This zesty cucumber salad features crunchy veggies drizzled in a zingy lemon and mint dressing. It’s topped with green onions and buttery, toasted pine nuts, making it the perfect refreshing treat for summer!
When it’s hot outside, nothing cools me down and makes me feel better than a zippy, refreshing cucumber salad.
This phenomenal veggie is the perfect food for hot weather as cucumbers are super hydrating and loaded with electrolytes (like potassium!) to help you beat the heat. They’re also anti-inflammatory, aid digestion, help lower cholesterol, and can even help with lowering blood pressure! Talk about a multi-tasker.
This easy recipe features juicy cucumber, buttery pine nuts and sharp green onion that give this salad some serious zip. Fresh mint and strips of lemon rind are the key ingredients that turn this cucumber salad into a citrusy delight!
Serve it as a delightful side or enjoy it as a light summertime lunch in the sun!
Ingredients for My Zesty Cucumber Salad
Let’s chat about the simple ingredients for this easy cucumber salad recipe. Don’t worry – there’s no fancy or tricky-to-find ingredients in this one!
Avocado Oil: This smooth, healthy, and neutral oil is the perfect base for our salad dressing. Olive oil works fine here if you prefer a slightly fruitier flavor.
Lemon Rind Strips and Juice: We’ll use both the juice and a few strips of the rind from a lemon. It’ll really inject some zing into this zesty cucumber salad.
Fresh Mint: Adds a cool, refreshing brightness that elevates the flavor of this salad. Mint pairs well with the acidic lemon flavors, too!
Fresh Cucumbers: Crunchy and perfectly crispy, this water-based vegetable contains a bunch of soluble fiber to keep you full and hydrated. Persian cucumbers work, as do English cucumbers.
Green Onion: For garnishing. Chop the white ends off and slice up the stalks!
Pine Nuts: Rich, buttery, and slightly sweet, crunchy toasted pine nuts contrast beautifully with the fresh cucumber. If you’re in need of recipes using pine nuts, this one is the perfect fit!
Kosher Salt: Just a sprinkle to taste!
Recipe Customizations
- This salad is wonderful as it is, but you can add avocado and a hard-boiled egg to make it a light lunch.
- Parsley and celery leaves are a good substitute for mint.
- Toss in other fresh herbs like fresh dill or fresh basil are amazing additions.
- Add other fresh vegetables like bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and red onion.
- Swap out the pine nuts for pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.
- Rice vinegar and apple cider vinegar is a great replacement for lemon juice if you prefer vinegar-based dressing.
How to Make a Zesty Cucumber Salad
Whisk together the avocado oil, lemon rind and juice, fresh mint, and kosher salt to make your dressing.
If you bought raw pine nuts, quickly toast them in a pan over medium-high heat.
Then, peel your cucumber and slice it into ⅛ inch-thick rounds.
Add the cucumber slices, green onion, and toasted pine nuts to a bowl, then pour the dressing over them.
Stir until everything is well-coated with the dressing, then serve!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Recipe Tips
- You’ll want to use a lemon zester to make those long rind strips we’re looking for here! A regular citrus zester works too.
- If you want to prepare this salad ahead of time, make up the dressing and store it in the fridge in a sealed container with the toasted pine nuts. Then, slice fresh cucumber when you’re ready to eat! The cucumber will go soggy if it’s left in the fridge after being sliced. So, it’s better to prepare that part before serving.
This fresh and light zesty cucumber salad might just be the ultimate summertime food. It is the perfect simple side dish for warm weather, and pairs magically with any main entree.
The toasted pine nuts add a substantial savory depth, and the fresh mint elevates all the other flavors with its clean brightness.
Let me know in the comments if it helps you beat the heat!
Enjoy this zesty cucumber salad? Here are five more perfect summer salads for you to try!
More Summer Salad Recipes
- A Really Great Summer Salad Recipe
- Roasted Summer Vegetable Quinoa Salad
- Mediterranean Green Bean Salad
- Cucumber Tomato Salad
- The Best Caprese Salad
Enjoy this easy side dish with your next summer dinner!
Zesty Cucumber Salad with Pine Nuts
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon rind strips
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/3 cup fresh mint chopped
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- 3 cups cucumber sliced (about 1.5 large cucumbers)
- 3 stalks green onion chopped
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts toasted
Instructions
- Whisk together the first 6 ingredients.
- Peel the cucumbers and slice them into 1/8″ rounds.
- Add the cucumber, green onion, and toasted pine nuts to the bowl and stir everything together to combine.
- You can serve the salad as is, or add avocado and hard-boiled egg to make it more substantial.
hi!
I found your this today on pinterest. I like the idea of the salad. Only I don’t have grapeseed oil and I don’t think its common in holland. Do you reccomend another type of oil (like olive oil or so) to use??
thnx!
greetings
Sylvia
Hi Sylvia! You can definitely use olive oil!
and it’s so purrrrddy! gotta get one of those zesters.
Cheers!
So much to learn about cucumber, and so little time. Typically I’m not so into it because it tends to be low on the flavor totem pole, but not the case here. Not at all!
I fall on the long skinny zesting side. Love the sounds of this salad! (Love cucumbers anyway but this take a cuke salad to a whole ‘nother level!)
I normally don’t go for cucumbers but after this post (and these beautiful pictures) I think I’ve changed my mind. This salad looks so very lovely!
Thanks, Monet! I’ve never been huge on cucumbers too, but I enjoy this salad – the flavors compliment each other nicely and it’s so refreshing. Let me know if you try it!
So refreshing! Perfect for those hot days!
I’m a huge cucumber lover! I’m not sure if it is because I love the taste so much or the fact they they remind me of a spa, (cucumber water, cucumber slices on the eyes…) either way, I eat them all the time. I just bought a huge one from the farmer’s market and have been trying to think of something tasty to do with it. Also, I need a fancy lemon zester! I’ll add that to my huge list of kitchen wants 🙂
So glad you’re interested in making the salad! It’s so simple yet flavorful. You really don’t need a fancy zester for this salad, but I really enjoyed the long strips 🙂
I think you’ve just invented the most refreshing salad ever…and I love my lemon zester, too, although I’ve been known to zest a little bit of my finger on occasion :/
Haha! I’m always worried about taking chunks of skin off when I use kitchen appliances. Thankfully, my zester seems pretty fool-proof, so I think I’m safe with it 😉
I love eating cucumbers! So fresh and refreshing for summers! This is a lovely recipe 🙂
Thanks, Ami! It’s definitely going to be one of my summer faves, that’s fo sho! 🙂
Cucumbers are the shizzz. I’m all for a little debloatation (totally a word) and this looks like a delicious way to get it!
Have a great weekend girl!
Debloatation is my new favorite word and state of being, ha! Let’s lay by the pool and have ourselves some cucumber salad 🙂