I adore this cucumber salad. Sweet, tangy, cool (as a cucumber!), and bursting with umami from the toasted sesame oil, this Sesame Cucumber Spiralized Salad is absolutely perfect for hot summer weather and the perfect compliment to any Asian entree.
And it only takes FIVE minutes to throw together!!
It’s perfect as a side, for instance, to grocery store sushi. Zach and I have discovered that our HEB actually makes some of the best sushi around our neck of the woods! We’ve gotten in the habit of- at least weekly- picking up a couple of spicy California rolls and making this as a side- absolutely delicious, easy, and super refreshing. Usually, we get a seaweed salad when we go out for sushi.
The dressing on this cucumber salad tastes almost identical to most seaweed salads I’ve had, so if you like seaweed salad, you are definitely going to like this.
There are two things that make this salad extra special.
The first is that I am proud to say that I GREW the cucumbers used to make this MYSELF! It’s the first edible thing, besides herbs, that I’ve ever grown. It really made it taste that much better.
The second is that it’s spiralized. A spiralizer is a relatively new addition to my kitchen and I have to say: I love it. It makes veggies fun to eat (eating this salad with chopsticks was awesome), and often gives the impression that you are eating noodles (but a healthier, low carb version).
If you don’t have one, no worries. You can also make this salad by thinly slicing the cucumber (using a sharp knife or even a mandoline).
To make this (ridiculously easy) salad, just mix together some toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, salt, and red pepper flakes in a bowl. Toss with cucumbers (spiralized or sliced) and you’re done!
If you’re feeling fancy, garnish with toasted sesame seeds (just put some sesame seeds in a skillet and toast over medium high heat until they are just beginning to brown) and sliced green onions.
I don’t recommend making this salad in advance. The salt in the dressing will draw the water out of the cucumbers, so it will become watery almost instantly after adding the dressing.
You can mix the dressing in advance and toss with the cucumbers just before serving, but if you leave the cucumbers sitting in the dressing for too long you may end up with a liquidy, soggy (but still tasty!) mess.
One last thing: if you are in the market for a spiralizer, I recommend this one. It’s super sturdy, and adheres to your countertop with strong suction cups so it doesn’t budge, even with harder veggies like carrots.
The blades are super sharp, so they work extremely well and it takes very little effort to push on the vegetable to get it to turn into noodles. It has three different kinds of blades for thick, thin, and flat/wide “noodles.” You can even use the thick noodle setting on potatoes to make curly fries!! It’s the best. Try using a zucchini with it to make this teriyaki salmon and zucchini noodle bowl.
Looking for an awesome protein to pair with this salad? Try these Seared Ahi Tuna Steaks. They only take six minutes to make!
Recipe for Spiralized Sesame Cucumber Salad below! Enjoy, and stay cool out there, folks.
Spiralized Sesame Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes or more, depending on how spicy you like it
- 2 cucumbers spiralized (or sliced)
- toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk together first five ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Add prepared cucumbers; toss to coat
- Top with toasted sesame seeds and green onions, if desired.
Notes
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Valentina
Oh my God – I just made this and loved it so much I went back and made more! It reminds me of seaweed salad, which I love! Great recipe – I’ll be making this A LOT!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you like it- I agree about it being similar to seaweed salad, which I also love!
Val
Just made this recipe as presented. It was very good. Will definitely make again. Love the Asian dressing.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
OW
Used this as a side with honey jerk shrimp skewers for date night. Fast and tasty and will definitely be made again.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Chelsea
Why is the cook time listed at over 5 hours?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Um, I have no idea! Thanks so much for pointing this out! I switched recipe card software a little while ago, and I think some things got mixed up during the transfer. It should be fixed now. Rest assured, the recipe only takes about 5 minutes total to make :-)
Stacie
Well, it was good, not great. I would defiantly use seasoned rice vinegar next time. I personally like more flavor, but if was good!!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thanks for your feedback! Seasoned rice vinegar just has extra salt and sugar added to it, so another idea would be to just add more of both of those ingredients (or more honey, instead of sugar), in case you only have regular lying around :-)
Ivar
Tried it out in a salad with juanita tomatoes and some BBQ leftovers. Really liked the dressing and it went very well with the korean sweet and sour chilli sauce I marinated the beef in. Will absolutely keep this dressing in mind both for this and other things.
