Spicy Tomato-Cucumber Salad with Peperoncini

email

Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

Yummly

This Spicy Tomato-Cucumber Salad with Peperoncini was inspired by a one-gallon jar of sliced Peperoncini that I found at Costco, and we loved this for a perfect summer salad. 

PIN Spicy Tomato-Cucumber Salad with Peperoncini to try it later!

If you’re following my blog on Instagram or Facebook, then you might have noticed that I recently bought a one-gallon jar of sliced Peperoncini! I was so excited to find that at Costco, because I absolutely love to use sliced peperoncini in salads, even when I have to scoop out the seeds and slice them. But already prepped and sliced Peperoncini, FTW!

So since we had that gallon jar, we used a whole cup of sliced Peperoncini in this Spicy Tomato-Cucumber Salad with Peperoncini and every one loved this salad when we tested the recipe. But feel free to use less Peperoncini and more of another ingredient if you’re just buying the small jars of Peperoncini from the grocery store. But be generous with the Feta cheese, because that’s another thing that made this salad so delicious. And if you’re a huge Peperoncini fan like I am, look below for more ideas for using it!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

• European cucumber or large cucumbers
• cherry tomatoes
• Peperoncini
• green onion
• crumbled Feta cheese
• fresh-squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
• Peperoncini brine from the jar of Peperoncini
• Green Tabasco Sauce, or hot sauce of your choice
• Spike Seasoning, or other all-purpose seasoning blend
• dried oregano
• extra-virgin olive oil

Is it spelled Peperoncini or Pepperoncini?

The Greek Peperoncini peppers I’ve been buying for years were spelled Peperoncini on the jar, so that’s the spelling I’ve always used in my recipes. But I notice this big gallon jar has the spelling Pepperoncini on the label. I searched around a bit on the web and I’m finding it spelled both ways. However, I did find a few sites claiming that Peperoncini is the correct spelling, so I’m going to keep using that!

Steps for making this salad:

(This is just a summary of the steps, see the complete recipe below)

1. Cut off both ends of the large European cucumber, cut in half lengthwise, and cut into half moon slices.
2. Slice cherry tomatoes and green onions, and measure out and drain the desired amount of Peperoncini. (See below for how to prep whole Peperoncini.)
3. Crumble and measure the Feta cheese.
4. Whisk together lemon juice, Peperoncini brine, Green Tabasco Sauce, Spike Seasoning, dried oregano, and olive oil to make the spicy dressing. (Ingredient links are affiliate links.)
5. In a large bowl, toss together the cucumbers, tomatoes, Peperoncini slices, and sliced green onion.
6. Add the desired amount of dressing and toss again.
7. Add the crumbled Feta and gently toss to combine.
8. Salad can be served right away or chilled.
9. This was still pretty good when it had been in the fridge overnight (even though I never like to refrigerate tomatoes) but it was definitely best the day we made it.

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

This Spicy Tomato-Cucumber Salad with Peperoncini would be great with Grilled Chicken Breasts or Low-Carb Marinated Beef Kabobs for a low-carb meal.

More Recipes using Spicy Peperoncini:

Peperoncini Chopped Salad with Romaine, Peppers, and Feta ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Pepperoncini Steak Marinade for Grilling ~ Reluctant Entertainer
Greek Peperoncini Chicken Salad ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Greek Style Cole Slaw ~ Recipe Girl
Spicy Chopped Greek-Style Salad with Peperoncini ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen

Want More Summer Tomato Salads?

Check out Ten Favorite Summer Tomato Salads (plus Honorable Mentions) for more amazing salad ideas for summer tomatoes!

Print

Spicy Tomato-Cucumber Salad with Peperoncini

Yield 6 servings

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

When I found a one-gallon jar of sliced Peperoncini at Costco, it inspired this Spicy Tomato-Cucumber Salad with Peperoncini!

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 large European cucumber or two large cucumbers
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
• 1 cup sliced Peperoncini (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 cup sliced green onion (you can use less, but I recommend using the full amount; this added a lot of flavor)
• 6 oz. crumbled Feta cheese (just a bit less than one cup)

Dressing Ingredients:

• 2 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice (see notes)
• 1 T Peperoncini brine from the jar of Peperoncini
• 1 tsp. Green Tabasco Sauce, or hot sauce of your choice
• 1 tsp. Spike Seasoning, or other all-purpose seasoning blend
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Cut off both ends of the cucumber you're using, cut in half lengthwise, and cut into half moon slices. (European cucumbers or garden cucumbers don't need to be peeled. If you're using cucumbers from the grocery store, I would peel off some of the skin in stripes.)
2. If you have whole Peperoncini, cut off the stem end and put them in the sink in a colander to drain. (I use kitchen shears to make it easy; affiliate link.)  When the juice has drained away, scoop the seeds out of each Peperoncini with a small spoon, then cut them into slices (also with the kitchen shears if you have them.)
3. If you're lucky enough to have a gallon jar of sliced Peperoncini, just take out the desired amount and drain in a colander.
4. Slice cherry tomatoes and green onions. (If you want to make this salad with chopped garden tomatoes, I would probably drain them in a colander if they're extra juicy.)
5. Crumble and measure the Feta cheese.
6. Whisk together lemon juice, Peperoncini brine, Green Tabasco Sauce, Spike Seasoning, dried oregano, and olive oil to make the spicy dressing. (Ingredient links are affiliate links.)
7. In a large bowl, toss together the cucumbers, tomatoes, Peperoncini slices, and sliced green onion.
8. Add the desired amount of dressing and toss again. (You might not need all the dressing, although I thought the dressing that soaked into the Feta cheese really added something to the salad.)
9. Add the crumbled Feta and gently toss to combine.
10. Salad can be served right away or chilled.
11. This was still pretty good when it had been in the fridge overnight (even though I never like to refrigerate tomatoes) but it was definitely best the day we made it.

Notes

I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice for this recipe.

Recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 192Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 1049mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 6g

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:
Spicy Tomato-Cucumber Salad with Peperoncini is a great dish for low-carb and low-glycemic diet plans. The amount of Feta here might be a bit much for the original South Beach Diet, but you can easily make this South Beach Diet friendly by adjusting the ingredients a bit.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one.  Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This salad was posted in 2019. It was updated and slighlty improved in 2021.

email

Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

Yummly