Asian Cucumber Salad

This light and fresh Asian cucumber salad is our new favorite healthy side dish, complete with a sweet and tangy vinegar dressing.

Earlier this year I was working on an Asian steak marinade and I was playing around with the idea of using black vinegar in it. The final recipe was tested when Cade’s mom came into town and it was a total hit. Without even realizing it though, I’d added black vinegar to the cucumbers instead of the steak marinade that morning. It turned out both dishes needed something a little different than what I was doing and it was awesome!

You can read below for a substitute as we still love cucumber salad with just straight up rice or apple cider vinegar. In fact, we often use both. 

Ingredients for Asian Cucumber Salad

It only takes 7 ingredients to make this simple but refreshing salad recipe. Here is what you will need:

• English Cucumber – I just to just slice them thin by hand, but feel free to remove the seeds if you want
• Red Onion – totally optional but I love the zip it adds, do a fine slice on a mandolin
• Rice Vinegar – mild, sweet and sour flavor
• Chinese Black Vinegar – a dark mild vinegar with a slightly fruity flavor
• Honey – adds sweetness and balances the saltiness and tang
• Sesame Seeds – give them a little toast to enhance the nutty flavor
• Fine Sea Salt – dissolves easily into the dressing and adds flavor

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Sharing a recipe for the best dairy-free broccoli salad. This is the perfect side dish for dinners, delicious leftovers for lunch, and an awesome healthy summer BBQ or potluck side dish.

Hey friends! How’s the day going so far? We’re back in town after a trip to Phoenix for Nationals, and have a mountain of laundry + have some virtual 1:1 appointments.

For today’s post, I thought I’d share a summer side dish recipe! Whenever we have friends over during the summer, finding recipes for the *fun* stuff like appetizers and desserts is always super easy. I always like to make sure we have some kind of salad or vegetable, and am always looking for new favorites. Mia recently shared her favorite broccoli salad recipe with me and I knew I had to post it here on the blog! It lasted about 15 minutes in our house.

I accidentally found out that the girls love raw broccoli when we were low on groceries and I was running out of options while packing their lunch + snacks for school. I’ll typically roast broccoli with dinner and they tend to be pretty meh about it. I needed one more spot to fill in their lunch bento boxes, so I added some raw chopped broccoli. When I picked them up, they both said how much they loved the broccoli in their lunch, and I’ve been adding it ever since. This broccoli salad was a HUGE hit in our house – we each had a bowl and it was gone.

Broccoli salad is a great source of fiber and vitamins. It’s also dairy-free, and includes blanched broccoli, which still has a crunch, but can be easier to digest than raw. You simply mix all of the ingredients into a bowl and enjoy! It’s also a versatile recipe; feel free to customize it as you like. You can swap out the almonds for another type of nut, or use a different type of dried fruit (like dried cranberries or raisins) instead of the dates. Just make sure that you don’t skip the celery seed, as it gives it a unique flavor and crunch.

The best dairy-free broccoli salad

Ingredients

1 head of broccoli (or a 12 oz bag of pre cut florets)

Avocado oil mayo (Chosen foods, Sir Kensington or homemade. I like to make my own, or order Sir Kensington from Thrive Market)

Maple syrup (or honey) for a little bit of sweetness

Celery seed – don’t omit this ingredient!

Salt & pepper, to taste

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