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An Obsession-Worthy Summer Salad with Crunchy Cucumber & Creamy Avocado 🥒🥑
A few weeks back, with the best intentions of prepping a batch of avocado tzatziki, I had some avocados, cucumber, lemons, & fresh dill hanging around in my kitchen. Once dinnertime rolled around, though, I didn’t have enough energy to pull out the food processor. So I tossed everything into a bowl instead, with the hopes that it would come together as light & fresh salad.
Boy oh boy, did it ever! We loved it so much that I made it (no joke!) 5 more times in the following week & this avocado cucumber salad recipe is the result.
It’s crunchy & fresh from the cucumbers, super creamy & satisfying from the avocado, & has great tang from fresh lemon juice & feta cheese. It’s an all-around light & feel-good salad with flavors that just work with each other – the fact that it only takes 10 minutes to throw together is the icing on the cake!
Needless to say, it’s quickly reached summer staple status here at the PWWB House. We’ve loved enjoying it with our favorite grilled lemon chicken & rice for the best low-effort summer dinner, but I’m also planning to make it over & over for backyard cookouts, potlucks, & poolside hangs all season long. Summer side dishes don’t get better than that!
Cucumber Avocado Salad Recipe Highlights
There is seriously so much to love about this salad – you won’t be able to get enough of it! It’s…
SUPER FRESH. Made with crunchy & cooling cucumber, creamy bites of avocado, fragrant fresh dill, & zesty lemon juice, this fresh & easy cucumber avocado salad is everything there is to crave on a hot summer day.
TOTALLY LOW EFFORT. There’s no cooking involved with this simple salad recipe. It’s ready in 10 minutes & couldn’t be easier to make – simply dice some veggies, toss it all in a bowl, & dig in.
THE PERFECT SIDE DISH FOR SUMMER. Light & bright summery flavors make this cucumber avocado salad recipe perfect for backyard BBQs, summer potlucks, or lazy weeknights. Trust us, you’ll be making this one over & over.
So simple & so freaking good – to say we’re obsessed is an understatement! 🤩 ♡ Read on to learn more about how to make this Cucumber Avocado Salad, or jump straight to the recipe & get cooking!
Key Ingredients
This avocado cucumber salad recipe is made with just 6 basic ingredients. We pretty much always have them all on on hand in the summer – odds are you probably already do too!
You need…
- Cucumbers – Cooling & crunchy-crisp cucumbers are one of the highlights of summer. We use mini cucumbers for this cucumber avocado salad recipe, but feel free to use whatever is available to you. Check out the Ingredient Spotlight, below, for more tips & tricks!
- Avocado – We LOVE creamy avocado here at the PWWB House – any excuse to add smashed avocado or guacamole to a dish & we’ll take it! For this cucumber and avocado salad, you’ll need 2 avocados. Tip! ⇢ Wait to dice the avocados into bite-sized pieces until just before serving so it keeps its vibrant color!
- Feta cheese – This soft & crumbly Greek cheese adds even more creaminess & tang to the cucumber avocado salad, but you can feel free to omit feta to keep this recipe vegan. Tip! ⇢ We highly recommend buying a block of brined feta & crumbling it yourself, rather than buying the pre-crumbled stuff. It’ll give you the best flavor & texture!
- Fresh dill – Dill is one of our favorite fresh herbs – it tastes like spring & summer! If you don’t keep fresh on hand, feel free to substitute with about 1 tablespoon dried dill.
- Lemon juice – Not only does fresh lemon juice give the cucumber avocado salad a beautiful brightness, but the acidity also prevents the avocado from oxidizing & turning brown. Tip! ⇢ Give your lemons a good roll on the counter before squeezing so you get all of their juice.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – Just enough to bring it all together! Using high-quality EVOO is ideal for dressing simple salads like this one.
Cucumber Tips & Tricks
Summer is the season of cucumbers & there are lots of delicious options to choose from! When it comes to cucumber avocado salad, we’re partial to mini Persian cucumbers because they have small seeds & a thin skin that you don’t necessarily have to peel. English cucumbers work fantastically too. If you’re drowning in garden cucumbers, definitely make an avocado cucumber salad to use them up – you may want to peel & de-seed them first.
