Tomato Cucumber Salad (with Red Onion!)

do you have fresh tomatoes This Cucumber Tomato Onion Salad brings out the beauty of ripe tomatoes in a way you’ll want to eat again and again.

What’s better than the sweet, juicy taste of a ripe tomato? We get dizzy as they begin to appear in their crimson, gold, and neon green glory. Fresh tomatoes come into their own in simple preparations. The Tomato cucumber salad with red onions is just that: pure ingredients marinated to bring together the richest flavors. This salad is perfect as an accompaniment to dishes on the terrace or summer barbecues: it accompanies everything. And the taste is like pure gold.

Do you like tomato salads? Try the fresh tomato salad, the cucumber, tomato and avocado salad and the tomato, basil and mozzarella salad.

Use only the best quality, ripe tomatoes!

For the best cucumber tomato and onion salad, promise us one thing. Prepare this salad only with ripe summer tomatoes! Don’t try to do this out of season when the tomatoes from the supermarket are pink and mealy. This only results in a truly awful onion, tomato, and cucumber salad. As with all simple preparations, the taste of this salad depends on the quality of its ingredients. Don’t skimp on the tomatoes!

• Tomatoes from the market or from the garden are best. We recommend buying your tomatoes from a farmer’s market if you have access to them, or growing them yourself.
• Bought store can also work. Try to find the prettiest heirloom tomatoes you can buy at your local grocery store. Hydroponic greenhouse tomatoes tend to have better flavor.
• Find multicolor for a vibrant look. Multicolored tomatoes are good here: the more colors, the more colorful the salad!

How to make a cucumber tomato and onion salad

Combine juicy tomatoes with fresh cucumbers and zesty onions, and this tomato and cucumber salad looks like a plant-based Greek salad without the standard feta cheese! Here’s how (or go to the recipe below):

• Soak Onion: Finely chop the onion and soak in cold water for a few minutes. This will help eliminate the onion’s strong bite.
• Cut the vegetables: Meanwhile, cut the cucumber into crescents and the tomato into quarters. Finely chop the herbs.
• Marinade: Mix all the vegetables and herbs with the olive oil, red wine vinegar and kosher salt. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes, then serve.

Can I skip the marinating time?

Alex and I are always looking for shortcuts. This cucumber tomato and onion salad requires a 30 minute marinade. Is it really necessary? Indeed, yes! Here’s why:

• Time allows the flavors to blend and evolve. We tried this salad before and after marinating time, and you’ll definitely notice a difference. The marinade allows the flavors to meld and develop much more than when the salad is freshly tossed. So make sure you prepare this salad ahead of time and enjoy it while you prepare the rest of the meal.
• Advice in advance: If you’d like, you can make this salad up to 2 hours in advance and keep covered at room temperature until ready to serve. We advise you not to keep this salad in the fridge: it spoils the taste.

What are Heirloom Tomatoes?

What are Heirloom Tomatoes? Heirloom tomatoes are tomato varieties that have been passed down from generation to generation by storing the seeds. If you buy aged tomatoes, you’ll find that they come in a lot more variety in color and shape than the typical round red tomato. They can range from chartreuse to gold, purple to orange, and small to medium to large.

Should you use heirloom tomatoes in this recipe? No way. We love the look of heirloom tomatoes, with all their bright colors. They also usually have a variety and nuances in flavor that make the whole salad more intriguing. But you can use any ripe tomato you like.

How to grow herbs

For this cucumber tomato and onion salad we used a blend of herbs: basil, thyme and oregano from our garden. We highly recommend growing herbs at home during the summer months: all you need is a few pots and a sunny ledge! You don’t even need space in the garden. If you’re interested in growing herbs, here are some resources we’ve gathered:

The complexity of using a few different herbs adds nuance to this salad. But if you don’t have herbs on hand, there’s no need to buy all three! Use basil if you can only use one or if you can find both, use basil and oregano.

How to serve it

How would you serve this cucumber tomato and onion salad? You can think of so many summertime recipes that you can accessorize with this salad; It’s perfect for a summer party, BBQ, or BBQ on the patio. Here are some things we could serve with:

• Seafood: Grilled salmon, grilled shrimp
• Vegetarian dish: Grilled veggie burger, greek veggie skewers
• Vegetarian Sides: Elote (or Oven Roasted Corn), Watermelon Salad, Grilled Caesar Salad, Greek Orzo Salad
• Beverages : Peach Sangria, Virgin Piña Colada, Easy Frozen Sangria, Gin Watermelon Cocktail
• Dessert: Blueberry Pie, Crunchy Peach Basil, Iced Hot Chocolate

This Cucumber Tomato Onion Salad recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based and dairy-free.

Looking for more salad recipes?

Aside from this Cucumber Tomato Onion Salad recipe, here are some of our favorite salads:

Last update: May 2020