Italian Cucumber Salad
This quick and easy Italian cucumber salad recipe only needs 4 ingredients: fresh tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion in an Italian dressing. This salad is fast, fresh, and so flavorful.
Whenever the weather is warmer I’m just itching for fresh food and sunshine. Depending on when you read this it may be a little early for produce from your own garden but thanks to the marvels of our modern grocery stores, I can get all I need to whip up this salad in a jiff. This serves as a delicious side dish bursting with garden flavor and can be kept in the refrigerator for several days.
My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
When you see how quick and easy it is, this may very well end up being your favorite salad of the summer! My quick and easy Italian tomato cucumber salad recipe is made with just 4 ingredients: fresh tomato, crisp cucumber, red onion, and Italian dressing. All we’re going to do is chop up the vegetables, add them to a bowl with the Italian dressing, give it a good stir, then refrigerate the salad for several hours to let the flavors meld together.
It’s fresh, it’s fast, and that Italian dressing means it’s also so flavorful. You can’t go wrong with this Italian cucumber tomato salad and it’s the perfect dish to bring to your next potluck or picnic. Now, let’s take a closer look at the ingredients and instructions. But don’t blink because you might miss them!
Recipe Ingredients
- Tomatoes (I’m using Roma tomatoes, but cherry tomatoes also work well).
- Red onion
- Cucumbers
- Italian dressing
How to Make Italian Cucumber Salad
Chop or slice your cucumber.
I’m leaving my skin on but you can peel it if you prefer.
Place that in a large bowl.
Do the same with your tomato.
Toss that in there too.
If you want you can just use a can of diced tomatoes and drain them.
Chop up your onion.
Add that in.
Pour the whole bottle of dressing into the bowl.
Ugh. I made this last week and ate every last bit of it. As soon as I press send on this post I’m heading to get the stuff to make it again!
Lawdy it’s good.
Stir.
Cover with a lid and place in the refrigerator for several hours to marinate.
Serve as the perfect side to BBQ, grilled burgers, or whatever your heart desires!
I just plop it in a bowl and dig into it all on its own!
Storage
Leftover salad will last, covered, in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
- You can use any raw veggie you like here really, just go with what you like. Be sure to wash them well before using them though.
- You can also use either original or zesty Italian dressing. However, I’m a big fan of Kraft Italian dressing because, in my personal opinion, it tastes exactly like what they use at Olive Garden.
- Want to make homemade Italian dressing? You’ll need ingredients like white or red wine vinegar, olive oil, freshly grated parmesan cheese, sugar or honey, Italian seasoning (dried basil, dried parsley, and/or dried oregano work as well), and garlic powder.
- Add a garnish of freshly chopped parsley or leaves to your .
- For an extra Italian touch, add some chopped olives.
- Salt and black pepper to taste.
Recipe FAQs
How do you serve Italian cucumber salad?
Serve your salad as a side dish with any kind of main meal, such as:
- BBQ Chicken Breast in Oven
- Slow-Roasted Beef Brisket in the Oven
- Grilled Chicken Tenders (No Grill Needed)
- Meatloaf Burgers
- Butter Roasted Chicken Recipe
- Slow Cooker Angel Chicken Pasta
It also wouldn’t be an without a serving of on the side as well, right?
Can I make Italian cucumber salad in advance?
Yes, I’d recommend making it up to 24 hours in advance to let all those flavors marinate together.
Here are some more summer salad recipes:
Tomato, Onion, and Cucumber Salad
Recipe for Caprese Salad with Chicken and Avocado
Ingredients
- 3-4 chopped Roma tomatoes or your choice (about 1.5 cups)
- 1 large red onion, diced
- 2 cucumbers, chopped
- 1 bottle Italian dressing or your choice
Instructions
- Place all vegetables in a large bowl. Pour in the entire bottle of dressing and stir.3-4 chopped Roma tomatoes or your choice, 1 large red onion, diced, 2 cucumbers, chopped, 1 bottle Italian dressing or your choice
- Cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving.
- Can be kept in the refrigerator for several days.
I’m an angel and if someone breaks my wings
I continue to fly on a broomstick…I’m very flexible.
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That looks delicious! I love tomato cucumber salad and it’s a favorite with my kids too. I found your blog through Mommy’s Kitchen and I’m glad I did!
I have a few things planted in raised bed.. my back won’t do the real gardening anymore.. but I have to have fresh tomatoes and green peppers, and I did plant some asparagus this year even though it will be several years before we can acutually pick it.. thought it was a good idea anyway…
Will probably pick up some squash plants when I see them , when I pick up some flowers for my big pots… wish my back would take putting in a really big garden , but old age ain’t for sissies…
And there are several nice little truck garden stands around here to pick up fresh veggies grown by some other nice person…
My daddy and mom always raised a huge garden and we spent most of the summer “putting up” things and giving everyone a basket or box of things out of the garden when they stopped by to “visit” I miss those times and those people.. wish I lived closer to you.. haha
hugs Jo in Sapulpa, Oklahoma
We currently have tomoatoes, peas, mixed lettuces, spinach, broccoli, asperagus, cabbage, squash, red cabbage, potatoes, strawberries, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic chives, garlic, & onions. We still have more tomato plants to go in and we have okra, melon, squash, carrot, and radish (I think) seeds still to be planted. All in our little yard in the back of our (city) house!
Oooo,, this is one of my favorite “straight from the garden” salads! Yummm. I’m from Ohio so I have to settle for the store bought ones. Not nearly as tasty.
By the way, I wanted to tell you thanks so much for your awesome website! You make eating fun and allow us to eat foods without dissecting every ingredient! When I get bummed I just come to your site and it’s instant smile!!! Thanks again!!!
Cindy
BLACK-EYED PEAS!!!! I found out last summer…in my teeny little garden spot in the back year that BE peas will grow north of the Mason-Dixon line! )(I’m a displaced Texas living in zone 5 Illinois) It’s been a long time since I was home to get fresh ones so I thought to myself…why not grow some experimentally. Turns out, the yield was pretty good. So black eyed peas, okra, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, a few peppers and tomatoes, of course… will be in my garden this year. It is amazing to me how much food can come out of a 20 x 20 plot of ground..
I live up north and we have had our 1st 70 degree day just the other day and we are still in the 50’s and so the garden will be planted in another week or 2. It is going to consist of heirloom tomatoes with about 3 other types of tomatoes also there will be beans both pole and bush, okra of course, peppers, cucumbers~~I plant lemon cucumbers because they are so good. We have a spot behind our shed that is about 8×8 and I plant as much as I can in this little spot. Mom says people will not believe how much I can get in that small space. What I can’t get in it I buy or get from my friends and I can what we don’t eat.
Christy- I made this to go with Grilled Chicken and Jambalaya rice tonight!!
I didn’t have onions, so I subbed a couple sliced button mushrooms instead. I also used Balsamic vinaigrette instead of Italian vinaigrette.
It was the perfect cool accompaniment to the smoky chicken and the spicy jambalaya.
I’ll be eating this a LOT this summer, for sure!!!!!!