Carrot Cucumber Salad

Need an easy side salad? This 6 ingredient carrot cucumber salad takes just 5 minutes to make, and is great with lots of different dishes, like this 15 Minute Pasta with 'Homemade' Tomato Sauce.

A carrot cucumber salad, just like this Apple Cucumber Salad is a great side dish to make if you have cucumbers to use up. It takes just a couple minutes to make and won't leave you with weeks worth of salad to have to eat if you're cooking for one.

This easy recipe is made with crisp english cucumbers (their skin is way less bitter than traditional cucumbers), thinly sliced carrot, red onion, and is covered with a tangy dressing of red wine vinegar, sugar, and oregano.

Ingredients

Scroll down to the carrot cucumber salad recipe card for the amounts of each ingredient, but here's a quick visual + description of what's in this recipe.

• Carrot: Crunchy carrot is great in this salad. I like it julienned for different texture, but you can thinly slice it to save a few minutes.
• Cucumber: English cucumber or regular cucumber with peeled skin is best in this recipe. It's crunchy without having bitter skin.
• Red Onion: It adds a nice, sweet onion flavor and pretty color.
• Red Wine Vinegar: The added vinegar adds a nice zing to this carrot cucumber salad. It's sweeter than other vinegars, making it perfect for this salad.
• Sugar: A little sugar needs to be added to balance out the vinegar flavor. It's too sharp tasting without some sugar.
• Oregano: Dried oregano is a nice addition to this simple salad. You can use 2-3 times more fresh oregano, if you have it. The peppery, slightly minty flavor is great.

Instructions

Scroll down to the carrot cucumber salad recipe card for more detailed instructions. Here's a quick overview + photos to see how to make this recipe in general.

1. Slice vegetables, then julienne carrot, if desired.

2. Add to a mixing bowl, then add dressing ingredients, mix, and let the cucumber carrot salad sit for at least 10 minutes for vegetables to soak up the tangy dressing.

Serve with

• Gnocchi Carbonara
• Brisket Grilled Cheese
• Ravioli with Mushroom Cream Sauce
• Chicken Salad Pita
• Buffalo Chicken Flatbread
• 15 Minute Pasta with 'Homemade' Tomato Sauce

Storage Tips

Store any carrot cucumber salad leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, for about 5-7 days. It's good after a day, so you can make enough for leftovers.

Substitutions/Tips

• Make sure to let your cucumber salad stand/marinate-the longer the better, it'll bring out the tangy dressing flavors. If you remember, make it 1 hour or 1 day before you plan on eating it.
• This recipe is easily doubled/tripled/+ for a crowd
• You can also make a soy sauce based dressing with soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.
• Other great add-ins: fresh herbs, more red wine vinegar, red pepper flakes, garlic salt, tomatoes, and celery.

FAQ

Other good side salad recipes

• Broccoli Greek Yogurt Salad
• Copycat Chick Fil A Kale Salad
• Cucumber and Apple Salad
• Zucchini Salad with Feta

How to repurpose this salad

This cucumber salad would be delicious added into a sandwich, think turkey sandwich, Italian style sub, meatball sub, etc OR incorporated into a salad.

What to do with leftover ingredients

When you're cooking for one, you often have leftover produce, cans of whatever ingredient, etc. Here are a couple ideas on how to use up the leftover ingredients. It'll help you save money by wasting fewer ingredients.

• Cucumber: Cucumber Tomato Salad, Spiced Lamb Burgers with Tzatziki, or Watermelon Chicken Salad.
• Carrot: White Bean and Farro Bowl, Italian Beans with Vegetables, or Red Wine Vinegar Coleslaw.
• Red Onion: Watermelon Chicken Salad or Fish Tacos with White Sauce and Orange Salsa.

Did you make this carrot cucumber salad? Leave me a comment & rating to share how it turned out!

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