Cucumber Radish Salad with Feta Dressing
This Cucumber Radish Salad with Feta Dressing is easy but delicious and cucumber and radish fans will want to make this all summer long!
PIN the Cucumber Radish Salad to try it later!
There’s no doubt that this Cucumber Radish Salad with Feta Dressing is one of my long-time favorite summer salads! This combination is refreshing, with the coolness of the cucumbers, a little zing from the radishes, and so much creaminess and flavor from the Feta dressing.
I do love cucumbers and radishes, but it’s really the flavorful dressing with Feta cheese that makes this salad such a complete winner. And it’s definitely cucumber salad weather, so today I’m reminding you about this salad for my Friday Favorites pick!
You might think cucumbers and radishes are an unusual combination for a salad, but I promise if you like both those vegetables and Feta Cheese you’ll make this easy salad over and over!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- small cucumbers
- large radishes
- crumbled Feta cheese
- Red Wine Vinegar (affiliate link)
- chopped fresh thyme or crushed Dried Thyme (affiliate link)
- extra virgin Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- buttermilk
How did we make this Cucumber Radish Salad even better?
When I first tried this recipe it took a bit of experimenting to get the it just right. Feedback from recipe testers on the first two attempts asked for smaller pieces of cucumber and radish, more Feta, and less vinegar flavor in the vinaigrette, and I definitely agree that those changes made the salad even better.
What cucumbers did I use for the Cucumber Radish Salad?
For this salad I used small, crisp Persian cucumbers (also called mini cucumbers) to make the radishes and cucumbers more equally crisp. Of course if you’re lucky enough to have fresh garden cucumbers, definitely use them, but I wouldn’t use large watery cucumbers with a lot of seeds. The Persian cucumbers didn’t need to be salted to draw out water, and that kept the leftover salad good in a fridge for a day, so they were a perfect choice.
What Feta Cheese did I use for Cucumber Radish Salad?
I’m a huge fan of creamy sheep’s milk Feta, and lately I am swooning over Kirkland Organic Feta from Greece. But any type of Feta you like the flavor of will be great in this easy salad!
How to make Cucumber Radish Salad:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Cut eight Persian cucumbers in half lengthwise, then into half-moon slices about 1/2 inch thick.
- I didn’t peel the Persian cucumbers, but if you don’t have this thin-skinned type of cucumber, you might want to peel some strips of skin off.
- Trim stem and root ends of radishes and wash, then cut radishes in half lengthwise and cut into slices just slightly thinner than the cucumber pieces.
- Toss radishes and cucumbers together in a bowl.
- I adapted a Creamy Feta-Red Wine Vinegar Salad Dressing recipe from David Lebovitz to make the dressing.
- Start by mashing together feta, red wine vinegar, and chopped fresh thyme (or crushed dried thyme will work in a pinch.)
- Then stir in olive oil and buttermilk and stir the dressing together. I loved the tang of buttermilk in this, but if you’re not a buttermilk fan you could use milk, or just use water like David did.
- Stir the dressing into the cucumber-radish mixture, season with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, and serve the Cucumber and Radish Salad with a bit more crumbled feta sprinkled on top. YUM!
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
For a low-carb meal, this Cucumber Radish Salad with Feta Dressing would be great with Grilled Lamb Chops, Low-Carb Marinated Beef Kabobs, Grilled Chicken with Lemon and Capers, Grilled Cuban Flank Steak, or Grilled Cod with Garlic, Basil, and Lemon.
More Fun Salads with Radishes:
- Crunchy Low-Carb Chopped Salad
- Blue Cheese Broccoli Radish Salad
- Chicken Salad with Avocado, Radishes, and Lime
Cucumber Radish Salad with Feta Dressing
It's the interesting dressing that makes this Cucumber Radish Salad with Feta Dressing so delicious! And if you like cucumbers and radishes and Feta, you'll make this salad over and over!
Ingredients
- 8 small Persian cucumbers (or other small cucumbers without large seeds)
- 12 large radishes
- 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese
- 1 T red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (see notes)
- 1 1/2 T olive oil
- 3 T buttermilk (see notes)
Instructions
- Cut ends off cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise, then cut into half-moon slices about 1/4 inch thick.
- Wash radishes and trim ends, then cut in half lengthwise and cut into half-moon slices just slightly thinner than cucumbers. Put cucumbers and radishes into salad bowl.
- Put 1/2 cup crumbled feta into a bowl or measuring cup. Add chopped fresh thyme (or crushed dried thyme) and red wine vinegar and mash slightly with a fork. (I like to leave it a little chunky.) Stir in olive oil and buttermilk (or use regular milk or water if you prefer.)
