Pineapple cucumber salad is a refreshing and simple summer season facet dish with recent pineapple, cucumber, spicy jalapeños, cilantro, and lime. Toss every little thing collectively in minutes and chill it earlier than serving.
Zesty Cucumber Salad With Pineapple
This pineapple cucumber salad appears fairly scrumptious, and even higher, it solely takes 5 components to make. Summer season is the season for recent pineapple, jalapeño-everything, and crunchy cucumbers from the backyard. Chop and toss every little thing in recent lime juice with cilantro (or mint), and also you’ll have this refreshingly tropical cucumber salad.
Make additional and save these leftovers! You’ll be able to chop the components additional effective to make a recent pineapple cucumber salsa to serve with tortilla chips, or spoon it over fish tacos or grilled salmon.
Why This Pineapple Cucumber Salad Is the Finest Facet Salad
- Vivid and crunchy. The distinction of sweetness, tang, and crunch places a recent spin on traditional cucumber salad.
- Make it year-round. This crisp and juicy pineapple cucumber salad is the proper facet dish for grilled dishes, Tex-Mex meals, and picnics.
- Solely 5 components. Different variations of this salad name for components like honey, however I needed an additional recent model that relied on simply the brightness of the lime juice for the dressing.
Substances Wanted
The components on this pineapple cucumber salad are easy, so every one counts. Confer with the recipe card for the precise recipe quantities.
- Pineapple – This recipe requires recent pineapple, and never canned. Canned pineapple is simply too candy and fewer crisp than recent.
- Cucumber – I take advantage of Persian cucumbers, however seedless English cucumbers additionally work. For those who’re not utilizing natural cucumbers, peel them and discard the skins.
- Jalapeño – Eradicating the seeds from the recent jalapeño peppers helps tame the warmth. Thinly slice the peppers afterward. I at all times put on gloves when dealing with chili peppers, which is optionally available, however advisable! You’ll be able to cut back the quantity of jalapeño for a milder salad.
- Limes – Recent limes, zested after which squeezed for his or her juice. I don’t suggest bottled lime juice.
- Cilantro – For those who aren’t a fan, substitute cilantro with freshly chopped parsley. Recent mint and even basil additionally works properly right here.
Non-compulsory Add-ins
For those who needed to jazz up this salad even additional, you might additionally add:
- Honey, whisked into the lime juice
- Olive oil for a richer dressing
- Thinly sliced pink onions
- Crumbled feta
- Purple chili flakes (when you actually prefer it scorching!)
- Tajin seasoning
Selecting and Chopping a Recent Pineapple for This Salad
Please, of us, use recent pineapple for this cucumber salad. Do NOT use canned, crushed, or in any other case, or your salad will likely be overly candy and mushy. Select a ripe pineapple by evenly tugging on one of many leaves. If the leaf pulls free simply, the pineapple is ripe. After you have your pineapple, right here’s methods to reduce it:
- Trim each ends. Utilizing a pointy knife, chop off the leafy high, then the underside finish of the pineapple.
- Reduce away the pores and skin. Subsequent, stand the pineapple upright. Rigorously trim away the tough outer skins on all sides.
- Chop the pineapple. Lastly, slice the pineapple into quarters, and trim the powerful, whitish core from each bit. Chop the remainder of the pineapple into bite-sized items.
It’s also possible to purchase pre-cut pineapple from the shop when you don’t really feel like trimming it your self. Simply, once more, something however canned.
Suggestions for Making This Salad
- Zest first, then juice. It’s a lot simpler to zest the limes earlier than you juice them. Use a microplane or the small holes of the field grater.
- Zhoug it up. My shortcut every time I’ve it within the fridge is to stir 1-2 tablespoons of do-it-yourself zhoug sauce into the pineapple and cucumber. This spicy sauce already accommodates jalapeño and cilantro, so I’ll simply squeeze in some recent lime, toss, and chill the salad as ordinary.
- Drain the cucumber. In case your cucumber is very watery, toss the slices with salt. Go away them to relaxation for five minutes to attract out extra water, then drain and add the cucumber to the salad as ordinary.
- Deseed the jalapeño peppers. The seeds are the place the warmth lives, so eradicating them takes the sting off. You’ll be able to substitute jalapeños with serrano or poblano peppers, if wanted.
- Make it delicate. Then again, when you’re delicate to spice, I’d recommend skipping the chili peppers altogether and utilizing candy yellow or pink bell peppers as a substitute.
What to Serve With Pineapple Cucumber Salad
Pair this spicy cucumber salad with a pineapple margarita and any of the next straightforward meal concepts.
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Put together the pineapple. Clear and peel the pineapple, and reduce it into bite-sized chunks.
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Put together the cucumber. Peel your cucumber, then reduce it into half moons.
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Mix and season the salad. Mix the chopped pineapple and cucumber slices in a big bowl. Add lime juice, lime zest, jalapeños, salt, pepper, and cilantro. Toss the salad to mix nicely. Style for salt and pepper, and alter as wanted.
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Serve. Cowl and refrigerate the pineapple cucumber salad to relax for half-hour earlier than serving.
- Use recent pineapple. Don’t use canned pineapple.
- Jalapeños are spicy. In order for you much less warmth, you may take away the seeds. This may make them milder.
- In case your cucumber appears additional watery, sprinkle the slices with a bit of salt and allow them to sit for five minutes. The salt will draw out extra moisture. Pat the cucumber slices dry with paper towels earlier than including them to the salad.
Energy: 86kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 1g | Fats: 0.3g | Saturated Fats: 0.03g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fats: 0.03g | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 230mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 214IU | Vitamin C: 85mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg
Dietary data is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values could fluctuate based on the components and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed data.
Learn how to Make a Pineapple Cucumber Salad
- Put together the components. Clear the pineapple and reduce it into bite-sized chunks. In the meantime, slice the cucumber into half moons. Add each to a big bowl.
- Season the salad. Subsequent, squeeze the lime juice over the cucumber and pineapple. Add the lime zest, sliced jalapeños, cilantro, and season with salt and pepper. Toss every little thing collectively so it’s well-combined.
- Chill. Place the salad into the fridge for half-hour earlier than serving.
Storing Leftovers
Retailer this pineapple and cucumber salad within the fridge for as much as 3 days. Stir it gently earlier than serving to redistribute the dressing.
