Take your salad to the next level! This easy spicy cucumber salad with harissa marinated feta and bold flavors is an unforgettable taste experience.
Wouldn’t you like to eat a fresh cucumber salad all year round?
It’s an exotic recipe that takes just 15 minutes to make. It’s like getting the flavors of Morocco without leaving your house.
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Ingredients
Here is a quick look at the ingredients. It is to understand why these specific ingredients were chosen. To get the full recipe, go to the bottom of this post.
- Feta Cheese – This cheese is a good source of complete protein. ¼ block of this feta has about 10g of protein. Related: Is feta is vegetarian?
- Olives – Olives are packed with good fats. These good fats help protein be absorbed more efficiently. That’s why I always pair my olive salad with whipped feta.
- Cucumber – Along with a great crunch, cucumber is packed with so much nutrition. It’s also has a lot of fiber. I prefer mini cucumbers, but you can also use regular cucumber or English cucumber.
- Radishes – Radish’s strong bite is perfect compliment for the bland flavors of cucumber. It’s also a great veggie for your liver. You can even roast radishes in butter and eat as a healthy lunch.
- Harissa – Harissa can be spicy or mild. I choose mild for this recipe, but I always prefer the spicy version. Choose your spice level for this recipe.
- Avocado oil – This is optional, but it a good fat that gives a unique flavor the salad.
- Fresh Dill – One of it’s main benefits is that it can help digestion, especially of fiber. Dill is also good for your heart and lowering your cholesterol. Source: Dr. Axe.
- Red onions – Cucumber and onions are a great combination in this salad. These onions have a lot of phytochemicals, have fiber and help blood sugar. Source: Livestrong.com
How to make cucumber salad
Step 1: Marinate the feta and olives
The first thing to do is to marinate the feta and olives in Harissa sauce. Ideally, you want to marinate them overnight, but you can marinate for 30 minutes.
- Cut the feta block into about 1″ cubes.
- Place the feta cubes and olives in a glass jar, preferably with a latch lock. This is what I use -> (Affiliate Link) Kringol 4 Pack Jars.
- Add the Harrissa sauce and water to the glass jar.
- Gently mix the ingredients, making sure to not smoosh the feta. Marinate for 30min or overnight.
🍅 Handy Tip: Make extra marinated feta and olives to keep in fridge. It’s a nice snack or add it to sandwiches and pasta salads. It’s packed with protein and good fats.
Step 2: Assemble the salad
- Place the chopped veggies, marinated feta and olive combo along with fresh dill in a salad bowl.
- Add the salt, lemon juice and avocado juice to the bowl.
- Add 2 tsp of the harissa marinade sauce.
- Mix well and serve this cold cucumber salad immediately.
Answering common questions
Almost all feta cheese is made with animal rennet enzyme. This means that it’s not vegetarian friendly. However, Organic Valley makes feta blocks that DON’T use animal rennet. They use plant enzymes to make their feta cheese.
Harissa is normally on the spicy side. But, you can use Mina’s harissa sauce that makes a very mild flavor.
Yes, you can make this a vegan cucumber salad. Only feta needs to be replaced. You can either use my marinated harissa tofu or use my vegan feta cheese recipe.
Related: What do vegans eat?
Other than the size, mini cucumber has a better crunch. It also holds the flavors of the salad well too. Also, there are almost no seeds in the mini cucumber.
🛍 Shopping tip: Organic Valley’s Feta Blocks are not always easy to find. So, when you see it at your grocery store, stock up on it. I will buy 4-5 blocks and keep them and that will last me about 6 months.
Storing leftovers
This spicy cucumber salad is best when fresh! After a few hours, it gets soggy and the cucumber tends to get limp.
If you do have leftovers, put them in glass containers (Affiliate Link) like these and refrigerate. Use up within 1-2 days.
In case you want to use this recipe for cucumber salad in a meal prep, here is how I do it. Keep the feta, olives, salt, lemon juice and oil in a separate container from the cucumber, dill, onions and radishes.
Mix all the ingredients only when you are ready to eat the salad. This way, you will have the best cucumber salad.
👩🍳 Substitution tip: If you want to make this vegan, use marinated tofu instead of marinated feta. Harissa marinated tofu would be great with this salad.
What to serve with it
Cucumber dill salad will be a great side to cauliflower steaks, mac and cheese or quinoa salad. Serve it with some pasta dishes like this cauliflower orzo salad.
How will you serve this cauliflower salad?
Try these cucumber recipes
Sharing is caring
Don’t be shy, chime in below in the comments. Let me hear your opinion on this spicy cucumber salad recipe. If you enjoyed this keto arugula salad recipe, please give it 5 stars and share it on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram.
Easy Cucumber Salad
Equipment
- Glass jar with latch lock
- Salad bowl
Ingredients
For marinating feta
- 2 Tbsp Harissa sauce Mild or Medium
- ½ block feta
- ¼ cup olives I used Spanish olives
- ¼ cup water
For the salad
- 2 mini cucumbers thinly sliced rounds
- 3 radishes thinly sliced rounds
- ¼ cup red onion
- 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt optional
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 3 sprigs fresh dill
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
Instructions
Step 1: Marinate the feta
- Cut the feta block into about 1″ cubes
- Place the feta cubes and olives in a glass jar, preferably with a latch lock
- Add the Harrissa sauce and water to the glass jar
- Gently mix the ingredients, making sure to not smoosh the feta. Marinate for 30min or overnight
Step 2: Assemble the salad
- Place the chopped veggies, marinated feta and olive combo and fresh dill in a salad bowl
- Add the salt, lemon juice and avocado juice to the bowl
- Add a tsp of the feta marinated liquid to the salad
- Mix well and serve this cold cucumber salad immediately.
Glenda says
What a delicious salad! Cucumbers are always a hit at our house. This spicy version is scrumptious! We loved it!
Rini says
Thank you, Glenda
Kris says
The harissa and feta were such a fab combo against the freshness of the cucumber! The whole family loved it. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
Rini says
Thank you, Kris
Gen says
This is so delicious! I love olives and feta together, and with the heat of the harissa I’m in heaven. Thanks for the recipe!
Rini says
Thank you, Gen.
Jenn says
I love how bright and fresh and fabulous this salad is. The kick of heat is terrific, too! Yum!
Rini says
Thank you, Jenn
Rachna says
This salad is so delicious. I loved the harissa marinated kick off feta and the crunchy cucumbers and radishes. What a lovely idea!
Rini says
Thank you, Rachna. I am now obsessed with Harissa.
Amy says
What can I substitute for Harissa Sauce?
Rini says
Hello Amy, You can use sriracha, if you like that sauce. Or, puree bell peppers (roasted or raw) and add your favorite seasonings to it. Use this bell peppers sauce instead of harissa.