Mixed with flavorful Asian dressing, this light and refreshing cucumber mango salad is the perfect side for grilled meats and roasted salmon.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe:
Mango is no longer just an after-dinner treat or an ingredient for smoothies. This juicy sweet tropical fruit can now be part of your dinner too!
This simple mango salad takes very little time to prepare and makes the perfect addition to any BBQ dish.
Ingredient Notes:
- Soy sauce – Use light soy sauce, like Kikkoman all-purpose soy sauce. You can substitute Tamari for soy sauce.
- Cucumbers – I prefer English cucumbers, or seedless cucumbers, because they’re sweeter and have thin skin.
- Mango – You can use any kind of mango for this recipe. I often use tart and sweet Tommy Atkins variety, which is the most common mango variety in the U.S. Ataulfo, aka Champagne mangoes also work great!
- Cilantro – For those who loathe cilantro, I’m sorry, but this salad is just not the same without it. It was lacking something when I first made it without cilantro, so it’s a must!
- Chili oil – is an optional ingredient if you want a little kick. Chili oil is typically a vegetable oil, infused with chili pepper. It’s a spicy condiment, common in Chinese cuisine. Mine was quite spicy, so just a little bit goes a long way.
How to make this salad:
Step 1. Cube cucumber and mango
I love how this salad looks with cubed cucumbers and mango, because they hold their shape better! When sliced into strips, they look droopy and sad.
Tip
Check out the easiest way to cut mango into cubes below!
Step 2. Make the dressing:
The dressing for this quick salad is inspired by Asian flavors. Soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, cilantro, chili oil (optional)… I love these flavors all together! Simply whisk together all the ingredients.
Step 3. Assemble:
- Combine cucumber, mango and cilantro in a large bowl.
- Add the dressing and mix well.
- Refrigerate for 20 minutes and serve!
How to cut a mango:
- Using a sharp paring knife, cut the mango a little off-center to avoid the pit in the middle, and then do the same on the other side.
- Place each mango half on a cutting board and cut the flesh in a grid-like pattern, without cutting through the skin.
- Now you can either run a large spoon along the skin to scoop out the mango cubes. Or carefully invert the mango half and cut off the cubes by running a knife along the skin.
Serving ideas:
Pair this refreshing salad with the following main dishes:
Make-Ahead Tips:
- Cube cucumber and mango a few hours in advance. And keep them separately in the fridge, covered.
- Make the dressing 1-2 days in advance. Refrigerate in an airtight container.
- Combine the everything no more than 20 minutes before serving, or it’ll become soggy.
Storing Tips:
This salad should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container.
Cucumber Mango Salad
Ingredients
For dressing:
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- chili oil to taste optional
For salad:
- 1 English cucumber Note 1
- 1 mango Note 2
- ¼ cup loosely-packed fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- To make the dressing, whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
- Cut cucumber and mango into cubes. (TIP: Check out my easy method of cutting mango into cubes in the post above.)
- Transfer into a medium bowl along with cilantro. Pour the dressing and toss to combine.
- Refrigerate the salad for 20 minutes before serving to let the flavors meld together. But don't mix the salad more than half an hour before serving, or it'll become soggy and sad.
Tips & Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in June, 2015.
I didn’t have cilantro so I used flat leaf parsley and it was delicious.
Awesome, so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing your feedback, Betty!
Im not much of cook but this looks lovely. can I add prawns to it as I have some prawns that I need to use?
Made this last night, Delicious!! I put it on top of salmon with bed of rice under all. The family loved it!! Thank you!
Yay, so happy you tried and loved it, Joni. Thanks for your feedback!
This looks sooo good! I have so many cucumbers in my garden this year already so this recipe is perfect. Can’t wait to try it!
This looks AMAZING! Such a perfect combination! I have mango on my tree right now, and I think I will be making this soon! Thank you for posting!
You have mango tree?? I’m so totally jealous, Paige! Let me know how you like this salad, if you get a chance to try it. Thank you!
This sounds delicious.Mango is our favourite too.I can imagine the crunchy taste together with cucumber.
Thank you, Amila! 🙂
There are people out there that don’t like cilantro??? It’s my favorite herb to cook with, and I’ve never thought of putting together cucumber and mango, but I’m going to do it this week! I have some Mahi Mahi that I can cook to go with this salad. YUMMM!
Oh my, Mahi Mahi sound amazing with this salad! Yum! Thanks, Kati!
Love anything with Asian spices! Gotta try this it looks delicious! 🙂
Thank you! 🙂
Two of my favorite summer treats! I love the colors in this fresh salad! 🙂 Pinning!
Thank you, Medha!
This looks great, Shinee! I love the idea of mixing something sweet like a mango with a cool element like cucumber, and then adding warm salty and sweet sauces to it – sounds so delicious!
Thank you, Beeta! It was delightful! 🙂