This lemon cucumber salad with avocado, feta, olives, and basil has a Mediterranean flair and you will find yourself making it all summer long! What’s not to love about the combination of cooling cucumber, creamy avocado, salty feta, and the briny olives? Easy, healthy, and fresh, this summer salad is the perfect accompaniment to burgers, steaks, chicken, salmon.
This is my version of the ever popular smashed cucumber salad. In our house, Mediterranean-inspired recipes are always a hit, so I put my own twist on the recipe concept by combining smashed cucumbers and avocados with kalamata olives, feta cheese, and fresh basil or mint. Because avocado, feta, and olives provide so much richness, the dressing consists of a single ingredient: lemon juice.
This Smashed Cucumber Lemon Salad with Avocado pairs well with these Mediterranean Lentil Burgers and these Shawarma Turkey Burgers for the perfect summer meal.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy: This salad is quick and simple to prepare, making it perfect for summer days when you don’t feel like spending much time in the kitchen.
- Minimal Ingredients: Only a handful of ingredients are required: Persian cucumbers, avocados, kalamata olives, feta cheese, fresh basil or mint, salt, pepper, and lemon.
- Healthy: This salad is packed with healthy ingredients like avocado and olives (rich in vitamin E and heart-healthy fat), cucumber (which is ultra hydrating), and feta (rich in protein and calcium).
Why Smash the Cucumbers?
While you don’t absolutely have to smash the cucumbers, smashing them helps ensure that they absorb the lemon juice and salt, giving more flavour in every bite!
Ingredients
Here are all of the ingredients you’ll need to make this Lemon Cucumber Salad. Scroll to recipe card for exact quantities.
- Persian Cucumbers: Persian cucumbers are best in a smashed cucumber salad. They are smaller than English cucumbers and have the perfect amount of water while still being able to hold their shape.
- Avocados: Creamy, buttery ripe avocados are the perfect counterpoint to the light and crunchy cucumbers.
- Kalamata Olives: Briny olives add a pop of flavour and Mediterranean flair.
- Feta Cheese: Salty feta pairs beautifully with the cucumber and lemon.
- Fresh Mint or Basil: Whatever you have on hand. You can sub parsley or dill, too.
- Lemon: This salad doesn’t have a traditional dressing. Lemon juice is really all you need atop the cucumber, feta, avocado, olives, and herbs.
- Kosher Salt: Ties all the flavours together.
- Pepper: Freshly ground, to taste.
How To Make This Recipe
- Prep the cucumbers: Begin by smashing the cucumber. To do this, slice each cucumber in half lengthwise. Using the flat side of your knife, smash each half, cut side down, on your cutting board. Cut each half into 1-inch pieces and add to a large bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients (aside from the lemon): Add the avocado, feta, olives, basil or mint, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Pour the lemon over top and toss gently.
- Serve!
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Hint: Be sure to use Persian cucumbers in this recipe. In my experience, English cucumbers and field cucumbers are both too watery for a smashed cucumber salad.
Storage Tips
This salad can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for two days.
Frequently Asked Questions
While you can use any kind of seedless cucumber, I find that Persian cucumbers work best in a smashed cucumber salad because they are not as watery as other varieties.
Related Recipes
Looking for other delicious summer salad recipes? Try these:
- Simple Greek Orzo Salad
- Tempeh Grapefruit Avocado Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing
- Egg, Fried Halloumi and Berry Baby Kale Salad with Lemon Caper Basil Pesto Dressing
- Smoky Roasted Chickpea + Corn Mixed Green Salad with Creamy Jalapeño Basil Goddess Dressing
Serving Suggestions
This lemon cucumber salad goes well with salmon, chicken, and steak. It’s also great alongside burgers.
I hope you love this salad! Let me know how you enjoyed it with a comment and rating. I love hearing from you!
Recipe
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Smashed Cucumber Lemon Salad with Avocado
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This lemon cucumber salad with avocado, feta, olives, and basil has a Mediterranean flair and you will find yourself making it all summer long! What’s not to love about the combination of cooling cucumber, creamy avocado, salty feta, and the briny olives? Easy, healthy, and fresh, this summer salad is the perfect accompaniment to burgers, steaks, chicken, salmon.
Ingredients
- 6 Persian cucumbers
- 2 large ripe avocados, cut into 1-inch chunks (or 4 small avocados)
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ⅓ cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced in half lengthwise
- ¼ cup fresh basil or mint, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Prep the cucumbers: Begin by smashing the cucumber. To do this, slice each cucumber in half lengthwise. Using the flat side of your knife, smash each half, cut side down, on your cutting board. Cut each half into 1-inch pieces and add to a large bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients (aside from the lemon): Add the avocado, feta, olives, basil or mint, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Pour the lemon over top and toss gently.
- Serve!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Salad
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