Creamy Cucumber Salad with Lemon Yogurt Dressing

Creamy Cucumber Salad has a refreshing, tangy Lemon Yogurt Mint Dressing which pairs beautifully with the crunchy fresh cucumber.

This is the sort of salad that’s ideal to serve on the side of roasts like Pork with Crispy Crackling or a Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder, and is also perfectly at home alongside full flavoured Indian curries like Chicken Tikka Masala and Middle Eastern food like Chicken Shawarma.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

We don’t ordinarily associated creamy dressings with the word “refreshing”, but that’s exactly what this salad is! The cucumber salad dressing is made with yogurt so while you get the lovely creamy texture, it’s also tangy and fresh, rather than rich and heavy.

The addition of mint really drives home the refreshing flavours in this salad. And while it is a “western style” salad, the flavours in it make it ideal for serving alongside spice heavy cuisines like Indian food and Middle Eastern food, and meat heavy mains like roasts.

What you need for Creamy Cucumber Salad

Here’s what you need to make this Creamy Cucumber Salad. Simple, easy, and fantastically refreshing!

Best Cucumber for Creamy Cucumber Salad

This cucumber salad can be made with any type of cucumber but I think the best cucumber for this particular type of salad are the Telegraph / English cucumbers – the long ones. 

These cucumbers are not quite as juicy on the inside so when you bite into them, you still get the refreshing crunch but less water so it doesn’t dilute the creamy dressing when you chew away!

However, this salad is still terrific made with the more common variety of shorter cucumbers (called Lebanese cucumbers in Australia).  In fact, I make this more frequently with these because they are typically very good value year round, whereas the long cucumbers are more expensive certain times throughout the year.

Make this creamy cucumber salad with 2 long cucumbers, or 3 medium cucumbers.

How to make it

Nothing ground breaking here! Just mix the lemon, yogurt, garlic and olive oil to make the Lemon Yogurt Dressing. Then toss with the cumber, onion and mint.

What to serve with Creamy Cucumber Salad

This is the sort of salad that is right at home at a summer banquet! Imagine a table laden with Beef Brisket with BBQ Sauce, piles of BBQ Pulled Pork, sticky Grilled Chicken and sausages. Serve it as a lighter, more refreshing alternative to traditional Coleslaw or Potato Salad made with mayonnaise based dressings.

For cosy Sunday Suppers, have it as a side to meat heavy mains such as Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder or Lamb Leg – mint and lamb are best mates!

Or go for Greek vibes – the lemon garlic flavour in the dressing is totally on theme. Try a main of Greek Marinated Chicken, Chicken Souvlaki or Greek Meatballs (Keftedes).

And the other cuisine that the flavours of this salad really go well with is Middle Eastern food. The refreshing flavour of this salad goes really well with the spice heavy flavours of food like Chicken Shawarma and Lamb Shawarma, Moroccan Meatballs, Lamb Koftas and Chicken Doner Kebab!

– Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Creamy Cucumber Salad with Lemon Yogurt Dressing

Author: Nagi

Prep: 10 mins

Total: 10 mins

Sides

Middle Eastern, Western

5 from 2 votes

Servings5

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Recipe video above. A beautiful tangy, refreshing Cucumber Salad! The yogurt dressing pairs beautifully with the fresh cucumber. Great side salad for Middle Eastern food, Greek, Indian and rich meat-heavy mains like Roasts.

Ingredients

• 3 cucumbers , standard (or 2 long Telegraph/English cucumbers) (Note 1)
• 1/2 red onion , finely sliced
• 1/4 cup mint leaves , finely chopped

Creamy Lemon Yogurt Dressing

• 1 cup yogurt , full fat (Greek or plain)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove , minced
• 1/2 tsp salt and pepper , each

Instructions

• Dressing: Mix ingredients then leave for 20 minutes for the flavours to develop.
• Cucumber: Cut cucumber in half lengthwise, then slice into 3mm / 1/8" thick slices.
• Toss: Place cucumber, onion and mint in a bowl. Pour over Dressing and toss, then serve.

Recipe Notes:

1. Cucumber type - make this salad with 2 long cucumbers (Telegraph/English Cucumbers) or 3 medium standard cucumbers (called "Lebanese" cucumbers in Australia, these are the most common variety).

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 109kcal (5%)Carbohydrates: 8g (3%)Protein: 3g (6%)Fat: 8g (12%)Saturated Fat: 2g (13%)Cholesterol: 6mg (2%)Sodium: 260mg (11%)Potassium: 350mg (10%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 5g (6%)Vitamin A: 274IU (5%)Vitamin C: 10mg (12%)Calcium: 92mg (9%)Iron: 1mg (6%)

Keywords: Creamy Cucumber Salad, Dressing for cucumber salad

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