Thai Cucumber Salad
This Thai Cucumber Salad will wake up your mouth, and it’s a perfect low-carb side dish for any meal with Asian vibes. And if you like Thai food you’re going to love this cucumber salad that has the flavors that are often found in Thai dishes.
PIN Thai Cucumber Salad to make it later!
Thai food is known for having distinctive flavor combinations, and those same flavors work together so well in this Thai Cucumber Salad, even if some ingredients I’ve used are not authentically Thai. And this light cucumber salad is a perfect side dish for grilled meat, seafood, or tofu, and I’d also eat this as a very delicious summer lunch salad. And the flavors in this salad will definitely take cucumber salad to a whole new level!
If you like Thai food and cucumbers I bet you’re going to love this cucumber salad with amazing Thai flavors as much as I did! This is a salad I’ve made over and over since I first posted the recipe years ago, and I’m happy to be giving it some new photos to encourage you to try it!
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.)
- European cucumbers or fresh garden cucumbers
- fresh mint
- chopped peanuts
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh-squeezed lime juice, I used my fresh-frozen lime juice
- Fish Sauce, preferably Red Boat Fish Sauce (affiliate link) which is gluten-free
- Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) or other sweetener of your choice
- Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link) or other spicy hot sauce
- garlic puree or minced garlic
What Are the distinctive flavors of Thai cuisine?
I’m a huge fan of Thai Cuisine, which is known for dishes that contain spicy, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory (or Umami) flavors. Read more about Thai Cuisine to see how these flavors are combined in amazing dishes.
What gives this cucumber salad the Thai flavors?
I’m not claiming this salad is authentically Thai, but it does have a good combination of the flavors used in Thai cuisine. The dressing for the salad has lime juice, Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) or your preferred sweetener, Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link), and garlic, and the Umami flavor notes come from fish sauce (affiliate link).
Is Fish Sauce a must for Thai Cucumber Salad?
Fish sauce is an interesting Asian condiment (with a strong aroma but fantastic flavor) and this may be an unusual ingredient for some readers, but personally I’d never make this salad (or any Thai recipe) without it. Be sure to use Gluten-Free Fish Sauce if you need the recipe to be gluten-free. And if you want this recipe to be vegetarian or just don’t want to use fish sauce, substitute the same amount of soy sauce or coconut aminos for this recipe.
How low in carbs is this Thai Cucumber Salad?
This delicious salad with Thai flavors only has about 4 net carbs per serving!
More recipes with Thai flavors:
I’m a huge fan of Thai food and if you’re also a fan you might like these:
How to Make Thai Cucumber 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 up cucumbers into bite-sized pieces. (I’ve made this with European cucumbers, garden cucumbers, and also small Persian cucumbers, and all were good. I wouldn’t use waxy cucumbers from the grocery store for this salad.)
- Whisk together the lime juice, fish sauce (affiliate link), Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) or your preferred sweetener, Green Tabasco (affiliate link), and garlic to make the dressing.
- Chop the mint, or cut mint leaves into thin strips if you prefer.
- Combine the cucumber pieces and chopped or sliced mint in a bowl, then stir in the dressing.
- Season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper.
- Top the salad with a generous amount of chopped peanuts and serve immediately.
- If the salad makes more than you’ll eat at one time I would prepare ingredients but refrigerate separately; then stir together as many servings of the salad as you’ll be eating!
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
Thai Cucumber Salad would taste great with Sauteed Scallops with Garlic, Grilled Shrimp Skewers, Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken, or Sanpete County Grilled Turkey Kabobs.
More Salad Ideas with Cucumbers:
Check out 30 Low-Carb Cucumber Salad Recipes to find more interesting salads with cucumbers from Kalyn’s Kitchen! Can you tell I am a huge fan of cucumber salads!
Thai Cucumber Salad
This Thai Cucumber Salad is perfect as a side dish for any dinner with Asian flavors.
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 2 European cucumbers or 4 fresh garden cucumbers
- 1/2 cup chopped or sliced fresh mint (measure after chopping)
- 1/4 cup (or more) chopped peanuts
- salt and pepper to taste
Dressing Ingredients
- 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
- 1 1/2 T Fish Sauce (see notes)
- 1 1/2 T Monkfruit Sweetener (see notes)
- 1 tsp. Green Tabasco Sauce (see notes)
- 1 1/2 tsp. garlic puree or minced garlic
Instructions
- Cut ends off cucumbers, then partially peel, leaving thin strips of peel in stripes along the cucumber.
- Cut striped cucumbers in half lengthwise, then in 1/2 inch slices.
- Wash mint, dry well and chop coarsely or slice into strips.
- Coarsely chop peanuts.
- Mix dressing ingredients.
- Combine chopped mint and cucumbers in plastic bowl, add dressing and stir a few times so cucumbers and mint are completely coated with dressing.
- Pour into serving bowl, season with salt and pepper if desired.
- Sprinkle chopped peanuts over and serve immediately.
- If the recipe makes more than you'll eat at once, I would cut the cucumbers, chop mint, and mix the dressing but keep them refrigerated separately and toss the toss the amount of salad you want together right before serving.
Notes
I like Red Boat Fish Sauce (affiliate link), but if you can’t find that I’d look for one that says Thai Fish Sauce. Red Boat Fish Sauce is gluten-free. You can also substitute the fish sauce with an equal amount of soy sauce or coconut aminos if you prefer.
I would use Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) for this salad, but use your preferred sweetener. If you don't have Green Tabasco (affiliate link) use any spicy hot sauce of your choice.
