Healthy Cucumber Salad Recipes

For this old-fashioned Southern cucumber and onion salad, thin slices of cucumber and onion marinate just long enough to develop a touch of tanginess without any sharp bite. Serve with sweet dishes like barbecue to lend a refreshing balance.

This supremely crunchy, quick side salad is best when spring vegetables are sliced as thinly as possible--a great excuse to pull out the mandoline or the slicing disk of your food processor, if you have one.

Chicken turns this Greek-inspired salad into a substantial main course. Feel free to substitute other chopped fresh vegetables, such as broccoli or bell peppers, for the tomatoes or cucumber. Use leftover chicken, store-roasted chicken or quickly poach a couple boneless, skinless chicken breasts while you prepare the rest of the salad. Serve with pita bread and hummus.

This satisfying chickpea salad is a delicious combination of textures, from crunchy cucumbers to crumbly feta. The dill ranch dressing adds creaminess, but a tangy vinaigrette would be just as good.

Combine cucumber, avocado and mango with a salty-sweet dressing for a taste of the tropics.

This twist on a classic salade Niçoise uses smoked salmon in place of tuna and adds extra vegetables in place of hard-boiled eggs and olives. Lovely served as an untraditional brunch, special weekend lunch or light supper.

Save time and spiralize crisp cucumber instead of chopping it for this easy, healthy vegetable side inspired by Greek salad. Want to make it a meal? Just add grilled chicken, shrimp or canned chickpeas.

Enjoy this sweet, refreshing salad alongside grilled meat or fish to cut through the richness and refresh the palate. If you like a little heat, adding jalapeño will give you the kick you crave. While packs of prechopped pineapple are convenient, they're almost always more expensive. When pineapple is in season, it's best to buy fresh and chop it yourself. Look for a pineapple with a golden-yellow exterior, which is a good indicator of ripeness.

In this cucumber and tomato salad recipe, preserved lemon adds a tangy, salty bite. Serve this healthy salad as an accompaniment to dishes like grilled lamb or chicken or as a side on a bed of finely julienned purple kale, lightly dressed with more olive oil and lemon juice. Look for preserved lemons at specialty-foods stores. Or, to make your own, see our Preserved Lemons recipe.

This garlicky cucumber-yogurt salad is delicious served with grilled lamb or as a dip for toasted pita chips.

Serve this tart, parsley-dominated tabbouleh at your next backyard gathering.

This sweet and tangy salad of cucumber, scallions and pepper is packed with vibrant Thai flavors and a bit of extra crunch from dry-roasted peanuts. If possible, use a red jalapeño (or chile) to brighten the salad with a few specks of red. Cut the heat by removing the seeds before chopping.

Crunchy carrot, cucumber and scallions are a colorful addition to this vegetarian egg salad recipe. Pack it with some crunchy crackers and tomatoes for a healthy, light lunch.

An easy salad to serve with grilled chicken or steak for supper or on a bed of greens for a satisfying lunch. Substitute white beans or chickpeas for the black-eyed peas if you prefer.

Fattoush is a popular salad in Lebanon made with mixed greens, a lemony vinaigrette and pita bread pieces. Toasting the pita adds crunch and a sprinkle of ground sumac--which grows wild all over Lebanon--adds depth. Let the salad sit for a bit to let the pita soak up the lemony dressing.

Salmon and lentils are a familiar combo in French bistro cooking; here they combine in a quick and easy salad. For the best presentation, flake the salmon with a fork, then stir gently into the salad to keep it in chunks, not tiny bits.

We took the tangy fresh flavors of tabbouleh and paired them with smoky tofu and quinoa to create a main-dish salad that's perfect served on a bed of greens. This salad is jam-packed with heart-healthy ingredients--whole grains (quinoa), legumes (soy-based tofu) and plenty of vegetables.

Oak leaf and baby romaine lettuces are so tender they're best eaten straight from the garden or at least within a day or two of picking. Mild and delicate, they pair wonderfully with peppery radishes and chopped hard-boiled eggs in this easy salad.

A platter of herbs, scallions and feta is typically served alongside Persian meals in lieu of a Western-style green salad. This salad is a riff on that, with pomegranate seeds and cucumbers mixed in. Read more about this recipe.

This attractive, full-bodied dish celebrates the Greek flavors of feta, black olives and plenty of oregano.

Cooked peeled shrimp is perfect for quick and healthy meals--here we use it in place of chicken in our simplified Cobb Salad.

The best thing about tofu--besides its nutritional value--is the way it carries other flavors, such as the tanginess of this sesame dressing. Serve this warm salad with crunchy breadsticks and a tall glass of iced jasmine tea.

This salad was inspired by one served during the peak of summer at Claire's Restaurant & Bar in Hardwick. Chef Steven Obranovich of Claire's likes the soft crumbly sheep's-milk feta for this recipe. He cautions that the subtle briny notes of feta can sometimes be overpowered by too much lemon or an olive oil that's too fruity. Saltiness varies from feta to feta too. Add the ingredients a little at a time and taste as you go.

This tabbouleh recipe with chickpeas has lots of parsley, mint, tomatoes and cucumbers. Toasting brings out the flavor in the cumin, and cinnamon adds a subtle depth to the flavors. Bring this tabbouleh recipe as a side to a party or serve as a one-dish supper for 6 instead of 8.