3-Ingredient Cucumber Salad Recipe

This pretty, vibrant 3-ingredient cucumber salad is monochromatic in color, but anything but basic in flavor. With several ingredients working overtime in different preparations, this recipe comes together with fresh ingredients you might have on hand as well as a few unexpected twists, to provide a perfect balance of creaminess and crunch. According to Ksenia Prints of At the Immigrant's Table, there is no shortage of trending cucumber salads on TikTok. But not all of them can boast minimal ingredients and a perfectly layered flavor that surprises at every bite.

In our salad, cucumbers get a boost of creaminess and flavor from ripe avocados, which work here both chopped as an ingredient and blended as the base for our salad dressing. The other unique component is piquant pickled pearl onions, whose brine we also use as the acid in our dressing. Whether you eat this salad immediately or make it ahead for a work lunch the next day, it's going to taste fresh, creamy, tangy, and slightly sweet. 

All you need for this 3-ingredient cucumber salad are pickled pearl onions, along with ripe avocados, and Persian cucumbers. We'll also use olive oil, salt and pepper, and water to flavor and dilute the dressing to the right consistency.

Drain and thinly slice the pickled pearl onions, reserving the liquid.

Dice 1 avocado and set it aside.

Combine the remaining avocado with olive oil, salt, pepper, 2 tablespoons of the liquid from the pearl onions, and enough water to make the sauce liquid in a blender.

Process until it is smooth and pourable.

Combine the cucumbers, sliced onions, and diced avocado in a serving bowl.

Toss with the avocado dressing, and season with additional salt and pepper.

Serve immediately.

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Pickled pearl onions provide the tangy component in our salad, and also work to replace lemon juice or vinegar in the dressing. However, there are a few other ingredients that can play such a dual purpose, which you can use instead, or in addition, if you want to pile on the sharp-sweet allium flavor.

One easy substitution is pickled red onions or shallots, which are similar to the pickled cocktail onions but lack some of their customary sweetness. Capers would also provide briny saltiness and tang, and you can add about 2-3 tablespoons to this salad.

If you want to stay monochromatic, try using chopped juicy Castelvetrano olives and their brine. They'll keep the tang and add a bit of meatiness to the salad. Another green pickle you can use here is diced Cornichons, which are small French pickles, and which also have a nice tartness, sweetness, and crunch.

This avocado cucumber salad makes for an excellent base for a complete meal. All it lacks is a protein and a toothsome, full-bodied carb, and there are quite a few contenders for both that will add flavor, nutrition, and make the salad more substantial.

For protein, we love adding grilled or poached chicken breast that's been diced or shredded to the salad. If you want to keep it veggie, hard-boiled eggs, chickpeas, or cannelini beans also work great in here. Tuna, especially if poached in oil, is another favorite.

For a carb, try using a wholesome, hearty grain like farro or brown rice. Their nuttiness goes well with the cucumbers, and the avocado acts as a creamy accompaniment that turns the salad into a grain bowl. If using tuna and hard-boiled eggs, adding boiled fingerling potatoes takes this salad in a Nicoise direction that we equally love.

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