This crunchy and Refreshing Cucumber Salad is AIP, paleo, vegan, Whole30 and super refreshing! It’s the perfect side to grilled meats and heavier dishes and comes together in no time.
When I created this recipe, I was inspired by the delicious flavours of Japanese cucumber salads. These layered salads often have an incredible sweet-sour dressing made with some combination of rice vinegar, sesame, soy sauce and other non-AIP compliant ingredients.
This AIP-version includes cool, crisp cucumber, red onion, coconut aminos, apple cider vinegar and lime juice. Fresh cilantro and chives tie everything together for a well-balanced salad that is light, refreshing and vibrant. It’s the perfect accompaniment to your main dish!
Here’s how you make this Cucumber Salad
- To begin, toss chopped cucumbers with sea salt and place them in a colander to sweat out some water.
- Slice your red onion and place in a bowl with apple cider vinegar, coconut aminos, lime juice, cilantro and chives. While you wait on your cucumbers, let the onions macerate in this mixture. This light pickling helps take out some of the onion’s pungency and brings out its sweet notes.
- After 20 minutes, mix the onion mixture with the cucumbers and add additional salt to taste.
- Finally, I recommend you chill the salad until just before serving so that the cucumbers continue to marinate in all the flavours.
FAQs
Can I make this salad without coconut aminos?
The coconut aminos really provides this salad with a sweet flavor that nicely complements the lime. You might try replacing with balsamic vinegar, but the flavor would be really different.
Does this dish store well?
My recommendation is to enjoy this salad fresh. While this salad is great to make 20-30 minutes in advance of serving so that the cucumber really soaks up the flavors of the dressing, much longer than this and the salad starts getting a bit soggy. I’ve enjoyed leftovers the day after making, but stored the dressing separately.
Can I replace the cilantro?
If you aren’t a cilantro lover, you can omit or try subbing with parsley or basil.
Try this refreshing salad with my AIP Balsamic Glazed Chicken Wings, Turkey Burgers or Mango Lime BBQ Chicken.
If you try this Refreshing Cucumber Salad, I would appreciate it if you would give the recipe a star rating and short review. Also, be sure to snap a picture of the finished product and share it with me on Instagram by tagging @healmedelicious.
Looking for more light and refreshing AIP salads? Check out:
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Refreshing Cucumber Salad (AIP, paleo, vegan)
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 side servings 1x
Description
This crunchy and Refreshing Cucumber Salad is AIP, paleo, vegan, Whole30 and super refreshing! It’s the perfect side to grilled meats and heavier dishes and comes together in no time.
Ingredients
- 1 large cucumber, chopped
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 red onion, sliced
- 1/4 cup chives, chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- 2 TBSP coconut aminos
- 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice
Instructions
- In a colander, mix the chopped cucumber with the sea salt and place over a bowl for ~ 20 minutes to sweat out some water.
- Add red onions and chives to bowl with coconut aminos, apple cider vinegar, olive oil and lime juice.
- After 20 minutes, transfer chopped cucumber to the bowl with the dressing and mix until evenly coated. Season to taste with additional sea salt and/or coconut aminos.
- Chill salad at least 10 minutes in the fridge before serving so that it can marinate in all the flavours.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Salads
This is a great dish! I read the other comment and did not listen to the advice- I would recommend you take it easy on the dressing- I used a very large cucumber from the garden and more than half a red onion and it was just way too much dressing. Delicious though!! Next time I’ll cut the dressing in half. I ate it over two days, the second day draining the dressing and using the cucumbers and onions as a topping on green salad- yum!! Not too soggy!
This is my all-time, go-to favorite salad! I actually double the cucumber, cilantro, and red onion, omit the chives, sometimes sub lemon for lime, and keep the sauce measurements the same because I am a fan of low sauce/dressing levels – I don’t like my food too sopping wet or too sweet.
In the recipe, it states to marinate all but the cucumbers, and doesn’t state when to add in the cilantro. I personally just sweat the cucumbers separately as indicated, but then throw everything else all together at once. That has worked just fine for me.
I love to add sliced kalamata olives (I add olives to most everything though lol), torn romaine lettuce, and sometimes roasted chicken or canned tuna if I have it on hand to this salad. I prefer using Persian cucumbers when I can and will use a whole bag of them when I do without peeling the skin, but otherwise garden and Kirby cucumbers work great with their skins peeled (I add that step to avoid any wax and bitter flavor).
As a person that just does not love to eat salads generally, this one definitely does the trick for me. It tastes fresh, and bright, and refreshing, just as the title states. I just love it!