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine, August 2001.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 53Total Fat 3.1gSaturated Fat .5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2.2gCholesterol 0mgSodium 451mgCarbohydrates 5.5gFiber 1.1gSugar 2.1gProtein 2.3g
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:
Cucumbers are a great low-carb food choice, and with an approved sweetener instead of sugar, this Thai Cucumber Salad would be perfect for low-carb or Keto diet plans, as well as any phase of the original South Beach Diet. (Even if you used sugar, this still wouldn’t have that much sugar in a serving.)
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes 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 Thai Cucumber Salad recipe was first posted in 2006, and I’ve literally made it every summer since then! The photos were updated in 2013 and in 2021 they were improved again. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2024.
39 Comments on “Thai Cucumber Salad”
I’ll have to buy some green Tabasco. Hope it’s not too spicy. You have so many awesome looking and sounding recipes. I appreciate all the tags, too. Interesting to see all the overlaps. By the way, Red Boat is the fish sauce I use, it’s pretty good. So surprisingly useful in recipes.
The Green Tabasco is just a little spicy and very flavorful. I love that Red Boat Fish Sauce; agree that is really adds a lot to recipe. Hope you enjoy the salad. Glad you are enjoying the blog!
I made this today and it's great…..I did make a couple of changes to it though. I don't care for mint so I left it out and added about 1/2 t. of cilantro paste to the dressing. And instead of green Tabasco I used Siracha (sp) hot sauce. It's a very tasty salad and I will be making this again and again. :). Thanks Kalyn for another winning recipe.
Alyssa, if you like Thai flavors you are going to LOVE this!
I love that you reppost these gems from the archives. I am going to pick up some persian cucumbers and make this as a side dish with my oven fried chicken this week – sounds awesome!
Joanne, I could seriously eat this all year round!
I NEVER tire of thai flavors! This sounds like such a great salad.
Lindsey, thanks! Glad you liked it and it was so fun to finally meet you!
I am still thinking about this salad. SO GOOD. I was telling my husband about it. I just love, love, love your recipes.
So glad you liked it. I wouldn't have thought of subbing Worcestershire for fish sauce, but I can see it would work. Very smart!
I made this for lunch today and served it alongside Stephanie O'Dea's "Almost Rotisserie Chicken" in the CrockPot.
Didn't have fish sauce, so substituted Worcestershire Sauce and it was yummmmers good!!!
Jasey, so glad you liked it!
Stumbled onto this while looking for a fish recipe and it is SOOOOO GOOD!! Simple to make and the flavors are absolutely divine. Leftovers? I just added it all to a big salad and used as a healthy dressing! One of my new favorite recipes.
thank you!
This really looks very tempting and sure is healthy as well. Will absolutely try this salad. It looks very fresh and the combination of ingredients here makes it a very promising dish to serve even to guests!
Sarah, I think your variations sound good.
I recently made this salad and added strips of leftover flank steak that I warmed a bit in pan. I thought this dressing went well with the steak too.
Thanks for the recipe! I made it last night substituting lemon for lime and added a bit of chili sesame oil. Delicious!
Theresa, hope you like it!
I stumbled upon your blog by chance. I love the look of your blog and the content is very good. This Thai cucumber salad looks easy to make and delicious. I shall have a go at it!
Carolyn, I agree. Totally love this salad!
I can practically taste how good thi is just by reading the ingredients list. Sweet, salty, tangy and crispy — you just can't go wrong. 😉
Angela, thanks! (And I am making this today for lunch myself.)
This looks incredible! I have really enjoyed your recipes. Thanks for sharing.
Angela
Sensiblecooking, this is definitely one of my favorites!
Now that is the salad I want. Made me hungry lets see if there is any cucumber in fridge.
This is such a refreshing salad. I really like the addition of mint to perk things up.
My mouth is going to love this one!
Lydia, you'll like this because it has that spicy kick you love. (Feel free to add more hot sauce if my wimpy version isn't hot enough for you!)
Pearl, thanks! I love this salad.
SallyBR, this is very refreshing when it's just too hot to cook!
Perfect salad for the heat we are having here…. love the lightness and kick…
thanks, Kalyn
Kalyn – looks delicious!
Ooooh, my taste buds are tingling! I think cucumbers are really overlooked. They're so cooling and refreshing, and definitely can be the star of many summer salads.
Hi Kendra,
Nice to hear from you. Your blog seems to be doing so well! Hope you like the salad; it's one of my favorites! Hi back to your mom too.
Hi Kalyn! Just popping by to say hello… going to head to the grocery store after work and pick up the ingredients for this yummy salad! Hope you are doing well and my mom says HI!
Melanie, good luck with phase one. This salad is really good, I love it. Glad you like the blog.
Sounds great! This is perfect since I just had a party with mojitos and happen to have some leftover limes and mint.
Just found your blog doing a search for Phase One recipes (it’s been an indulgent summer and am going to get back on track tomorrow). Your recipes look great! I’m so glad I found your site–I think this will help a lot in my quest to lose a few pounds!
Melanie
Genie, post your recipe so we can try it, now that I’m having my radish fetish.
Steven, you’re right!
Paz, if you like spicy and Thai flavors you’d love it.
JMom, I’m so excited someone noticed the recipe. I wasn’t getting many comments in those days.
I think I do remember this dish when you first posted it. I will be sure to try it especially now that our cukes have started coming in! I’m so excited 🙂 Thanks for posting it again.
Yum! My mouth would wake up to this!
Paz
I love this and I love nam pla and nuc mong but a little goes a long way.
Delicious, Kalyn! I’ve got a different version of spicy cuke and radish salad that I adapt from a Rachael Ray recipe — spiced up cucumber is one of my favorites. If I can ever get past eating my naked cucumbers straight out of the garden this summer, I’ll definitely try out your version. Maybe by then I’ll have my mint back, too!