This cucumber and bell pepper salad features bold flavors, crunchy texture, and vibrant color. Made with just a few simple ingredients, it's sure to become your new favorite Summer side salad!
If you're like me and always looking for new healthy salad recipes, you're going to love this bell pepper cucumber salad!
This crunchy salad features crisp cucumbers, sweet bell peppers, and a flavorful homemade ginger sesame dressing. For added texture, it's sprinkled with sesame seeds and finished with chili crisp (totally optional).
I just know you'll love it as much as we do!
Why You'll Love It:
- Crunchy and crisp. Big on texture? Big on flavor? Then you need this sweet pepper salad on regular rotation.
- Delicious way to get your veggies. Lightly dressed and seriously flavorful - what's not to love about that?
- Fresh ingredients. This delicious recipe is packed with fresh veggies, making for a refreshing and perfect side salad any time of year.
Ingredients
- Cucumber: Mini cucumbers are the top recommendation, but you could use Persian cucumbers or even English cucumbers (just be sure to remove the seeds first)
- Bell pepper: We recommend using mini peppers, as they have few seeds and can easily be sliced into bite-sized rings. If using full-sized bell peppers, seed them and cut them into small strips.
- Sesame seeds: These add crunch and a nice nutty flavor. We use a mix of regular and black sesame seeds, but one or the other is just fine. Everything bagel seasoning can be used instead if you prefer!
- Chili crisp (optional): Adds just a touch of heat and an incredible flavor. Yum!
For the Sesame Ginger Dressing:
- Olive oil
- Sesame oil (or tahini)
- Honey (or maple syrup)
- Fresh ginger
- Garlic
- Rice vinegar
- Soy sauce (or tamari)
How to Make Bell Pepper and Cucumber Salad
- Slice the mini bell peppers and place them in a large bowl.
- Cut the cucumber into ¼" thick rounds and place them on top of the peppers.
- Toss the salad to distribute the vegetables evenly.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds (or everything bagel seasoning) and chili crisp oil.
- Prepare the sesame ginger dressing. First, add the rice vinegar to a mini blender or glass jar and grate in 2 cloves of garlic. Allow it to steep for 5 minutes (this reduces the sharpness of raw garlic). After the 5 minutes are up, add the remaining dressing ingredients.
- Blend or mix the dressing until smooth. We like to use a mini blender or milk frother, but a vigorous whisking does a great job.
- Drizzle the dressing on top of the salad.
- Toss the salad together until the dressing is evenly distributed. Taste and adjust seasonings and flavors to your preference before serving.
This salad is best when chilled for about 60 minutes before serving, but it's totally delicious when served right away too!
Storing Leftovers and Meal Prep
Transfer the salad to an airtight container or cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. It will store well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You might notice some liquid releases and collects at the bottom - just give it a good stir before serving.
Meal Prep Tips
- This recipe maintains a great texture for 2-3 days in the refrigerator.
- It's perfect for meal prep, whether you need an easy lunch or a side dish for dinner.
- Add cooked chicken (or the protein of your choice) and crunchy cashews (or almonds) to make it a full meal.
Substitutions
Cucumbers: This recipe calls for mini cucumbers, but if you want to use full size cucumbers, you can absolutely do that. You will need to seed them first unless you're using Persian cucumbers (which have fewer seeds).
Peppers: Sweet mini peppers make for cute rings and they are easy to slice, but regular bell peppers can be used too! Just remove the seeds, then cut them into bite-sized strips.
Everything bagel seasoning: The sesame seeds can be swapped in for everything bagel seasoning if you would like a more salty and garlicky flavor to your salad.
Chili oil (chili crisp): This is an optional ingredient, so you can leave it out altogether if you don't have any on hand. If you still want to add a spicy kick, you can add a pinch of red pepper flakes instead.
Expert Tips
- Mellow the garlic. Adding the garlic to an acid (rice wine vinegar in this case) for about 5 minutes helps to mellow the strong flavor of raw garlic. It's worth the (short) wait!
- Add protein. This colorful salad makes an amazing side dish, but it can make a satisfying main dish too! Just add some grilled chicken (or the protein of your choice) and a sprinkling of cashews or almonds, and you'll have a one-dish recipe that's packed with flavor and protein.
- Experiment with flavor. Once you've tried the recipe as written, try adding different ingredients to add more color and flavor. Consider additions like red onion, creamy avocado, green onions, fresh herbs, cherry tomatoes, poppy seeds, everything bagel seasoning, etc.
More Cucumber Recipes:
If you loved this recipe for cucumber and bell pepper salad, let me know by leaving a 5-star review in the recipe card or comment below! You can also tag me on Instagram @dashfordinner.
Cucumber and Bell Pepper Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound mini cucumbers sliced (about 6-7) (or 2 English cucumbers, seeded)
- 1 pound mini sweet peppers sliced and seeded (or 2 bell peppers, finely sliced)
- 2-3 teaspoons sesame seeds I like to use a mixture of regular and black sesame seeds
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili crisp optional
Sesame Ginger Dressing
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar seasoned (or mirin)
- 1 clove garlic finely grated
- 2 tablespoons olive oil extra-virgin
- 2-3 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
- 2 ½ teaspoons soy sauce or tamari
- 1 ½ teaspoons sesame oil or tahini
- 1 inch fresh ginger finely grated
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
Instructions
- First, add the rice vinegar to a mini blender or small glass jar. Grate the garlic clove directly into the blender or jar, and allow the garlic to soak in rice vinegar for about 5 minutes. This reduces the sharp flavor of fresh garlic.
- Prepare the dressing. Add the olive oil, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, grated fresh ginger, and black pepper to the same blender or jar as the garlic and rice vinegar. Blend or mix well until the dressing comes together. Taste and adjust to your preference. Set aside while you make the salad.
- Chop the veggies. Slice both the cucumber and mini bell peppers into ⅛-¼" thick rounds. If using English cucumbers, slice them in half and remove the watery seeds first, then slice the quarter moon shapes into thin slices. If using bell peppers, seed them first, then slice into 2" long, ⅛-¼" thick pieces.
- Assemble. Transfer the sliced cucumbers and bell peppers to a large salad bowl. Sprinkle on 2-3 teaspoons of sesame seeds and 1 ½ teaspoons of chili crisp (optional). Toss well to combine.
- Add the dressing. Drizzle the dressing on top of the salad, then toss well to ensure everything is evenly coated in the dressing.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Substitutions
- With everything bagel seasoning: Swap the sesame seeds for everything bagel seasoning.
- Cucumbers: If desired, you can use english cucumbers or persian cucumbers instead of mini ones. Just remove the seeds from english cucumbers if you go that route.
- Bell pepper: Full-sized bell peppers can be used as long as the seeds are removed and they are sliced into bite-sized pieces.
- Coconut aminos: Swap the soy sauce for coconut aminos, tamari, or gluten-free soy sauce if needed.
Nutrition
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Dorothy Bigelow says
We love making this salad over and over again, and honestly have not grown tired of it. It's really flavorful and scratches that itch when you're craving something crispy and crunchy.