Combine crunchy cucumbers with tender beets for a healthy and delicious cucumber beet salad. Toss the vegetables with fresh dill and a sweet lemon poppyseed dressing. The refreshing side salad is perfect for spring and summer with grilled and roasted meat. For more like this, try beetroot dip or cucumber carrot salad!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Beets: I love using nutrient-dense fresh beets, but use store-bought pickled beets or canned beats. The sweet and earthy beets complement the tangy elements in the cucumber beet salad. And don’t throw away the greens, use them to make beet greens smoothie!
- Cucumbers: Persian cucumbers and English cucumber work best in the salad.
- Dill: Brighten the healthy salad recipe with fresh dill. Fresh mint leaves are another tasty alternative.
- Dressing: Create a sweet and tangy homemade lemon poppy seed dressing using fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, poppy seeds, dried thyme, honey or maple syrup, extra-virgin olive oil, and a pinch of sea salt.
- Walnuts: Toasted walnuts my favorite way to garnish the salad.
Additions and Substitutions
- Add grilled chicken, baked or smoked salmon, and tofu to the salad to make it a complete meal.
- Garnish with rich feta, gorgonzola, or goat cheese, or add a dollop of Greek yogurt or haydari, a Turkish yogurt dip.
- What tastes good with beetroot? Include other vegetables like bell peppers, fennel, arugula, radishes, carrots, celery, zucchini, spinach, endives, or red onion.
- Replace the toasted walnuts with pecans, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds.
- I am obsessed with the poppyseed lemon salad dressing on this salad, but try sherry shallot dressing, blackberry vinaigrette, avocado green goddess salad, or miso vinaigrette instead.
- Include quinoa to make the salad more filling, like I do for my arugula quinoa salad.
How to Make Cucumber Beet Salad
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Dry toast the walnuts in a skillet and set them aside.
Step 2: Combine lemon juice, lemon zest, poppy seeds, dried thyme, honey, and salt in a small bowl or airtight container. Then, whisk in the olive oil to emulsify.
Step 3: Add the cucumber slices and dill and to a large salad bowl. Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of dressing over the top and stir to combine. Nestle the beats into the salad and garnish with toasted walnuts.
Expert Tips
- Wear gloves if you don’t want your fingers to turn bright pink while you prepare the beetroots.
- Cut the cucumbers and beets the same size for a uniform bite. I use a mandoline for a more consistent cut. You can also cut the vegetables into cubes or matchsticks if you prefer.
If you enjoy the salad, pair it with one of these dinner recipes!
Serving Suggestions
Serve the beetroot and cucumber salad with savory meals like bison steak, lamb shoulder chop, BBQ baked chicken legs, or boneless leg of lamb. You can also feature it on a Mediterranean meze platter with adana kebabs, butter bean hummus, pita chips, and havuc tarator.
What to do with the Leftovers
- Refrigerate: Store the leftover cucumber beet salad in an airtight container for 3-4 days. However, the entire salad will take on the pink color of the beets and the cucumbers will lose their crunch after a few days. Store any leftover dressing in an airtight jar for one week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can beetroot be eaten as salad?
This beet cucumber salad recipe is all the proof you need to start adding fresh, raw beets to your salads. Slice them thinly, cut them into cubes, or finely grate them. Use pickled or canned beets if that is what you have.
Cucumber Beet Salad
- Airtight Container or Mason Jar
- lemon juice, 2 lemons, plus ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 pinch sea salt
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2-3 small raw beetroot, peeled and thinly sliced
- 6 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
- ¼ cup walnuts, toasted
- Dry toast the walnuts in a skillet and set them aside.
- Combine lemon juice, lemon zest, poppy seeds, dried thyme, honey, and salt in a small bowl or airtight container. Then, whisk in the olive oil to emulsify.
- Add the cucumber slices and dill and to a large salad bowl. Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of dressing over the top and stir to combine. Nestle the beats into the salad and garnish with toasted walnuts.
- Wear gloves if you don’t want your fingers to turn bright pink as you cut the beetroots.
- Slice the cucumbers and beets the same size for a more consistent bite. I use a mandoline, so you can cut the vegetables into cubes or shred them.
- The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for professional advice.