Tomato, Onion, and Cucumber Salad
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A Southern staple at barbecues, family gatherings, and reunions, we love the juicy and refreshing experience of eating this fresh tomato, onion, and cucumber salad!
If I had to describe the flavor of this salad in one word, I’d say refreshing. This is the embodiment of everything a body craves on a hot summer’s day. Well, everything a body craves that doesn’t come with a little paper umbrella in the glass! This simple and easy tomato, onion, and cucumber salad recipe features juicy chunks, slices, and tossed in a delicious vinegar and sugar dressing.
I recommend making this colorfully crisp and tangy summer salad in advance to let it fully marinate in the dressing. Then serve it at your next summer gathering and prepare to win over your friends and family! You can also have fun with this salad and add some interesting additions, which I mention in the Recipe Notes section below.
Recipe Ingredients
- Two freshly ripe tomatoes (can be whatever you have on hand – heirloom tomatoes, grape tomatoes…)
- Two cucumber
- One purple or red onion (or , the choice is yours)
- Sugar
- Water, and…
- White vinegar. Go for the cheap kind here, make me proud!
Cut up your tomatoes.
You can cut the in chunks, slices, or dice them. I’m doing chunks because it’s pretty that way.
Peel and cut your . However, if you prefer you can also skip peeling your .
Cut up your onion.
I slice mine and then cut the slices in half, still leaving pretty big pieces.
This way, those of you who don’t care for the raw onions can pick them out easily enough.
Dump all of that into a bowl. You can also opt to sprinkle these vegetables with and right now before adding the dressing.
Now we have to make our dressing.
For this, all we are going to do is combine equal parts water, vinegar, and sugar and stir it up.
I start with 1/2 cup of each but you can do more if you like. I wouldn’t do any less though.
This is me adding my sugar to the vinegar and water mixture.
Stir that up good.
Recipe Tip
Don’t worry if your sugar isn’t dissolved all of the way because we’re going to let all of this marinate in the fridge for a spell before we eat.
Pour this over your veggies and stir.
Cover and place in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.
It will make more juice but I like to go give it a good stir after an hour or so.
Save some for me!
Storage
Store this tomato, onion, and cucumber salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.
Recipe Notes
- If you like, add some fresh herbs to your salad. Dried or and oregano will give this salad recipe a Mediterranean feel, while I also like sprinkling fresh dill or parsley on top.
- Other fun additions to make to this salad include crumbled feta cheese, chunks of avocado, bell pepper chunks, and mozzarella balls.
- Instead of white vinegar, you could also use either red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. If you’re going for a Mediterranean-inspired , you can opt for too.
- Another option is using halves instead of chunks.
Recipe FAQs
What do you serve with tomato, onion, and cucumber salad?
Serve this refreshing salad with any grilled or barbecued meat and a side of crusty bread. My suggestions include grilled chicken tenderloins, pork chops, or slow-roasted beef brisket.
Can you make this salad ahead of time?
Yes, I recommend refrigerating the salad for a few hours before serving to let the vinegar sink into the vegetables. So you could definitely make this in advance the night before.
You may also like these other sensational salad recipes:
Cucumber Salad Creamy and Delicious
Fresh Fruit Salad with Lemon Honey Dressing
Low Carb Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
Ingredients
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 cucumbers
- 1 purple or red onion
- water
- white vinegar
- sugar
Instructions
- Peel and slice cucumbers, and chop tomatoes and red onion. Combine all in a large bowl.2 tomatoes, 2 cucumbers, 1 purple or red onion
- Mix up a dressing of equal parts vinegar, water, and sugar. I start with 1/2 cup each of my dressing ingredients.water, white vinegar, sugar
- Pour the vinegar dressing over the vegetables and refrigerate (ideally overnight).
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I use the same vegetables but I dissolve 1 cup sugar and 1/2 pack of bread & butter pickle seasoning in 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar for my dressing and it’s always a big hit.
Love this salad especially in summer when everything is fresh.
My mother learned how to make this from her Danish grandmother. She generally did not use tomatoes but I think tomatoes in this salad sounds scrumptious! Mom also sliced the cukes and onions very thin for more absorption of the vinegar. A bite of these, even with the sugar, was bound to give us kids a pucker!
my recipe includes hot ground pepper, black pepper, and sliced bell peppers on top. marinate all the ingredients except the cucumbers and add them just before serving. My hubby used to like this when he worked construction because it was so refreshing in the heat. .. best
I make a similar salad using cucumber, onion, and tomatoes with a balsamic dressing and lots of fresh basil. It is my husband’s favorite salad.
I make the same thing as you with my fresh basil I grow every year. I posted instead of reply– sorry, my first time commenting!!
How do you make your balsamic dressing ? I love the vinegar and use some on my pasta salad along with reg vinegar. Sandra I love your recipes. I will definitely have to get your book . It sounds like you have a fun family . Mine are grown up but they still call me for my recipes . Unfortunately some are just by doing not by recipe .
Sorry , I don’t know why I called you Sandy ! It’s old age . Christy , I am sorry . I don’t think I’m that old but I had the shock of turning 60 yrs old . I don’t feel that old . My lower body does. I am handicapped from a fall at a fast food place. I have a hard time standing in the kitchen for a long period of time .But I like cooking . I do love your recipes very much .
You know I had this growing up, all from our own garden too. Read that as organic. I love this stuff!
delightful!