Smashed Cucumber Salad

Yumna Jawad
Updated

5 from 1 vote

This Smashed Cucumber Salad is tossed in a Mediterranean dressing with feta and sesame seeds. It's so crunchy and so good!

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This Smashed Cucumber Salad might be the crunchiest salad I’ve ever made. I love that the dressing, feta, and sesame seeds really cling to the cucumbers without sinking to the bottom of the bowl. This also is what you call a fun salad: smashing the cucumber is a good way to take out stress!

Smashed cucumber salad with sesame seeds and crumbled feta.
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Smashing the cucumbers also creates a variety of textures and surfaces that absorb the dressing better! It’s a Chinese technique that I decided to give a Mediterranean twist by adding feta, lemon, dried mint, and sumac. If you haven’t had sumac before, I highly recommend seeking it out. The spice has a distinctive tart, citrusy flavor.

Recipe At a Glance

Cuisine Inspiration: Mediterranean
Primary Cooking Method: No-cook
Dietary Info: Vegetarian and gluten-free
Key Flavor: Crunchy, cheesy, and herby
Skill Level: Easy

Why This Is So Good

  • Refreshing: I make this salad year-round, but I always want it when the weather’s warm. The crisp, crunchy cucumbers are so refreshing.
  • Make-ahead: Because the cucumbers need to be salt for 30 minutes, you can start the salad ahead of time, pat the cucumbers dry, and pop them in the fridge until you’re ready to make the rest of the salad!
  • Kids love helping make it: At least mine do! It’s fun to let them crush the cucumbers.

Ingredients to Make Smashed Cucumber Salad

Ingredients for recipe: English cucumbers, lemon, shallot, salt, dried mint, sumac, black pepper, crumbled feta cheese, sesame seeds, and oil.
  • English cucumbers: These have smaller seeds that aren’t bitter! That way, you don’t have to de-seed the cucumbers before smashing them.
  • Shallot: This is like a mild onion! I like to mince shallots when I’m eating them raw.
  • Lemon juice: Every salad needs acid. It brightens everything up. My choice for this smashed cucumber salad is lemon juice!
  • Olive oil: For the most flavor, use extra-virgin olive oil.
  • Dried mint and sumac: These are my spices of choice for this recipe. If you have it, you could use double the amount of fresh mint instead of the dried.
  • Crumbled feta cheese: If you’d prefer to buy pre-crumbled feta cheese, that’ll work fine!
  • Toasted sesame seeds: I find store-bought, toasted sesame seeds to be a great time-saver. However, you can absolutely toast seasame seeds yourself!
  • Add fresh herbs. Toss in chopped, fresh cilantro, parsley, mint, or basil.
  • Leave off the cheese. If you’re dairy-free, you can just omit the feta.
  • Use a dressing. Leave out the olive oil and lemon juice and toss the cucumbers with a tahini dressing instead.
  • Add pickled onions. For an extra vinegary bite, toss in pickled red onions.

How to Make Smashed Cucumber Salad

This Mediterranean smashed cucumber salad has a zippy sumac-mint dressing, salty feta, and nutty sesame seeds. It’s super easy to make, but does take a little time because of salting the cucumbers!

Cucumber cut into half moons on a cutting board.
Step 1: Cut the cucumbers in half and then into thick slices.
Meat mallet smashing cut cucumbers.
Step 2: You can use a meat mallet or another heavy flat object to smash the cucumbers until they flatten slightly.
Half moon cucumber slices in a fine mesh sieve.
Step 3: Transfer the smashed sliced cucumbers to a strainer over a bowl and sprinkle with salt. This will help extract extra moisture from the cucumbers.
Drying cut cucumbers in a bowl with a paper towel.
Step 4: After they’ve rested for a while, add to a bowl and use a paper towel to dry the cucumbers.
Dressing ingredients in a bowl before mixing.
Step 5: Add the shallot, lemon juice, olive oil, mint, sumac, and black pepper to a serving bowl.
Dressing in bowl after mixing.
Step 6: Whisk the dressing to combine it.
Cucumbers tossed in dressing.
Step 7: Transfer the cucumbers on top of the dressing and toss to coat.
Feta and sesame seeds added on top of dressed cucumbers.
Step 8: Sprinkle the feta cheese and toasted sesame seeds on top and serve.

