Cucumber and Tomato Salad with BEST-EVER Italian Vinaigrette is garden-fresh and the perfect side dish for any summer occasion!
There’s a bunch of recipes in my brain – many that I’ve been eating since I was a kid – that are so simple you’d likely take one look and say, um, nice try, Kristin. Does this dish really require a recipe? One such “recipe” is Cucumber and Tomato Salad.
This salad brings back fond memories of childhood summers when my Mom’s garden blossomed. Tomatoes grew faster than we could pick them. Cucumbers dripped from the vines. Rhubarb plants grew heavy with neglect (because, rhubarb.) At dinnertime, a head of iceberg lettuce wrapped in plastic was replaced with a colander-full of fresh, homegrown vegetables. MAN was it a treat!
That said, I’ve been devouring the simple combination of cucumbers and tomatoes in dressing every summer for nearly my entire life, but it’s the recent discovery of an incredible homemade Italian Vinaigrette – which I’m calling THE BEST EVER – that’s elevated this summery salad into the Post-Worthy category!
The vinaigrette is nearly the same as the one used in my Best Pasta Salad, but I adapted it to be even quicker and easier. Ben took a bite of the cucumbers and tomatoes dressed with it and said, “yeah, you can go ahead and bottle this.” Tangy and perfectly seasoned – I honest to goodness eat this salad with a spoon so I can get every last drop!
As I said, the recipe for cucumber and tomato salad is not rocket science – I included amounts of both cucumber and tomato for those who want or need it – but just pick a few of each from your garden or grocery store, and you’re set. I include fresh basil in this salad because I always have a truckload of it growing in the summertime, but if you don’t feel like springing for it, the salad is just as refreshing and delicious without it (although what doesn’t benefit from a little basil thrown into the mix? Strawberry-Basil Ginger Cocktail, I’m looking at you!)
How to Make This Recipe:
Start by making the Best-Ever Italian Vinaigrette. Trust me when I say this stuff is better than anything you’ll find at the store!
To a mason jar or bowl add scant 1 cup neutral-tasting oil like canola or avocado (EVOO will overpower the flavor of the dressing – I used organic canola,) 1/4 cup white wine vinegar, 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon dried minced onions, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 teaspoon each honey and salt, 1/4 teaspoon each dried marjoram and dried oregano, and pepper to taste. Shake or whisk to combine. You can make this up to a couple of weeks in advance, by the way!
Next add 2 small cucumbers that have been peeled, deseeded, and chopped to a bowl with 4 vine-ripened tomatoes that have been seeded and chopped, and 1/2 cup loosely packed basil that’s been chopped. My favorite method for deseeding cucumbers is to slice in half lengthwise then use a teaspoon or other small spoon to scrape out the seeds. Super quick and easy.
Drizzle on as much Best-Ever Italian Vinaigrette as you wish then toss with a bit more salt and pepper.
Either pop in the refrigerator until dinnertime or serve right away to enjoy the BEST fresh flavors of summertime!
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Currently...Cucumber and Tomato Salad with BEST-EVER Italian Vinaigrette
Description
Cucumber and Tomato Salad with BEST-EVER Italian Vinaigrette is garden-fresh and the perfect side dish for any summer occasion!
Ingredients
- 2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 4 vine-ripened tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil, chopped
- For the Italian Vinaigrette:
- scant 1 cup neutral-tasting oil like avocado, grapeseed or canola (do not recommend EVOO)
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinager
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried minced onions OR 2 Tablespoons minced shallot
- 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- pepper, to taste
Directions
- Combine all ingredients for the Italian Vinaigrette in a jar with a tight fitting lid or a bowl then shake or whisk to combine. Can be made up to 2 weeks ahead of time. Toss with cucumbers, tomatoes, and basil in a large bowl then season with extra salt and pepper and serve.
Notes
Vinaigrette adapted from The Kitchn
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Growing up my dad used to make what he called marinated salad which was tomato, cucumber, onion and italian dressing. So good. Can’t wait to try your italian vinaigrette!
