This healthy and refreshing Japanese Cucumber Salad (Sunomono) is simple to throw together and packed with a ton of flavor! Crunchy sliced cucumbers are tossed with an Asian inspired dressing of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and sugar! This will be your new go to side dish!
Love quick and easy side dish recipes? Then try my Quick Pickled Red Onions and my Cucumber Avocado Salad!
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email below & we'll send it straight to your inbox! You will also receive other new recipes in your inbox weekly!
What Is Japanese Cucumber Salad?
This super simple and delicious side dish consists of sliced cucumbers tossed with an Asian-style dressing made of low-sodium soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil (toasted is preferred), brown sugar, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. Then, it’s topped with crunchy sesame seeds, and voila! Your Asian cucumber salad is done! Allow it to marinate for 30 minutes, or so, if time allows, but you can definitely dig in right away.
This is the perfect summer side dish because it’s light, refreshing, and super flavorful. It’s super satisfying without weighing you down! I love to serve this at weekend barbecues with grilled chicken or steak kebabs, roasted asparagus, quick pickled red onions, and some blueberry cobbler for dessert. Heaven!
This would also be a great meal-prep dish and weeknight recipe, especially if served with some Asian-style grilled chicken or fish, roasted broccoli, and some fluffy brown rice.
variations
- Looking for more Asian flavor? Add a splash of fish sauce or chopped Thai basil for more umami-goodness!
- Add more veggies like sliced or shredded carrots, sliced onions, or sliced bell peppers.
- Make this homemade cucumber salad more filling by mixing in some nuts like chopped roasted peanuts or sliced almonds!
- Turn this into a salad with your favorite leafy green lettuce, kale, and/or spinach, along with some protein like my chicken katsu. Yum!
- Spice it up with some sliced jalapenos or serrano peppers in place of the crushed red pepper flakes!
how to make easy cucumber salad
- All you need to do to make this Asian Cucumber Salad at home is to slice some fresh cucumbers to your preferred thickness and toss them with the prepared Asian-style marinade. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving, and enjoy! It is easy to customize the dressing to your liking. If you want it sweeter add more sugar, less heat add more crushed red pepper flakes!
- Wanting to make this for meal-prep? Go for it! Store the assembled cucumber salad in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 2 days. Any longer than that, and the acids in the dressing will break down the cucumbers and make them mushy.
what to serve with cucumber salad
- Mongolian Beef
- Honey Sesame Chicken
- Salmon Teriyaki
- Sesame Beef
- Fried Rice
- Szechuan Beef
- Vegetable Spring Rolls
More Side Dish Recipes To Try
- Quick Pickled Red Onions
- Cucumber Avocado Salad
- Air Fryer Vegetables
- Broccoli Salad
- Berry Fruit Salad
- Berry Spinach Salad with Berry Balsamic Vinaigrette
products i used
Japanese Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 3 mini Persian cucumbers, sliced (about 3 cups)
- 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp light brown sugar, or more if you like it sweeter
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or more if you like it spicy
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Pour asian dressing on to the cucumbers and toss to combine. Serve with extra crushed red pepper flakes on top and sesame seeds for garnish!
Nutrition Information
Did you make this?
I’d love to hear your feedback! Leave a review and make sure to share your pictures on social media! Don’t forget to follow @thechefsavvy.
Tanya
Just made this and I’m enjoying it very much. Really delicious. Thank you <3
Annie
Perfect recipe for the cucumber salad. Easy and very tasty!
Julie White
I made pickles today with this Japanese cucumber pickle recipe and I could drink the pickle sauce it is so GREAT. Try it…so good!
Kelley Simmons
Yahh so happy to hear that!!
Bernard Rafalowski
It turned out very good. Even though I was out of rice vinegar. I had to use white vinegar. I have to buy some more. But it is still very good. This will be one of my go to recipes
Lj
So easy, so yummy 😋
Cherell Dixon
Delicious
Julia Usherenko
Would it be really detrimental to leave out the sugar from the recipe? This sounds delicious!
Kelley Simmons
You can leave it out if you prefer or add in honey instead!
Cathy
I’m really enjoying this recipe and I will be making it again very soon.
Sandra Lee Smith
Just wondering, can you use any kind of cucumber?
Kelley Simmons
Yes! I typically use either a Persian cucumber or mini cucumbers!
Cassandra
Easy summer recipe to use all those cucumbers im growing. I subbed honey for brown sugar and olive oil for sesame oil and was still yummy. I’ll make again after I pick up that stuff from the store too see how much of a difference.