Cucumber Salad with Feta Vinaigrette
Easy Cucumber Salad with a Feta Vinaigrette is the PERFECT summertime side. With minimal ingredients and an easy homemade vinaigrette, this salad is delicious and super easy to make! Makes 4-6 servings, but can easily be doubled or tripled.
Love cucumbers this time of year? Be sure to check out these Cucumber Finger Sandwiches, TRISCUIT Crackers Cucumber Bites and Mediterranean Cucumber Salad.
2020 Update: This recipe was originally shared in June 2014. The recipe and post were updated in July 2020 to include new photos, as well as more tips and tricks. Enjoy!
Anyone else OBSESSING over Cucumber Season? And, like, all the things you can possibly do with cucumbers?
OK, so maybe it’s just me, but honestly, we love cucumbers in this house, and I love shaking things up from just eating the slices raw.
So today, I’m sharing a take on a recipe my family has been enjoying for years.
I love this Easy Cucumber Salad recipe because it’s refreshing and easy to make. While it’s a little different than the one my family has made (hi hello, I am extra and make a homemade vinaigrette to drizzle on it), the spirit of this dish is the same.
With the summer heat upon us, I wanted to share a light dish with y’all. The crunchiness of a fresh cucumber paired with a homemade vinaigrette with tons of spices and feta cheese is utter perfection.
So let’s make this goodness, mmmkay?
Other easy summertime side dishes that are perfect for many occasions: Strawberry Melon Salad | Greek Bruschetta | Roasted Tomato Salsa
What you’ll need to make recipe:
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- Sharp knife and cutting board
- Vegetable peeler
- Mason jar
Let’s talk ingredients!
In addition to the tools above, you’re going to need some ingredients to make this recipe, too! Chances are, you might already have some of them in your fridge or pantry. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full measurements and instructions.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to grab at the farmer’s market or the grocery:
- Cucumbers — you can use garden cucumbers or English cucumbers in this recipe.
- Extra virgin olive oil — this is the base oil of our dressing. You can use another neutral oil, like classic olive oil or avocado oil.
- Red wine vinegar — this is the acid for the dressing. I love red wine vinegar because of its punchiness, as well as color. If you don’t have it on hand, you could substitute it with white wine vinegar for a similar taste.
- Dijon mustard — coarse ground Dijon is my absolute favorite for salad dressings. The smooth kind also works if you don’t have the grainy kind.
- ¼ cup feta cheese crumbled
- Spices — we use a combination of garlic powder, freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt to give some flavor to the salad dressing.
- Herbs — I made the decision to use dried herbs in this recipe, but you can easily use fresh, too. You’ll need to double them. You’re looking for oregano and basil.
Variations on this salad:
I’m a cucumber fan, so I only use cucumbers in this salad… but you could easily add some other veggies to the mix, including red onion, sliced tomatoes or bite-sized cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives. You could also add drained chickpeas for some protein!
How to Make Feta Cucumber Salad
First and foremost, we’re going to peel the cucumbers with a vegetable peeler.
You want to remove a majority of the skin so that the cucumber rounds will soak up the flavors of the homemade vinaigrette we make.
Next, run a fork down the flesh of the cucumbers to create ridges in it. Yes, I know this sounds silly, but this is my dad’s longtime trick for the tastiest cucumber salad ever, and we do it in our household, too. (We like to think that creating these ridges in the cucumbers help them soak up more of the vinaigrette.)
Slice the cucumbers into thin rounds, then transfer to a large bowl, and set ’em aside.
How to make a Feta Vinaigrette
Combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, feta cheese, garlic powder, oregano, basil, black pepper, salt and onion powder in a mason jar.
Shake the mason jar vigorously until the ingredients are combined.
Now, you’ll pour the vinaigrette on top of the cucumbers, and let them soak for up to 3 hours before serving and enjoying.
How to store:
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Enjoy chilled from the refrigerator!
Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips
This easy cucumber salad is a family tradition in my family because it’s incredibly simple to make for a crowd but also wonderfully delicious, too.
- Make it in advance. The easy cucumber salad and vinaigrette can hang out together in a serving bowl before the cucumbers will lose their crunch, so keep them separate if you’re making this well in advance.
- Double the recipe. Feta Cucumber Salad never lasts long in our house (and for good reason!) If you’re sharing this with another family, I highly suggest making more of it!
What can I serve with this summer salad?
