This easy cucumber carrot salad is the perfect side dish for any Asian flavored meal! It’s lean with a carrot and cucumber base and an umami zesty dressing made from rice vinegar, tamari (or soy sauce), maple syrup, fresh garlic, shallot and sesame oil and then topped with fresh cilantro and sesame seeds. It all comes together in 20 minutes and the dressing is made in the same bowl as the salad to minimize dishes.
This delicious carrot and cucumber salad is SO simple to throw together and one of those understated sides that steals the show. With a quick soy based dressing and just two veggies, it presents as a more complicated dish than it really is. With the garnishes being just as functional as they are flavorful, it’s beautiful but not frilly without any extra ingredients, just what’s required to make it taste fantastic.
If you’re obsessed with Asian cucumber salad, you’ll love the carrot addition. Having a crisp cucumber salad with carrots gives it just enough texture and crunch for it to feel like an actual side dish, not just another forgettable salad. Carrots add a little heartiness and help round it out with cilantro for a punch of freshness.
The dressing has just enough sesame oil to hold it all together without becoming weighty or overly thick like some salad dressings are. The rest of the flavor comes from both the dressing, the fresh cilantro, gochugaru and the veggies themselves.
Plus, it’s versatile enough that it can pair with pretty much any Asian inspired main dish from my saucy ground beef bulgogi bowls to this mouthwateringly tasty teriyaki salmon bites recipe. I make a pot of rice to serve with it all and put out the chili crisp oil for an extra punch – so good!
Ingredients
Aside from the carrots, cucumber and cilantro, the rest of the ingredients are pantry staples. All are shown in the image below and in the ingredient list in the recipe card. Here are a few ingredient notes:
- Don’t have gochugaru on hand? No worries, you can skip or swap it out! Gochugaru is a Korean chili flake spice but you can leave it out to make it mild or add a little sriracha or garlic chili sauce like sambal oelek to the dressing instead.
- English cucumbers or a couple of Persian cucumbers work best.
- To make it soy free, you can swap the tamari or soy sauce with coconut aminos. If you do this, you may want to cut back on the maple syrup and increase the salt a bit to account for that change.
How to Make Carrot and Cucumber Salad
- Prep the cucumber by peeling strips down the sides and slicing into 1/8” thick rounds (less than half a centimeter).
- Toss cucumber with ½ teaspoon salt in a colander in the sink and let it sit.
- Julienne the carrots into thin strips and then cut into 1” matchstick sized pieces. Use a julienne peeler if you have one!
- Add all dressing ingredients, except for the oil, into the salad serving bowl and whisk together. Pour the oil into the bowl while whisking.
- Add cucumber, carrot, cilantro, and sesame seeds to the bowl and toss. Season with additIonal salt per your own preference (I like it as is). Sprinkle Gochugaru on top for spice (optional) and serve!
Tips for Making Cucumber Carrot Salad Perfectly
Recipe Tips
- Don’t skip prepping the cucumbers! You can either drag fork tines down the cukes on all sides or just do a peeled strip down all four sides but this is essential since it lets the dressing soak in better. Tossing in salt lets the cucumbers sweat and release all of their extra water so they’ll be more flavorful when tossed into the salad.
- Season salt to your preference. Salt is such a personal preference that it can turn you off to a recipe simply by not being at your preferred salt level. Taste and adjust!
- Do not add extra shallot. Truuuust me! 1 Tablespoon is just enough to add that underlying onion punch without overwhelming the carrot cucumber salad. You can use the rest of that shallot later on in my favorite lemon salad dressing. Substitute 2 sliced green onions or a tiny bit of finely minced red onion instead.
- For the best flavor and texture, prepare the salad about an hour or two before serving and refrigerate. This gives it time for the flavors to meld and and chill.
Preparing the Salad Ahead of Time
This salad is actually best if you make it about 1-2 hours before eating. If you do this, chill in the refrigerator and toss one more time right before serving.
If you want to prep further in advance, you can make the dressing up to 3 days earlier. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can matchstick the carrots up to 1 day ahead of time and store in water in the fridge so they don’t dry out.
You can slice and salt the cucumber up to 2 hours in advance and toss the salad together. I don’t recommend preparing the cucumber earlier than this or it will get soft and loose it’s crunch. It will still taste good the next day as leftovers but won’t be as crunchy or presentable.
Easy Cucumber Carrot Salad with Sesame Asian Dressing
Equipment
- 1 Knife
- 1 Julienne Peeler or just use a knife
- 1 Medium Serving Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 large English cucumber about 2 cups sliced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 carrots peeled, about 2 cups sliced
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 ½ teaspoons sesame seeds
- Optional: Gochugaru as garnish
Dressing
- 2 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup or honey or sugar
- 1 Tablespoon minced shallot do not do more or it will overpower the dressing
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Use a knife or peeler to peel strips down the sides of the cucumber or drag the tines of a fork down each side. You can skip this but it helps the dressing soak in. Slice cucumbers into 1/8” thick rounds (less than half a centimeter).1 large English cucumber
- Toss the cucumber with ½ teaspoon salt and let sit in a colander in the sink while you prepare the rest of the salad.½ teaspoon salt
- Julienne the carrots into thin strips and then cut into 1” pieces (2.5cm). I prefer to use a julienne peeler since it’s easier.4 carrots
- Make the dressing by adding all dressing ingredients, except for the oil, into the salad serving bowl and whisking together. Pour the oil into the bowl while whisking to emulsify with the rest of the dressing.2 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar, 2 Tablespoon tamari or soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon maple syrup, 1 Tablespoon minced shallot, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- Add cucumber, carrot, cilantro, and sesame seeds to the bowl and toss together. Season with additional salt to taste if desire and toss again. Sprinkle Gochugaru on top for spice (optional) and serve. See notes for serving suggestions.¼ cup chopped cilantro, 1 ½ teaspoons sesame seeds, Optional: Gochugaru as garnish
Notes
- Gochugaru substitution – if you don’t have this but want to add a little spice, you can add 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of sambal oelek or sriracha to the dressing.
- You can eat the salad right away or it’s even better after it’s had a chance to let the ingredients settle for at least 10-15 minutes. It’s even better if you make it an hour or two in advance and pop it into the refrigerator during that time. If you do this, just before serving remove the salad and toss one more time.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Really yummy salad, especially served with the Teriyaki salmon bites recipe on this site. Second day salad leftovers were a bit watery, but still tasted great. Definitely will make again! Thanks!
I’m SO happy to hear you liked it!! Thanks so much for always testing and coming back to comment and review the recipes. I appreciate you so so much! 😄