This is literally the easiest cucumber salad you'll ever make, and one of the most delicious ones!
This Sesame Cucumber Salad with Everything Seasoning has just 3 ingredients and is ready in 5 minutes, with amazing flavors from toasted sesame seed oil and everything-but-the-bagel seasoning.
In our house we prefer crunchy salads to leafy salads any day! This is the reason you won't find many lettuce and spinach salads on this blog, but you'll find lots of awesome salads with lots of texture.
This easy cucumber salad without mayo is keto, low carb, vegan, and it pairs perfectly with sushi and Japanese food and sushi.
More cucumber recipes: Cucumber Lemonade
Easy cucumber salad
This easy cucumber salad has just three ingredients: sliced cucumbers, toasted sesame seed oil, and Trader Joe's Everything but the Bagel Seasoning.
If you want to get super fancy, you can add some sliced onion and/or a squeeze of lime juice, but I promise you that this salad is amazing even without those additions.
I love sesame oil because it has a strong, toasted sesame flavor. A little bit goes a long way and adds lots of flavor to this salad.
This is the one I used in the pictures, and this is my other favorite go-to sesame oil, when I need larger amounts.
Everything but the Bagel Seasoning is also my secret ingredient for taking salads, soups, and toast to the next level. It has garlic and salt in it (in addition to black and white sesame seeds and poppy seeds), and the garlic and salt add lots of flavor to this salad.
I usually use Trader Joe's Everything but the Bagel seasoning - you can get some here if you're not near a Trader Joe's or if your store is sold out.
Other brands of this seasoning are just as good too - here are a few other options.
(Psst: if you like all kinds of seasoning blends, try making pistachio dukkah!)
Related recipe: Chickpea Feta Salad
What kind of cucumber to use for salad
I really love using European cucumbers / English cucumbers for salad (and snacking). They're the long cucumbers that are usually wrapped in shrink-wrapped plastic.
I prefer English cucumbers for salads because their skin is more tender than many other cucumber varieties and you don't even have to peel them.
Their seeds and insides are also less "watery," so you don't have to scoop out the seeds and they don't release too much juice, which makes sure your cucumber salad doesn't get soggy.
Of course, you can use your favorite kind of cucumber for salad, if you prefer. If the skin is rough, peel it (or peel it a little, leaving green strips of cucumber peel) to make it more pleasant to eat.
Try this other cucumber salad: Tzatziki Cucumber Salad
How to slice / chop cucumber for salad
This salad is good no matter how you chop or slice your cucumber, so it's really a personal preference for how to do it! I love using a mandoline to get perfectly even slices, so I use that.
This mandoline has several different blades so you can slice thinly and julienne, and it comes with cut-proof gloves, which are SO IMPORTANT for safety when using a mandoline.
Please PLEASE wear cut-proof gloves when using a mandoline. We all know those handguard knobs that come with mandolines do NOT work, so we end up using our hands.
I've had a couple of really bad mandoline accidents where I sliced off a piece of my thumb (sorry, gross, I know!), and it hurts a LOT. I ALWAYS wear cut proof gloves when using the mandoline now.
You can look at all the glove options here, since they do tend to run pretty tight (so you can get a good grip on whatever you're slicing), so you might need to shop for ones that will fit you.
If you choose not to use a mandoline, you can either use your knife to thinly slice cucumber, or just chop it up into chunkier pieces about 1/3 inch all around.
Other additions to this salad
As I mentioned above, this salad is great with a sliced scallion, and a squeeze of lime juice.
If you like, you can try adding thinly sliced red onion, a teaspoon or two of rice vinegar, grated ginger or minced garlic, other fresh herbs, such as cilantro, parsley, or dill... but probably not all at the same time! 🙂
However you decide to make it, I really hope you make this easy cucumber salad! We LOVE this one.
If you end up making this salad, please take a picture and tag me on Instagram or Facebook. You can find me at @babaganoshblog on both. I love seeing your creations!
Looking for other easy salads with cucumber?
- Chickpea pea shoot salad
- Cucumber, tomato, and quinoa salad
- Green lentil tabbouleh salad
- Kamut wheat tabbouleh salad
- Spiced pinto bean salad with avocado crema dressing
- Chickpea salad in a jar with homemade honey mustard dressing
Other fun recipes with cucumber:
- Smashed chickpea pitas with za'atar
- Bonefish grill watermelon martini - this one is so good!
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Sesame Cucumber Salad with Everything Seasoning
Ingredients
- 1 English cucumber - (or 2-3 Israeli cucumbers)
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil - (or more, to taste)
- 1 teaspoon everything bagel seasoning - (or more, to taste)
- Optional add-ins: pinch of salt, ½ teaspoon lime juice or rice vinegar, and/or 1 chopped scallion
Special equipment
Instructions
- Thinly slice the cucumber (or chop it).
- Combine it in a large bowl with the sesame oil and everything but the bagel seasoning. Mix well. Season with additional salt or the optional add-ins, if desired. Enjoy right away, or chill for up to 24 hours.
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.