Since this recipe has a Mediterranean twist, thanks to the spices and feta cheese, you could easily pair it with the following dishes to create a meal that tastes like you’re traveling the globe:
- Homemade Garlic Hummus
- Grilled Chicken Shawarma
- Pantzaria me Skordalia (Roasted Beets with Garlic-Potato Spread)
- Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
That said, you can serve this cucumber salad alongside a Backyard Barbecue because it works well with BBQ dishes, as well. 🙂 You do you!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! If you’re using fresh herbs, please note that they’re not as potent as the dried ones. Double what the recipe calls for if using fresh herbs in place of the dried ones.
If substituting out the feta cheese, I’d use something like parmesan. If you don’t eat cheese, you can certainly leave out the cheese altogether and the vinaigrette would be tasty that way, too.
While we have a creamy element (feta) in this recipe, I don’t consider this a Creamy Cucumber Salad.
Nope! Use whatever cucumber you have on hand! Just know that you might need a different number, depending on how large or small your cucumbers are.
My favorite cucumbers to use are English cucumbers (pictured in this post), but garden cucumbers also work.
Quick Tips and Tricks for Feta Cucumber Salad
- Chop your cucumbers and make the vinaigrette in advance. Two to three hours before serving, toss them together so the cucumbers can soak up some of the vinaigrette flavors. (If making earlier on, store them separately until you toss them. The cucumbers will lose their crunch if they soak in the vinaigrette for too long.)
- Store the easy cucumber salad leftovers in a food-safe storage container in the refrigerator. While the cucumbers will become softer the longer they sit, they are still tasty!
Here’s how you can make it for your own celebration:
Cucumber Salad with Feta Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 4 medium-sized cucumbers or 2 large English cucumbers about 4½ cups when chopped
Feta Vinaigrette
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 6 ½ tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard coarse ground
- ¼ cup feta cheese crumbled
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon dried basil
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
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Instructions
- Peel the cucumbers with a vegetable peeler. Run a fork down the flesh of the cucumber to create ridges in it. (This is a trick my dad uses to help the cukes soak up some of the dressing.)
- Slice the cucumbers into thin rounds, then transfer to a large serving bowl. Set aside.
- In a mason jar, combine the ingredients for the Feta Vinaigrette. Once all measured in, place the lid on the mason jar, and shake vigorously until combined. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
- Pour the vinaigrette on top of the cucumbers, then toss with a spoon to ensure all the cucumbers are coated, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
My family normally makes cucumber salads with the following recipe: Cucumbers + mayo. Needless to say, this sounds a million times better! Love the sound of that feta dressing.
Oh wow! I’d have never thought to put mayonnaise on cucumbers… that sounds interesting. My family is a big proponent of cucumbers + Italian dressing. So to each his own.
This feta dressing is awesome. I’ve had it on the cucumbers. I’ve also slathered it on salmon. I’ve even put it on a sandwich. … It’s gooooood.
Yum! Feta is my favorite, and cucumbers are the most refreshing summer treat. This looks so simple and fresh!
I love feta, too, and I’m happy you think this looks simple and fresh! Cucumbers are some of my favorite things to eat in the summertime, and they don’t require hardly any work! Thanks for stopping by, Megan!
Yay for cucumber salads! My mom used to make a really simple one that was just cucumbers, red onion, and vinegar (?? that’s all I can remember, anyway), and we all loved it and scarfed down huge bowls all the time. This sounds so refreshing — definitely perfect for summer!
Yes! Hooray for cucumber salads! Your mom’s simple one that was cucumbers, red onion and vinegar sounds amazingly delicious and the perfect way to consume this summer veggie. I think when it comes to cucumbers, the more simple, the better! Yum.
This looks like such a tasty, elegant salad Erin! I’ve made a couple of cucumber pickles for pulled pork rolls etc but I’ve never eaten a bowl of cucumber salad like this one. I will definitely try it. Thanks for sharing your family’s version with us… the feta dressing sounds so yum! xx
Thank you, sweet Laura! Cucumbers are one of my favorite summertime vegetables, and they certainly don’t need a lot to make them extra delicious. Your cucumber pickles for pulled pork rolls sound amazing… are you sharing that recipe soon?
Let me know what you think of this when you give it a go! My family always makes a version with Italian dressing, but since I was in a mood for feta, I decided to change things up and make it Greek. They’re both equally delicious!
It looks FANTASTIC and sound super delicious
I need to make it, I have everything at home
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