A few more tips & tricks:
- How to cut cucumber for salad? ⇢ Sharpen your knife skills for this cucumber avocado salad recipe by using an oblique or roll cut. We love it because it creates large, fun-shaped chunks of cucumber for a big crunch! Simply cut the cucumber on the bias, then rotate it about 180 degrees with each cut. If you prefer to simply slice or dice – go for it!
- Do you peel cucumber for salad? ⇢ Totally up to you! I always leave the skin on for this avocado cucumber salad recipe because Persian cukes have delicate & easily edible skin. If your cucumbers’ skin is thicker or a little bumpy then it’s probably worth peeling.
- How do you keep cucumber salad from getting watery? ⇢ Good question! Cucumbers are loaded with moisture, so this can be a common problem. Feel free to salt the cucumbers separately, drawing out the moisture before you mix them into the salad. You’ll notice that this isn’t a step for this particular cucumber avocado salad recipe because the larger, oblique-cut pieces leach less water.
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It’s no exaggeration when we say this quick & easy cucumber salad with avocado takes 10 minutes to toss together. It’s the perfect no-cook side dish for a hot summer day!
Prep the cucumber & avocado. This is the only bit of work involved! Simply cut the cucumber into large chunks on the bias (you don’t even need to peel it if you don’t want to). Then pit the avocados & dice them into ¼ inch pieces. Tip! ⇢ Set the avocado aside for now, but feel free to transfer the cucumber to a large mixing bowl.
Toss the salad. To the bowl with the cucumber, add chopped dill, feta cheese, lemon juice, & olive oil. Season with a good pinch of S&P, then toss to combine well. Pro tip! ⇢ Seasoning the cucumber with salt ahead of time draws out its moisture so the salad stays nice & crunchy, not watery. In our experience, it’s not totally necessary with this recipe since the cucumber is diced into larger pieces, but if you’re concerned about a watery cucumber salad then this is a good preventative measure.
Fold in the avocado. Finish by gently folding the diced avocado into the bowl with the rest of the salad ingredients. Then you’re good to go! Why? ⇢ Creamy avocado is super delicate! Folding it in last preserves its texture, keeping it in beautifully buttery pieces.
Easy Add-Ins & Recipe Variations
Once everything is mixed together, your cucumber avocado salad is ready to serve! We love its fresh flavors & textures but feel free to play with this recipe & add anything else you may like.
A few add-ins we love…
- Buttery & meaty Castelvetrano olives
- More fresh herbs like parsley or basil
- Finely diced red onion or garlic
- For a cucumber tomato avocado salad. ⇢ Add some juicy-sweet cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, or Roma tomatoes
- For a cucumber salad with Southwest flare. ⇢ Swap dill & lemon with cilantro & fresh lime juice
Make Ahead & Storage Tips
For best results, prep this cucumber avocado salad recipe right before you’re ready to serve it. Doing so helps ensure the cucumbers stay crunchy & the avocado keeps its vibrant green color. Plus it’s so fast to make, you honestly won’t save that much time by prepping it ahead!
- Make-ahead tips. ⇢ If you’re making avocado cucumber salad for a cookout or potluck, add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl in the 10 minutes before you head out the door & toss it together just before serving.
- How long does a cucumber salad last? ⇢ This salad is definitely best enjoyed the day it’s prepared, though leftovers will keep will keep up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
- Can you freeze cucumber salad? ⇢ We definitely don’t recommend freezing this particular cucumber salad with avocado. The fresh textures of the cucumber and avocado don’t hold up well in the freezer.
What to Serve with Cucumber Salad
We’ve been enjoying this avocado cucumber salad all summer long & still can’t get enough of it! It’s a versatile side dish you can make over & over for nearly any meal. Serve it with…
- Greek Chicken Wings or Greek-Inspired Chicken Bowls
- Tuscan-Style Grilled Spatchcock Chicken
- Butterflied Grilled Leg of Lamb
- Zesty Grilled Shrimp Skewers
- Lemony Chicken Pitas
- Chicken Burgers, Turkey Burgers, or Falafel Burgers
Our ideal plate? ⇢ Juicy grilled lemon chicken thighs with quick lemon rice & cucumber avocado salad on the side. We’ve made this meal many times & still love it just as much as the first night we had it for dinner. It’s simple, fast, & just perfect.
