girl ask for? #BringOnTheSalad #BringMeBackToTheSea 😉
Can you guys tell I’m having vacation nostalgia as I finish up this Master’s, lol! Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend wherever you are in the world 🙂
- 6-7 organic tomatoes, chopped
- 1½ cucumbers, chopped
- 1 hot red pepper (seeds in if you like a "kick"!)
- 1 stalk green onion, finely chopped
- ⅓ - ½ cup cilantro/parsley chopped
- ¼ - ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ tsp sea salt
- Chop up all the vegetables and cilantro/parsley. Throw the chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers (seeds in if you like a spicy "kick"). green onion and chopped parsely/cilantro into a large bowl.
- Pour in the freshly squeezed lemon juice and sea salt. Stir together. Add in additional sea salt or lemon juice to taste. Enjoy!
If you try this Mediterranean Cucumber Tomato Salad, I love hearing about it and seeing your delicious #CearasKitchen creations. Share your photos with me on Instagram @CearasKitchen (and remember to tag #CearasKitchen so I don’t miss it!) or share it on my Ceara’s Kitchen Facebook page.
42 comments
Hi Ceara:-)
This looks so yummy! Can’t wait to make it this week. Quick question – Do you core and seed the tomatoes before chopping or do you leave the seeds in?
Thanks!
why does Dr grundy say tomatoes are bad for you
Hello Ceara,
I used Kumiato sweet brown grape tomatoes, no cucumber. In addition, I diced up a jalapeno pepper(no seeds) along with the red hot peppers. Also, added some green bell pepper(quarter) with one small sweet yellow, orange, and red pepper each diced. Squeezed a little lime on along with the lemon. It’s a version of a tomato salad that is delicious. Thank you for your recipe without oil.
Thanks, but it’s not MEDITERRANEAN. It’s called Shirazi, and it’s originally Iranian.
Can I make this the night before being served?
Yes – if you cover and refrigerate. Enjoy!
Hi I was wondering what the cilantro/parsley meant. Is that a half and half mixture of the 2, or does it mean to pick one and use jsut that? Thanks!
Hi David,
You can use either parsley or cilantro or a mix of both – the total amount equaling up to 1/2 cup.
Hope this answers your question!
Ceara
This looks so refreshing!
Thank you! 🙂
Hey, that’s polewfur. Thanks for the news.
It takes what, two days to put to getehr a modular home in a factory, and another day to assemble it on site?And as juandos points out, the modular home factory actually has workers.
My husband just made this for my mom’s birthday party today. TO DIE FOR!! Delicious! Thank for the recipe.
So happy you guys enjoyed it! 🙂 Thank you for the lovely feedback!! Happy Birthday to your mom!! 🙂
Hi Ceara,
I think you are leaving out the most important ingredient to make it really Turkish – Pomegranate Molasses or the Spanish version, Melaza De Granada. Just drizzle this over the salad and maybe cut the lemon juice in half. Another item they normally add is chopped red onion.
I’m going to make this tonight!
Sounds delicious! I will have to try it with that! Lovely!
What are you incigatind, man? I recognize everyones got their own opinion, but really? Listen, your web log is cool. I like the work you put into it, specially with the vids and the pics. But, come on. Theres gotta be a better way to say this, a way that doesnt make it seem like most people here is stupid!
This is such a wonderful and easy recipe Ceara! I was drawn to it because my daughter and hubby both LOVE tomatoes and cucumbers, me not so much, lol, but I knew it would be perfect for them and I was right! It was such a hit with them and I love, loved how easy it was so make! I plan on making this a lot for them, thanks so much for such a pretty and easy recipe!!
I am SO pleased your hubby and daughter enjoyed this simple salad, Brandi! Thank you so much for your feedback! Your photo on Instagram of it is absolutely gorgeous! It is such a simple salad we honestly make it all the time around here all summer long! 🙂 Happy it will be a Summer regular salad for your family too!!
This salad looks awesome Ceara!! I could eat this as a side dish to all my meals too! And I so agree with you, there is no room for those gross tasteless tomatoes in a salad like this! Only fresh ones all summer long!
<3 Fresh tomatoes really do make all the difference! Thank you, Izzy!!
I can totally understand your love for Turkish food, Ceara! The salad is definitely a bomb and looks so flavorful and refreshing! I am so much acquainted in our household to this flavor! I would just add a drizzle of extra Virgin olive oïl to suit my taste and my love for olive oïl! Outstanding salad, Ceara! Pinning!
Thank you so much, Hadia! Turkish food is my favorite cuisine – it is so flavorful and delicious 🙂 Thank you so much for the pin and have a wonderful day!
This looks so fresh and tasty. It would make a great BBQ side.
I love salads with a bit (or a lot) of chilli in them to give them a kick.
i look forward to trying it soon!
Thank you Mel! This salad makes such a fun BBQ side 🙂 Yay for salads with a bit of kick!
Love it! This is one of my favorite salads and it is very popular in Bulgaria! Need to make some tomorrow!
Thanks, Mira! 🙂 So happy you enjoy this salad too!
YUM! This looks amazing! Perf to go with lunch or dinner! Lovely recipe!! …also I hear ya on vacation nostalgia! I love looking back at old pix! SO fun!!
<3 Thanks Cailee!!
Ceara! I love this recipe! I have a garden that will have almost all the ingredients for this salad! pinned this! it will be a perfect-healthy-and light salad to make this summer when my veggies start coming up! YUMMM!
Thank you, Michele! I’m envious of your wonderful garden it sounds like 🙂 🙂
Looks so simple and bright and vibrant Ceara! This would be perfect for my hubby and daughter since they both love fresh tomatoes and cucumbers so much! I am not a big fan of them, but I make them freshly cut cucumbers and tomatoes ALL the time, so this would really take it up a notch. I’m totally making this for them! I’ll let you know when I do. Just need to get some fresh veggies. I just fed them the last cucumbers last night, lol.
Oh and by the way, what share system are you using for you pin buttons, FB buttons etc. up top? That is a lot of pins for just one day, so I’m assuming it is tracking ALL pins from all over pinterest. The way mine works is just shows the pins for when people actually visit the site and click the pin button, it doesn’t include all the ones from WITHIN pinterest. Thanks girl!
Thank you so much, Brandi! Your hubby and daughter would love this if they are a fan of tomato/cucumber dishes 🙂 Can’t wait to hear your feedback!
This is such a beautiful and colorful salad, Ceara! Love how light and fresh this is and I adore salads with tomatoes and cucumbers! Such a pretty vacation photo too 🙂
<3 Thanks Kelly! Love fresh salads this time of year!
We make this a lot, although we call it an Israeli salad. it goes really well with halloumi.
Thanks, Danni!! Happy to hear you enjoy it 🙂
What a light and refreshing salad Ceara! I absolutely love all things tomato (favorite food ever!!) and cucumbers are not far behind, but never have I combined the two this way. Exciting! And don’t you feel like the puffiness goes away under your eyes when you eat cucumbers? Especially after having a bad nights sleep. Well, maybe!!!
Thank you, Laura!! 🙂 Yay for fresh tomatoes – they are one of my favorite vegetables as well. And yes, cucumber really do help with the puffiness – they are such a magic food. Love them!!
I’m obsessed with cucumbers and tomatoes together. When I lived in a little apartment in the city, I often made a similar salad and would eat only that for dinner for like 4 days straight! So yum!! Your pictures are gorgeous too!
<3 Thank you so much, Jenn!! This kind of salad is such a staple around here too :)