Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

Make a simple tomato and cucumber salad with mustard vinaigrette to put a dent in your bounty of summer tomatoes.

With a zesty mustard vinaigrette rather than the typical italian vinaigrette used with tomato and cucumber, this easy salad makes a perfect variation on a classic!

Using just a handful of ingredients, this salad recipe is gluten free, Whole30, low carb, keto-friendly, and vegan.

Author's note: This recipe was originally published 6/2/16 and has been updated on 4/29/21.

Ingredients needed for tomato & cucumber salad

Well, you'll need tomatoes and cucumbers, of course!

For such a simple salad recipe, we're leaning heavily on the flavor and freshness of the tomatoes and cucumbers here. So make sure to grab tomatoes and cucumbers at the peak of freshness.

And preferably, make this salad when tomatoes and cucumbers are in season. Typically, that's May through October. But in North Dakota, where I live, they're typically not in season until late June!

For the mustard vinaigrette, the ingredients list fortunately doesn't get that much longer:

• extra virgin olive oil
• red wine vinegar
• stoneground mustard
• sea salt
• raw honey (optional)

All my top tips for making tomato & cucumber salad

If preparing for a potluck

This is a PERFECT summer potluck recipe — you're leaning on fresh veggies while they're in season (meaning: cheaper and plentiful!), and tossing them together with a simple dressing to rock the socks off guests.

The tomatoes and cucumbers can get a little soggy if left sitting in the dressing overnight. So if you're serving guests or bringing it to share, don't fully prepare this recipe hours or days in advance.

You can, however, slice up the cucumbers and tomatoes in advance. Store them in separate containers in the fridge overnight. Similarly, prepare the vinaigrette in advance and keep it in the fridge for up to a week. Then just toss everything together just before serving.

Oh, and while I sliced the veggies for the presentation of this salad, you can also cube the tomatoes and cucumbers if you prefer!

If making this salad for yourself/meal prep

Not worried about the presentation or guests? You can definitely prep this whole salad in advance and eat it as leftovers. It'll keep for about a week in the fridge, but it does get a little soggy and watery as the veggies release their retained water.

There is a plus side, though — I find that if I prep a huge batch of this salad to eat throughout the week, the flavors have a little more time to meld when it sits overnight. And I love that! However, I wouldn't serve it to guests that way.

Still, as mentioned above, you can easily prep the veggies and vinaigrette independent of one another. Then toss portions together just before eating.

This is one of those summer recipes that's both ridiculously easy and incredibly delicious.

More colorful summer salad recipes to try

• Easy Cucumber Salad
• German Potato Salad Recipe
• Watermelon Arugula Salad with Chili Honey Lime Dressing
• Best Greek Salad with Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette
• Mediterranean Watermelon Salad

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