This recipe is always a standby in the summer months, when my single cucumber plant produces endless amounts of skinny, incredibly snappy cucumbers. I love to serve the salad as part of a mezze or antipasti, or as a side dish with grilled foods.
Who likes a watery salad?
To make sure the cucumbers don’t release their moisture and water down the salad, it’s a good idea to salt and drain the cucumber slices before tossing them with the dressing. And using cucumbers that are as young as possible makes a big difference, too – more flesh and fewer seeds!
Cucumber salad with Greek yogurt and mint
serves 4
active time: 15 min
For the dressing
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 small garlic clove – skinned and crushed (use a microplane grater)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground white pepper to taste
For the salad
- 1 1/2 lbs (680 g) seedless cucumbers – peeled, halved lengthwise and finely sliced (use the slicing attachment of a food processor)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons fresh mint cut en chiffonade
- Step 1: To make the dressing – Place all the ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk until well blended and set aside.
- Step 2: Place the cucumber in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with the salt and toss well with your fingers. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Transfer to a sieve or colander and let stand for another 30 minutes, to let the juices drain. Press the cucumbers with your hand to remove any excess juice. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the dressing and mint. Stir until well blended and serve immediately.
- Cook’s note: You can substitute the seedless cucumbers for 2 lbs (905 g) regular cucumbers. Peel, seed and quarter the cucumbers lengthwise before slicing them.
This is a perfectly balanced recipe. I’ve made it three times this summer with cucumbers, mint and garlic from our garden. Even my children have come around to admitting they like it.
James, thank you for your comment. I am tickled your children like this salad – the best endorsement one could ever get! Enjoy it for the rest of the summer season!
I made this for guests and it was refreshing and delicious. It was perfect. I used a mandoline to slice the cucumbers given the state of my food processor. There are several of your recipes which I have made often, including the oatmeal and pancakes, and will now include this too. Thank you for having such a wonderful blog.
Thank you so much for your comment, Marian! I am delighted you enjoy some of the recipes here… Just made my day!
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I added red onion, celery, and a little honey to this recipe and it came out great!
Delighted to hear, Kyrstin!
Thank you for the lovely recipe and easy to follow video. I watched it several times. I searched several popular recipe websites but couldn’t find a recipe I liked so I could use our abundance of cucumbers and wildly growing spearmint. I picked our marketmore cucumbers while they were young, so seeds were very small. Is there a reason to seed the cucumbers besides texture? We are having this for dinner tonight with company.
Hi Holly! I am so glad you like this recipe and found the video helpful. The reason for seeding regular cucumbers is that the seeds and pulp around the seeds are very watery. So even with salting and draining the cucumber, they will add a lot of “water” to your salad when you mix the cucumber slices with the dressing – and that is not so desirable. I wish you a fantastic dinner tonight. Homegrown cucumbers and spearmint are simply the best! Bon appétit!
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i recently made this and i love it!
I am delighted to hear, Dina… Thank you for stopping by!
Love this. Cucumber salads, in various forms, are staples in our house and yours looks fantastic.
Thank you so much, Anita!
So so refreshing! I had some cucumber salad with a simple vinaigrette yesterday, but I love yours more with greek yogurt dressing.
Thank you, Angie! The Greek yogurt is indeed lovely in this salad…