- Stir the dressing into the salad. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper (I didn’t use much salt.)
- Serve with the extra 1/4 cup crumbled feta sprinkled over the salad.
- This will keep in the fridge for a day or two, but it’s better freshly made.
Notes
You can use 1/2 tsp. crushed dried thyme, but fresh thyme is definitely better. If you don't have buttermilk just use regular milk or water to thin the dressing.
The dressing in this recipe adapted from Creamy Feta-Red Wine Vinegar Salad Dressing from David Lebovitz.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 85Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 6mgSodium 83mgCarbohydrates 9gFiber 1gSugar 4gProtein 3g
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 cucumber radish salad is a great choice for low-carb diets, and it’s also good for any phase of the original South Beach Diet, although South Beach might prefer a bit less Feta.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Salad Index to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet 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, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2010. It was updated with better photos in 2018, and was last updated with more information in 2023.
31 Comments on “Cucumber Radish Salad with Feta Dressing”
Lots of good info here, but not—how far ahead can make it? or when best to add dressing? I really need to know that today Keeping it separate—taking to family gathering. Used mandolin, some shaved garden onion
Thanking you
I haven’t ever made it ahead, but I think if you want to do that you can cut up the veggies and store in containers and mix the dressing and store separately. Then assemble the salad right before you are going to serve it.
Plan to make with fresh dill instead of thyme. Not used dill with radish before. Hope you concur
I do think dill will be good.
Salad looks really good. Though I’m not that into cucumber, I’ll give this a chance.
Hope you enjoy; we loved it!
This salad has my name written all over it, I think I could eat that dressing with a spoon and be a very happy camper!
Thanks Sue! I’m not gonna lie, I would definitely eat it with a spoon!
Anonymous, interesting idea to add some dry mustard to this mixture. Will have to try it.
I'm an addict of Feta cheese cold salad recipes. Keep the radishes for at least a day in cold water in the frig to make them crisp. To any red wine vinegar + XV olive oil dressing … puhleeze add 1/8 tsp of Coleman's yellow dry mustard per cruet. Too much is bitter, too little is missing 'the secret'. I've got the radishes… I'm heading out tomorrow for the cucumbers to try this.
clp, I love hearing that I am inspiring people to try (and like) radishes!
This was delicious. Even someone who didn't like radishes had seconds!
What a lovely salad. I have so many cucumbers and now i know what I will be making with them.
This sounds and looks like a delightful summer salad with a refreshing combination of ingredients. I like the use of the buttermilk dressing!
Lovely and healthy recipe, like always Kalyn. That is what I should eat instead of eating leftover chocolate peanut and caramel cake for supper and breakfast!!
yum!
Chef Chuck
The really cold weather has settled in here, yet I strangely find myself craving your salad!
The combination of crunch and sharp sounds inspired and a friend found for me a tin of real Bulgarian feta, off to the greengrocer I think.
The colors in the finished salad are really lovely. You've given me food for thought. I have no recipes for radishes in my files. This recipe is a great place to start. I hope you are having a wonderful day, Kalyn. Blessings…Mary
This looks wonderful Kalyn. You have so many great salad ideas!
A lovely summer's salad, dear Kalyn!! yeah!!!
Mmm. Looks delicious. I think I would substitute the buttermilk for Greek yogurt instead. It has a nice thick consistency but healthier. Thanks, Kalyn!
One will never run out of great salad recipes with your blog, Kalyn! This one looks great, too. I'm ready to try radishes again. I've never had mild radishes actually. They always seemed pretty potent to me, but maybe I haven't been exposed to the right ones yet. Love all the colors in this salad. It's the right time of year for everything cucumber. 🙂 I just made "bruschetta" using cucumber. 🙂
Shirley
This dressing sounds delicious! This whole thing sounds so refreshing.
very nice information and look forward to reading more and great recipes.
The colors are fantastic, and as I'm a butternut fan, I'm definitely adding this to my summer menus.
Home-grown radishes are just the best! Glad people are liking the sound of this.
I love radishes – the only ones I had last summer were a fat bunch that a farmer pulled out of the ground for me in Upstate NY. Those tasted particularly good, given the circumstances, as I'm sure the ones from your garden do.
Gorgeous colors. So excited that radishes are in season.
Looks SO good Kalyn!
ronelle
My husband is a big radish fan! I don't mind them but I forget to buy them. This looks awesome, I'll book mark it to try, thanks!
Your radish recipes always make me want to run out and buy a bunch of them (or raid a neighbor's garden). This dressing is inspired!