This healthy Thai cucumber salad is full of fresh ingredients and makes a great side dish. It's a really healthy choice that's perfect with fish or chicken. Why not make it as a bbq side dish too?
When I first made this Thai cucumber salad I was part of a group called the Secret Recipe Club and it is adapted from a recipe on 2 Cookin' Mamas.
As soon as I saw that they had some great Thai recipes I knew I wanted to try one. I especially love the spicy dressings in Thai food. This particular salad is so fresh and vibrant and with it being summer I really want to eat healthily and avoid spending too long in the kitchen.
Cucumber is a perfect ingredient for a Thai salad. It's refreshing and cooling and goes so well with the coriander, lime and chilli pepper. If you are looking for an interesting way to serve cucumber then this is definitely something to try. Why not also try my quick cucumber kimchi?
What's more, this salad really is so quick to make. There's no cooking involved except toasting the peanuts and you can miss that out if you're short of time.
What ingredients do you need in Thai cucumber salad?
- Cucumber
- Onion - Or shallots, depending on what you have
- Spring onions - Sometimes I just use extra onions
- Red bell pepper - Any colour of pepper works in this.
- Carrot
- Red chilli pepper - or a green one. Remove the seeds if you don't want the salad to be too spicy. I prefer to leave the seeds in.
- Fresh coriander (cilantro)
- Peanuts - raw peanuts or dry roasted peanuts
Ingredients for the dressing:
- Fish sauce
- Garlic - You can use fresh garlic or garlic paste
- Soy sauce
- Cayenne pepper
- Sugar - I usually use caster sugar
- Lime juice - I think a fresh lime is best
Adaptations and substitutions
Feel free to vary the vegetables a little. You can add sugar snap peas, sweetcorn or little broccoli florrets.
If you don't eat nuts then you can miss out the peanuts. This salad is also great with cashew nuts.
I often vary the onions that. I'll add brown, red or spring onions or a mixture depending on what I have at home at the time.
Can you prep this salad in advance?
The great thing about this salad is that you can make it earlier in the day and then just keep it in the fridge until dinner time. It's ideal for meal prepping and great in barbecue season when you might want to make a few different sides.
If you are making it advance it's best to put the dressing on before you serve it.
How long does it stay fresh for?
It is best on the day that it is made but you can keep it for up to 2 days in the fridge.
What can you serve it with?
I absolutely love this Thai cucmber salad with Thai bbq chicken. It's the perfect side for it when we're having a barbecue.
Sometimes I serve it with grilled fish, making dinner very quick to prepare. A definite bonus! It's also delicious with this tea marinated pork.
Recipe
Thai Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber diced
- ¼ onion finely diced
- 2 spring onions sliced thinly
- ½ red bell pepper diced
- 1 carrot grated
- 1 red chilli pepper finely sliced
- 3 tablespoon fresh coriander cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoon peanuts roughly chopped
Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 lime juiced
Instructions
- Put the peauts in a dry pan and heat for a couple of minutes, tossing occassionally so they don't burn.
- Mix together all the ingredients for the dressing. I put them in a jar and shake.
- Mix together all the salad ingredients but reserve some of the peanuts.
- Add the dressing to the salad.
- Serve with the rest of the peanuts sprinkled on the top
Video
Notes
Nutrition
More salad recipes you might like
If you love salads then you should definitely check out my main meal salad recipe collection.
Keep in touch
Do let me know if you make this Thai cucumber salad or any of my other recipes. I love to get feedback from readers.
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Honest mum
Oh wow that looks so refreshing and delicious. My husband is obsessed with Thai food so emailing this to him. x
Corina
You can't beat Thai food. We went to Thailand for our honeymoon and I love it now.
Sarah@WellDined
How perfect for summer! I'm a total wuss about spicy food, but I bet there is enough flavor in the dressing that I wouldn't have to worry about leaving out the spicy stuff!
Corina
Definitely. Just make it a little less spicy and I'm sure it'll still taste great.
Beverley @ sweaty&fit
yumm! i love thai ANYTHING, and that fish sauce dressing sounds killer.
Corina
It is! Glad you like it!
Lauren @ Eating with a Purpose
I never think to use cucumbers as the base of a salad- what a great alternative to a Greek salad!
Corina
Exactly!
Patricia @ ButterYum
One of my kids is crazy for cucumbers so this will be a nice new way to serve them.
Corina
I hope it's popular!
[email protected]
Wow does this ever sound fantastic!! Right up my alley!! GREAT choice for the SRC! 😀
Corina
Thank you.
Deanna Segrave-Daly (@tspbasil)
I now know what I'm doing with the next cucumbers I get from my CSA!
Corina
Hope you enjoy it.
Dragons And Fairy Dust
This looks gorgeous, I love cucumber and this has lots of lovely flavours
Corina
Thank you.
reneeskitchenadventures
This one is going on my menu soon! I love these flavors!
Corina
I hope you enjoy it!
Dena @ohyoucook
Looks really delicious! I think the real reason I like Thai food is its use of peanuts ... they make any salad special.
Corina
I agree completely - I love peanuts too!
Jean
I have a ton of cucumbers from my garden. Thanks!
Corina
I hope you enjoy it!
Linda @ 2 Cookin' Mamas
Thanks Corina! My daughter and I both love this fresh tasting and healthy recipe. Glad you enjoyed it as well.
Corina
It was delicious and I will definitely be making it again too. THanks for the recipe.
Robyn @ Simply Fresh Dinners
Hi Corina,
This recipe looks so delicious and I'm with you - love the freshness of salad with a Thai dressing! Your recipe club looks like a lot of fun.
Great to find your lovely blog 🙂
Corina
Thank you so much.