Tomato Cucumber Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
Anyone have a garden full of tomatoes and cucumbers to use? Or maybe you have a neighbor or friends that have had success. OR maybe God didn’t give you a green thumb, so the produce aisle is your place. Well this salad has been an August-September staple since we’ve been growing our own tomatoes and cucumbers. I always buy tomato starts, and we’ve been getting a handful of cherry tomatoes daily for the last few weeks with plenty of yellow buds in sight.
This year, after a few different cucumber seed sewing sagas, we ended up with…zero cucumbers. Very sad for my Abbie-girl who sews those seeds! So we are thankful the grocery store isn’t too far away. Our Joshua also tried growing red onions for the first time. I was very hopeful for about a month, seeing those verdant shoots out of the ground…and then they were gone. We tried and we’ll try again.
You can use any dressing for this recipe, really, according to your palate. A ranch dressing on this salad would be a great addition. Here‘s a dairy-free version, if you need. With this tomato and cucumber paring, I’ve been using the lemon basil vinaigrette below. I cannot take complete credit for this vinaigrette, though. That’s my friend, Serena, you have to thank. She shared her Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad with this dressing (which is FABULOUS by the way). I’ve only tweeked the dressing recipe slightly.
Feta is a fabulous addition to this simple salad. Similarly I like to add a little red onion for kick. But really, you can make the salad with just cucumbers, tomatoes and a bit of dressing. Certainly when we have limited time, that’s where we turn.
Finally this tomato cucumber salad with lemon basil vinaigrette is simple, swift, yet easy, and effortless, fast, and fresh, yet nutritious, and nourishing.
Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
Effortless, yet fresh!
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/3 cup Lemon Juice
- 1 Tablespoon Water
- 1 Clove Garlic Minced
- 2 Teaspoons Fresh Basil Minced
- 1/4 Teaspoon Dried Dill
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/8 Teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
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Combine all ingredients in a medium jar with lid, and shake until combined. Taste and season as needed.
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Enjoy and store remaining dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Recipe Notes
Tomato Cucumber Salad
- 2 Cucumbers (or more), Peeled and Chopped
- 1 1/2 Cups Cherry Tomatoes, Halved, or 2 Medium Roma Tomatoes, Diced (really any tomatoes will do)
- Dressing, *see above
- Red Onion, Cut in Rings as Desired, Optional
- Feta Cheese, to Taste, Optional
Instructions
Combined chopped cucumbers and diced tomatoes in a medium bowl. Add onion if desired.
Coat with dressing. Garnish with feta.
Enjoy and refrigerate any leftovers for up to one day.
Need other salad inspiration? Do you have a favorite salad? Hands down mine is the Cobb Salad with a Basil Vinaigrette.