Can you leave the salad dressing on the counter or does it need to be refrigerated?
I refrigerate it.
Why do you seed the cucumbers? I’ve seen you do this before, but I’ve never known anyone else to do it. I developed an allergy to cucumbers after my daughter was born, so I’ll be admiring this dish from afar…..because I so miss cucumbers. I can still eat pickles though (oh body, you’re so weird) so it’s not a total loss!
I deseed both cucumbers and tomatoes because I don’t want the dressing to get watered down. You could leave both intact if you don’t want to deseed.
This looks so good! Will definitely be trying this out soon!
xo, Skylar
http://www.styledbyskylar.com
This may be a stupid question, but is there a reason why you don’t just use an English Cucumber, rather than de-seeding a regular one?
Not stupid at all! They are usually $2+ at my store so I save money by seeding regular ones myself. You could use either!
I had to pause for a moment from eating this salad right now to come here and say that, yes, this is THE BEST Italian dressing ever!!! I could drink it, it’s so good! And so easy to prepare, which makes it a million times better! Thank you so much for sharing my new go-to dressing recipe :)
Yessss, so glad you agree! Thanks for the great feedback, Nikki!
This looks delicious! I saved it so we can take a batch of it when we go camping next weekend. :-)
We love marinated salads so I make them in various ways with various vegetables. My hubby totally freaked out on this salad! I was worried it made too much and some might eventually be thrown out after leftovers. Boy was I wrong! There definitely will not be any left to throw away. I did add some chopped red onion and after tasting the vinaigrette I added about 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar only because we are used to strong vinegar marinades. That Vinaigrette is to die for! It took about half a jar. We prefer Roma tomatoes (used 6) unless you have true garden fresh and I don’t bother to remove the seeds from them but probably would fresh garden tomatoes. I will refrigerate the other half to make another salad next week! This will be made a lot no doubt. LOVE IT!! Thank you Kristin for another YUMMY recipe!!
If the tomatoes and cucumbers aren’t very firm, I sometimes pat them with kitchen towel to get excess water off. Removing the liquidy/seedy part of the tomatoes helps as well – or use cherry tomatoes instead. Might get tricky if the tomatoes and cucumbers are very ripe though…
[…] The Recipe can be found HERE […]
I just made the best ever pasta salad for a potluck this evening! I really liked it, and I made a couple of adjustments to the dressing, too – finely diced red onion instead of shallot and no bell pepper. Love the tip to use dried minced onion – I’ll try that next time!
[…] The Recipe can be found HERE […]
[…] The Recipe can be found HERE […]
[…] Italian Vinaigrette by Iowa Girl Eats […]
I hope you don’t mind I added this to Sparkpeople.com as I have been using the vinaigrette a lot!! Adding the recipe and giving you credit then measuring how much I use easier way to keep track of my calories.
You look great. Family looks great, Your recipes are still great! Have a great day!
Can you use red wine vinegar? I have all the ingredients except white wine vinegar & hoped it was as good with red wine vinegar substituted.
For sure, that’d be just fine!
I just made the Italian vinaigrette… it is so good! I couldn’t stop licking my fork! haha
I know you say don’t use EVOO, but have you ever used light olive oil? It’s supposed to be flavorless, and I’ve successfully used it in other salad dressings that called for it…just wondering what your take is!
How long can you keep just the extra vingarette in the refrigerator?
I made some of your vinegar rat tonight and I do agree it is absolutely delicious and super easy. Thanks for sharing the great recipe.
Oh I’m so glad to hear it, Pam! Thanks for your feedback and recipe review!
I wish I had the ingredients to make this tonight! Thank’s Kristin! :-)
I am totally loving this dressing. My life feels oddly incomplete if I don’t have a batch already mixed in the fridge and awaiting my next salad. Thanks for another great recipe, Kristin! This is awesome!
YAY! It’s a staple in our fridge too! :)