Ginger-Lime Cucumber Salad

By Ashley Lonsdale

Published July 3, 2025

Ginger-Lime Cucumber Salad
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Brett Regot.
Total Time
25 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Rating
5(330)
Comments
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Cooling, refreshing and supremely easy to make, this cucumber salad spotlights spicy ginger, bright lime juice and a blend of fresh herbs to emphasize its green color and flavor. The most essential ingredient, an often-overlooked component in the cucumber universe, is patience. Marinating cucumbers, even if only for 10 minutes, allows new and distinct flavors the opportunity to penetrate the juicy flesh, resulting in a more savory outcome. Make this salad a couple of hours before serving, or even the night before, to allow the dressing its most optimal influence. Spoon this salad over freshly toasted, crusty bread, with or without a few slices of gravlax, along with the juices that inevitably pool at the bottom of the salad bowl.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 3tablespoons lime juice
  • 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1tablespoon honey
  • 1teaspoon grated fresh ginger
  • 1teaspoon finely grated lime zest
  • 2English cucumbers, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced into half-moons
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1handful mint leaves (about ½ cup, loosely packed)
  • 1handful basil leaves (about ½ cup, loosely packed)
  • 2scallions, trimmed
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

71 calories; 5 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 289 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large bowl, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, honey, ginger and lime zest. Toss with the sliced cucumbers and season generously with salt and pepper. Set aside for at least 10 minutes at room temperature or up to 2 hours refrigerated.

  2. Step 2

    While the cucumbers marinate, finely chop the mint and basil. Thinly slice the scallions. Mix the herbs into the cucumber salad. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
330 user ratings
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Comments

Theresa

@khnyc I always slice, salt and drain cucumbers for a couple hours before making a salad with them. Makes a crisper salad that isn’t languishing in all that water.

khnyc

Marinade tasted good, so was looking forward to the salad - however, it tasted pretty washed out. Checked other cucumber salad recipes, and many of them call for sweating the cucumbers first. Will try again.

Rose

Really enjoyed this! I didn't have mint or basil, but it was still very good without. I added chili flakes for heat. Made it with some rice and beans and diced up a mango. Great summer dinner!

Laura

I made this for Thanksgiving as a low-effort vegetable dish (I didn't have as much time this year to go all-out, and my family usually doesn't prep any vegetables). I thought I had picked up some Italian basil from 99 Ranch (I couldn't go to my go-to fruit and vegetable store), but it was actually Thai basil. My sisters and their husbands said the recipe actually works better with the Thai basil (I also added extra lime zest and juice). Will make another batch tonight for meal prep.

Julia GK

Everyone loved these.

Andrew

This has been the Salad of the Summer(2025). We grow cucumbers in the backyard and so have access to the freshest of the fresh. I do replace the grated ginger with a heaping spoonful of jarred “ginger garlic puree” from the store, but otherwise it’s made as is. Sometimes some extra red onions get mixed in, but not too many. The next day, I put any leftovers on a fresh baguette for a cucumber sandwich, draining and saving the dressing for that night’s garden salad as the ginger lime works great with lettuces, too.

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