Cucumber Broccoli Salad
While we’re still in the heat of summer, there’s no better time to make a refreshing vegetable salad! This cucumber broccoli salad pairs perfectly with just about every grilled meat you plan on serving at your next backyard barbecue. It also pairs fabulously with sandwiches if you’re packing a picnic basket.
I have a soft spot for a broccoli salad recipes – especially this one! I love this broccoli salad because it’s packed with fresh, crunchy broccoli and crisp cucumbers. It’s light, crunchy, and dressed with a refreshing minty Greek yogurt dressing. It’s truly the perfect combination of refreshing ingredients in every bite.
Oh, and the best part (other than those well balanced flavors), this salad is quick and easy to make, and is great for making ahead of time. It’s actually even better to make ahead than my cucumber salad or cucumber tomato salad because it has a longer shelf life.
Ingredient Tips Before You Shop
Cucumber – You can choose to peel or not peel your cucumber, just remember that most of the nutrients are in the skin. I often opt for English cucumber because they are have a thin skin and you don’t need to peel it. Just make sure to wash it.
Pine Nuts – You can lightly toast your pine nuts in a pan over medium-low heat for an added toasty flavor. If you need to substitute, I suggest almonds or cashews and chop them into small pieces.
Using low-fat ingredients – You can certainly use both low-fat mayo and Greek yogurt if you’d like. Just keep in mind that mayo and Greek yogurt that have their full fat content will yield richer, creamier dressing.
How To Make This Broccoli Salad
- Prepare the ingredients and add them to the bowl.
- Mix the dressing ingredients together.
- Gently fold the dressing with the veggies and nuts.
Make Ahead Recommendation
This is a good picnic salad to make ahead of time and bring with you to picnics, potlucks, or just get it ready for a backyard BBQ. I encourage broccoli salads be made at least 2 hours before serving. When broccoli is mixed with all other ingredients and dressing and sits for a couple hours, it soaks up all the wonderful flavors and softens a little bit.
- You can prep all of the ingredients except for the dressing and then simply mix in the dressing when ready.
- Or, you can mix the whole salad ahead of time.
- Either way, make sure to store in the food storage container closed with an air-tight lid and keep refrigerated. You can make it 1 day ahead easy but longer than that, the broccoli and cucumber will start to soften.
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Cucumber Broccoli Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 bunches of broccoli
- 1 medium cucumber
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 1/2 cup Feta cheese
- 1/4 cup diced green onion
- 1 tbs fresh dill weed minced
- 5 mint leaves minced
Dressing:
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp mayo
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- fresh cracked black pepper
- Salt
Instructions
- Cut the broccoli florets from the stem and chop them into smaller pieces.
- Slice the cucumber into straws. (You can choose to peel the cucumber and scoop out the seeds if you wish.)
- In a large mixing bowl, combine broccoli, cucumber, Feta, pine nuts, green onion, dill weed, and mint. Stir until mixed together.
- In a small bowl, whist together Greek yogurt, mayo, sugar, lime juice, salt, and pepper.
- Mix the sauce into veggies until all veggies are evenly coated.
- I recommend letting it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving. Give it a quick mix and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
More Easy Salad Recipes To Try
Categories:
4th Of July Recipes, Backyard BBQ Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Healthy Dinner Ideas, Salad Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
I crave fresh and simple meals when the weather is hot and this salad was perfection! My favorite part was the zippy dressing, it made it so refreshing!
I am so happy you liked it!
We have so many cucumbers from our garden this year and I was really excited to try this salad. It turned out so delicious and the lime really made a zippy dressing that we all loved.
I am so glad you like it, Missy!
This is such a refreshing salad!
Hi, Can I use mayonnaise instead of yogurt or sour cream? Also, if I omit the nuts and feta cheese would it change the taste of the salad?
Love your recipes!
Hi, Delores! You could substitute mayonnaise it will slightly change the flavor but I believe would still be okay. It would change the taste of the salad if you didn’t add pin nuts and feta cheese, You could try a different cheese and nut, let me know how you like it!
This sounded sooo good until I saw the dill. ( not a fan) Any ideas for an alternative? Thanks. 🙂
Hi there! You can use other herbs if you don’t like dill weed. Try cilantro, it has a great fresh flavor.
I had fresh cucumber & broccoli from the garden of a friend whom I was house-sitting for…. this recipe made the most of the two garden flavors and added a “cool” touch to them. I substituted flavored yogurt (pomegranate Tilamook already in the fridge) , bottled dill weed, and Mozzarella for Feta (I added a bit more salt to make up for the loss of salt from Feta). It tasted amazing even though I didn’t have; onions, mint or pine nuts. Worked much better for the bitter cucumber skins associated to the variety planted (don’t skin your veggies people; that is where the vitamins are!) then a typical vinegar/oil dressing. Thank you Lyuba!
I’m so glad you liked it. This sounds great version and I must try it!
I love broccoli and this sounds like a delicious salad! Pinning this to try out soon!
Thanks so much, Kristen!
This salad made my mouth water! I am featuring you today from last week’s All Things Thursday Blog Hop #2. I hope you’ll link up your greatness again tonight! Have a super day!
Blessings,
Nici
Thank you so much, Nici!
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