I can’t wait for you to try this Cucumber Avocado Salad recipe! What started as a weeknight whim has turned into one of our favorite easy & fresh summer side dishes & I have a feeling that you’ll be just as obsessed with its fast prep & flawless flavors!
If you do give it a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @playswellwithbutter on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about & seeing your PWWB creations! ♡ Happy cooking!
More Recipes Like This:
Summer Side Dishes
- Ben’s Broccoli Salad
- Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
- Everyday Slaw (a Simple Slaw recipe with TONS of Variations!)
- Creamy Greek Orzo Pasta Salad with Tzatziki Dressing
- Green Goddess Pesto Potato Salad
- Easy Grilled Vegetable Platter with Chimichurri Sauce (Vegan)
- Summer Tomato Salad with Charred Corn
- Mom’s Hawaiian Mac Salad (25-Minute Macaroni Salad)
- Shaved Zucchini Salad with Pistachios & Parmesan
10-Minute Cucumber Avocado Salad with Dill & Feta
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: serves 4-6 1x
- Category: Side Dish Recipes, Entree Salads & Bowls
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American, Greek-Inspired
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This light & fresh Cucumber Avocado Salad has quickly reached summer staple status here at the PWWB House. It has the best creamy-crunchy texture & its flavor is so fresh & cooling that it’s truly the perfect summer side dish. The fact that it comes together in 10 minutes using 6 simple ingredients is just a bonus!
Simply toss diced cucumber with creamy bits of avocado, finely chopped fresh dill, crumbled feta cheese, then bring it all together in a simple dressing of fresh lemon juice & good-quality extra-virgin olive oil. You can easily adjust this base recipe to your liking (add in bits of meaty Castelvetrano olives or juicy-sweet summer tomatoes) but we honestly love it as-is – it’s the perfect summer side dish.
I truly believe you’ll make this cucumber and avocado salad over & over again to enjoy with your favorite warm weather weeknight dinners or to bring as a dish to share at a backyard BBQ cookout. Be sure to refer to the blog post, above, for serving suggestions & plenty of recipe tips & tricks!
Ingredients
- 2 large avocados, diced into ¼-inch pieces
- 6 mini cucumbers, diced on a bias into ¼-inch pieces (approx. 2 cups)
- ¼ cup loosely packed fresh dill, finely chopped
- 2 ounces feta cheese, finely crumbled
- 2 lemons, juiced (approx. ¼ cup)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt & ground black pepper, to season
Instructions
- Cucumber avocado salad assembly: Place the cucumber, chopped dill, feta cheese, lemon, & olive oil in a large bowl. Season with ½ teaspoon kosher salt & ground black pepper as desired. Stir to combine well. Working very gently, fold in the avocado, just until combined. Taste & season with additional salt & ground black pepper as desired.
- Serve immediately, garnished with extra dill & lemon zest as desired. This salad is a great potluck dish & it’s also a super easy side for any weeknight dinner – we enjoy it all the time with this simple Grilled Lemon Chicken & our favorite Grilled Greek Chicken Wings.
Notes
- Ingredient Notes:
- Best cucumbers for cucumber salad: Whenever I make cucumber salad, I like using Persian cucumbers / mini cucumbers, which have small seeds, thin skins, & dice into bite sized pieces easily. English cucumbers also work beautifully! If you already have garden cucumbers on hand, feel free to use them in this recipe, though you may want to peel & deseed.
- Vegan cucumber avocado salad: To make this recipe vegan, simply omit the feta cheese or use your favorite dairy-free alternative.
- Make-Ahead & Storage: This cucumber avocado salad is best enjoyed immediately upon assembly, before the texture of the cucumber and avocado change much, though leftovers will keep, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. If making ahead for a party or cookout, prepare the salad as described in Step 1, folding in the avocado immediately before serving.
Recipe and Food Styling by Jess Larson, Plays Well With Butter | Photography by Rachel Cook, Half Acre House.
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