I’m not a great food photographer or anything but here’s what it looked like
https://imgur.com/hmNZRtV
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh wow that meal looks AMAZING! So glad you liked it. That sweet and sour chili sauce for the beef sounds fantastic.
Suzanne
Great idea! I never thought to spiralize cucumber before; I’ve only done zucchini. This looks like it will be fantastic for summer.
Elizabeth Lindemann
It’s so delicious and refreshing! Hope you like it :-)
Joan
I just made this salad and it’s simply delicious! Thank you so very much for creating and sharing it.
Elizabeth
Thank you! So glad you liked it!
Katie
The dressing is perfect for sure! However, when I spiralized my cucumber it came out soooooooo wet! Like I had to squeeze a cup of cucumber water out of my container. Any tips? I used the smallest noodle blade.
Elizabeth
So glad you liked it! Unfortunately, cucumbers are just naturally super wet. The size of the noodle blade won’t matter. You can add the spiralized cucumber noodles to a colander in the sink, or over a bowl, and sprinkle a little salt on top. The salt will help draw out the liquid, and the liquid will drip into the sink or bowl. Let it sit for 10 minutes or so. Then, you can pat the cucumbers a little more dry with a towel and mix with the dressing. Hope that helps!
Joanne
Sounds delish, can’t wait to give this a try on Saturday! It’s going to compliment my homemade chicken teriyaki for our guests! Thank you!
Elizabeth
Hope you like it! :-)
Joanne
I’m sure we will, however will keep you posted. ???? Thanks!
Verena
Taste buds were singing! Easy to prepare and a delight to eat. Will take this to a many a get together for sure!
Elizabeth
So happy you liked it! Thanks for the comment :-)
Frances
I made this today. It was a pretty hot day in L.A. today, so I wanted to make a light and refreshing lunch. I added some carrot matchsticks, radishes, cilantro, and leftover rotisserie chicken and made a meal out of it. It was sooo Good! Thanks for the inspiration Elizabeth! Loved how simple and delicious the dressing was!
Elizabeth
Yum, love cucumbers and radishes together! Love these suggestions to make a whole meal out of it. Happy you liked it, and thanks for the comment!
Jomi
Toasted sesame seed oil? Can I use regular sesame oil instead?
Elizabeth
Toasted sesame oil has GREAT flavor- I would recommend that, but it definitely would work with regular sesame oil too!
Ashley C
Oh gosh, I meant to leave that hot and sour soup comment on another page. I apologize about that. But I did come here to praise your delicious spiralized cucumber salad recipe. My family (teens too) had a battle of forks for the last bites. Thanks!
Elizabeth
Haha no worries, I deleted it :-) I’m so happy you liked the cucumber salad recipe and now I’m dying to have the link for that hot and sour soup- I’ve been looking for a good recipe for it for a while!
Genn
Just made this. OMG. Amazing!! Absolutely perfect
Elizabeth
SO glad you liked it! Thanks for the comment :-)
Amy
Do you recommend peeling and seeding the cucumbers before spiralizing them?
Elizabeth
Nope- just do them whole! It’s easier to spiralize them, and there’s more texture in my opinion with the peels left on.
KP
How does this keep if you want to make it ahead of time for meal prep?
Elizabeth
Good question. I would spiralize the cucumbers, make the dressing, and store them separately. Then, just before serving, toss the cucumbers with the dressing. The salt in the dressing will cause a lot of the liquid from the cucumbers to come out, so it may end up too soupy if you make it too far ahead of time. Hope this helps!
Marian
Thank you!
Kara
Making this tonight for my girlfriend who is not able to eat almost anything except what is in this recipe. Thank you, umami!
Kara
Elizabeth
Hope you and your girlfriend liked it! :-)
Marisa Allen
We brought this to dinner at a friend’s house tonight and it was a huge hit! Thanks for sharing.
Elizabeth
Woo hoo! Glad everyone liked it! :)