Tips for Making the Best Smashed Cucumber Salad with Feta

  1. Smash the cucumbers well. You want them to be smashed enough they have a craggy surface that clings to the dressing.
  2. Don’t skip the salting time. This helps make the cucumbers extra crisp.
  3. Pat the cucumbers dry. The salt releases water from the cucumbers (which is why they get super crisp!). You’ll want to remove this excess liquid before tossing the cucumbers with the dressing.
  4. Sprinkle the feta cheese and sesame seeds on top. I like adding them right before serving (and not mixing them in) to make sure everyone gets enough feta and sesame seeds.

What to Serve With Mediterranean Smashed Cucumber Salad

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you store smashed cucumber salad?

This salad will last for a couple of days if kept in the fridge in an airtight container. Enjoy it cold, straight from the fridge!

Do I have to smash the cucumber?

You don’t have to. You could certainly just slice them. The cucumbers just might not hold onto the dressing as well!

What can I use to smash the cucumbers?

A meat pounder is heavy and makes smashing the cucumbers easy, but you could also use a rolling pin.

Smashed cucumber salad in a bowl with feta and sesame seeds.

I recently served this Smashed Cucumber Salad with air-fryer fried chicken! The contrast between the crispy chicken and crunchy vegetables was incredible. I think this is an easy salad recipe everyone should bookmark. It goes with so much, and it is that good!

More Cucumber Recipes:

If you try this feel good Smashed Cucumber Salad recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!

Smashed cucumber salad recipe.
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Smashed Cucumber Salad

This Smashed Cucumber Salad is tossed in a Mediterranean dressing with feta and sesame seeds. It's so crunchy and so good!
5 from 1 vote
Author Yumna Jawad
Servings 4 servings
Course Side Dish
Calories 169
Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
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Ingredients
  

  • 2 English cucumbers
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt plus more as needed
  • 1 small shallot finely minced
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon dried mint
  • ½ teaspoon sumac
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

  • Place the cucumbers on a cutting board, and slice each cucumber in half lengthwise. Then cut into 1 ½-inch thick slices and and use a meat mallet or heavy flat object to pound the cucumbers until they smash and flatten slightly.
  • Transfer the smashed sliced cucumbers to a strainer set over a bowl. Sprinkle the cucumber with salt and mix until well combined. Rest for 30 minutes to allow the liquid to drain from the cucumbers.
  • Meanwhile, make the dressing by whisking together the shallot, lemon juice, olive oil, mint, sumac and black pepper in a serving bowl.
  • Use a paper towel to dab the cucumbers dry. Transfer the dried cucumbers on top of the dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle the feta cheese and toasted sesame seeds on top and serve.

Equipment

Notes

Storage: Kept in the fridge in an airtight container, this salad will last for a couple of days. Enjoy it cold, straight from the fridge!

Nutrition

Serving: 2cups, Calories: 169kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 8mg, Sodium: 974mg, Potassium: 282mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 203IU, Vitamin C: 9mg, Calcium: 111mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Calorie, Vegetarian
Cuisine Mediterranean
Course: Side Dish

5 from 1 vote

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Comments

  1. Jackie P says:

    This cucumber salad was so delicious! My husband was drinking the dressing from the bottom of his bowl 🤣

    Reply
    1. Yumna J. says:

      Oh my goodness hahaha I love that!! Thank you, so happy you both enjoyed the recipe!

      Reply
  2. Sarah says:

    This sounds delicious! How does it keep?

    Reply
    1. Yumna J. says:

      Hi Sarah! It keeps well for 24 hours since a lot of the moisture is already released from the cucumbers. But unfortunately there is still some moisture, so after 24 hours it’s not as crunchy.

      Reply