Cucumber Ribbon Salad
Cucumber Ribbon Salad has mini-peppers, radishes, and a spicy Thai dressing, and we loved the crunch of peanuts in this tasty salad.
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Have you ever thought of using the Spiralizer or a Mandoline Slice to make cucumber “ribbons” for a new twist on cucumber salad? I was intrigued with the idea, and then I worked on this Cucumber Ribbon Salad for weeks to get the dressing just right. And we absolutely loved it for a new take on cucumber salad with the the spicy Thai-inspired dressing adding lots of flavor!
This recipe could be adapted to use ingredients you have on hand, and we made it a few different ways, but in this final version we loved the colors from the Sweet Mini-Peppers and radishes. Peanuts are definitely optional, but they added a nice crunch.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
- European cucumbers
- radishes
- mini-peppers or strips of bell pepper
- green onions
- chopped peanuts (optional)
- Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link)
- fresh-squeezed lime juice, I used my fresh-frozen lime juice
- Fish Sauce, preferably Red Boat Fish Sauce (affiliate link)
- Chili Garlic Sauce (affiliate link)
- salt
What flavors are in the Thai Dressing for this Cucumber Ribbon Salad?
What makes Thai food so unique is the combination of sweet, salty, sour, butter, and spicy flavors in the same dish. This dressing has fresh lime juice, Red Boat Fish Sauce (affiliate link), Chili Garlic Sauce (affiliate link), Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link), and salt, so you can see that it’s loaded with Thai flavors.
Cucumber Salads are perfect for summer!
Check out Low-Carb Cucumber Salads to Keep You Cool when it’s too hot to cook and you have fresh cucumbers from the garden or Farmer’s Market!
How to make Cucumber Ribbon Salad:
(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)
- We used cucumber, radishes, and Sweet Mini-Peppers for this salad, but you can use this Thai dressing on lots of fresh vegetable combinations.
- We cut the and radishes and mini-peppers into slices for this version, but in our experiments we made some salads where they were cut into strips as well.
- We also added thinly sliced green onions, and chopped up some peanuts to sprinkle on the top.
- If you want the cucumbers to make individual spiralized slices, cut a slit lengthwise down each cucumber.
- Of course this is another recipe using the Spiralizer (affiliate link), but a Mandoline Slicer (affiliate link) would also make these ribbons of zucchini just fine. (You could also make the salad with zucchini noodles, using one of the Three Ways to Make Zucchini Noodles that I shared.)
- No matter what shape of noodles or slices you make, you’ll need to blot the cucumbers well with paper towels to absorb excess liquid or the salad will be watery.
- Whisk together the Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) or sweetener of your choice, fresh lime juice, Red Boat Fish Sauce (affiliate link) or Vegan fish sauce, Chili Garlic Sauce (affiliate link), and salt to make the dressing.
- Toss the salad ingredients together with the dressing, put in a bowl, add peanuts if desired, and enjoy!
- This is best when the dressing is tossed with the ingredients right before it’s eaten.
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
Cucumber Ribbon Salad served with Low-Carb Fusion Chicken, Low-Carb Marinated Beef Kabobs, Sanpete County Grilled Turkey Kabobs, Almond and Parmesan Baked Fish or Air-Fryer Chicken Drumsticks would make an amazing low-carb meal.
More Great Salads with Cucumbers:
Tomato Cucumber Salad with Mint and Feta
Spicy Chopped Greek Salad with Peperoncini
Cucumber Avocado Salad with Tuna
Cucumber Radish Salad with Feta Dressing
Al’s Famous Hungarian Cucumber Salad
Cucumber Ribbon Salad
This Cucumber Ribbon Salad has peppers, radishes, and Thai Dressing and this hot-weather salad tastes so good with the crunch of peanuts!
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 2 large European cucumbers (see notes)
- 10 radishes
- 6 mini-peppers (see notes)
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
- 1/3 cup coarsely chopped peanuts (optional)
Dressing Ingredients
- 1 T Monkfruit Sweetener
- 2 T fresh-squeezed lime juice (see notes)
- 2 tsp. Fish Sauce (see notes)
- 2 tsp. Chili Garlic Sauce
- 1/2 tsp. salt (more or less to taste)
Instructions
- Cut ends off the cucumbers, and peel off some strips if the peel seems thick. (I didn’t peel any off from the European cucumbers we used.)
- To get individual ribbon, cut a slit lengthwise, going about half-way through the cucumber.
- Then use a Spiralizer, Mandoline Slicer or other method to slice the cucumber into round ribbons. (affiliate links)
- Put cucumbers between a double layer of paper towels and press down to press out the liquid and get it absorbed into the towel. (You might need to do that twice if the cucumbers are pretty wet.)
- Cut off ends of the mini-peppers and scoop out the seeds; then slice into thin slices.
- Slice the radishes.
- Thinly slice the green onions.
- Coarsely chop the peanuts (if using).
- Whisk together the Monkfruit Sweetener or sweetener of your choice, fresh lime juice, fish sauce (or Vegan fish sauce), Chili Garlic Sauce, and a little salt to make the dressing.
- Put cucumbers, peppers, radishes, and green onions into a medium-sized bowl.
- Add the dressing, toss all ingredients together.
- Serve the salad, sprinkled with peanuts if desired.
- This salad is best when it’s tossed with the dressing right before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Use four small cucumbers if you don't find European cucumbers. Use one red bell pepper if you don't have mini peppers. I used my fresh-frozen lime juice for this recipe. You can use Vegan fish sauce if you prefer.
Recipe created by Kalyn.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 115Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 632mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This salad is loaded with low-carb ingredients, and when made with an approved sweetener and using fish sauce and chili garlic sauce that doesn’t have sugar, it would be a good choice for low-carb diets or any phase of the original South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Cucumber Recipes or Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use theDiet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was posted in 2014. It was updated with more information in 2022.
9 Comments on “Cucumber Ribbon Salad”
Becca, so glad you've enjoyed it!
When I was preparing this, I tried radishes for the first time and didn't like them. But with the cucumbers, they are a perfect balance – and the sauce is great! Thanks for the unique new salad. I've just made it for the second time in a week 🙂
Eileen, how I wish we had run across each other!
Kalyn, I'm sorry we never got to meet at the conference this past weekend! Glad to hear that you have a great time — I did too. 🙂 And this salad sounds just perfect for the hot days of summer! So crispy and delightful.
Thanks Ana, glad you like it.
Joanne, this may have been the most uplifting blog conference I've been too. (And just so no one is confused, this has peanuts, but not peanut sauce.)
So glad to hear you had fun at BlogHer!! This salad looks so refreshing with all of its crunchy fresh veggies…plus you know I'm never one to say no to peanut sauce!
Healthy and delicious! I love it!
Thanks Lydia! It took a few tries to get it right but this final version was really good.
Irresistible colors, and I love anything with chili sauce and fish sauce in the dressing!