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).
Be more concerned about your character than your reputation because your character is who you are and your reputation is just what others THINK of you.
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Looks so good gotta try it.
This is a favorite in our Southern home (transpant from California to Tennessee) only I use a little EVOO and Seasoned Rice Vinegar and sugar. To die for!!
I love this salad as well except I never used sugar in it. Never knew sugar
was added. Well I do know sugar is added in the store bought dressings. I
use 2 parts olive oil to 1 part vinegar with some garlic powder and have also
added some oregano. Really good. Can let fresh garlic marinate in the dress-
ing. Why is your salad called Fire and Ice? Just curious. All my relatives are
from the south on my mother’s side. I love southern foods. You have some
really great recipes. I like that you are down to earth and really most southern
people are and I miss the south. I use to live in Oklahoma and Texas. Now
I’m in the Northeast. What a great site. I found it when I was looking for a
Banana Pudding (home made) and I believe that’s how you started your site,
isn’t it? Thank you and I also will buy your book.
I don’t like raw onions, or the smell on my significant other’s breath…though he likes them…but I’m going to make this with the tomatoes and cukes…sounds yummy!!!!
For those of you who don’t like onions, try vidalia or Texas sweets. They add a lot of crunch without the heat.
i make this but i add a can of green beans and a can of peas. drain both and rinse well with cold water. add the rest and wait until the nextday to eat. its very good and keeps for a few days in ref. i usually have it for a snack.
love your recipes.
My mom used to make this for my Dad but she never put tomatoes in it. Sounds yummy so I’m givin’ it a try. And Christy, thos tomatoes look like mine – small but oh so juicy and tasty. We’re growing ours in one of those upside down things because we don’t have soil in Floriday – only sand! Thanks for a great spot to find lots of my family receipe’s that have either been forgotten or lost through the years.