Crisp and fresh salad made with crunchy fennel and juicy cucumber. This fennel salad is light and refreshing, topped with a simple lemon vinaigrette and toasted sesame seeds. With only 4 main ingredients, this delicious salad is easy to prepare and ready in 15 minutes!
Cucumber Fennel Salad
This is the easy side salad you need to brighten up your meal!
The combination of fennel and cucumber makes this salad so refreshing. Crunchy fennel adds a great texture. The lemon dressing balances out the anise flavor of fennel. The delicate fennel fronds act as an herb and make for a pretty presentation, while the toasted sesame seeds add a nice crunch and flavor.
For more delicious salad recipes, try Kale Cesar Salad with Chickpea Croutons, Broccoli Apple Slaw, or Healthy Tuna Salad.
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Why you’ll love this recipe
✔️ This recipe is dairy-free, gluten-free, paleo, vegan, whole 30, and vegetarian.
✔️ A perfect blend of textures. This raw fennel salad is crunchy, crisp, and juicy.
✔️ Bright and refreshing flavor. The flavors of lemon, cucumber, and fennel will brighten up any heavier main course.
✔️ Simple salad recipe. You only need four main ingredients for this salad, plus salt and olive oil!
✔️ Little waste. I love that this salad uses all parts of the fennel and lemon to reduce waste and make the most out of the produce.
Ingredients
Fresh fennel: Fennel is a vegetable with a crisp and refreshing flavor similar to anise. The texture is like a cross between an onion and celery. It has a white bulb and several green stalks coming from it that have feathery fronds. Fennel is a cool-weather vegetable that comes into season around October, but you can usually find it at the grocery store year-round. You will need the bulb, stalks, and fronds for this recipe. The fennel fronds act as an herb in this salad. If your fennel came as just the bulb without the fronds, you can add fresh herbs like fresh mint, dill, or cilantro instead. Read more about fennel below in How To Cut Fennel.
Cucumber: Cucumbers are a juicy vegetable with a mild refreshing taste. You can use one large cucumber or two smaller ones. Persian, English, or hot house cucumbers will work best as they have fewer seeds and aren’t as watery as other varieties.
Sesame seeds: Sesame seeds add a fun texture to this salad. Toasting them brings out their nutty flavor.
Lemon: Lemon is used to make a simple vinaigrette for this fennel cucumber salad. Using fresh lemon juice and lemon zest is a great way to make the most of the fruit and balance the anise flavor of the fennel.
What is fennel?
Fennel is a versatile vegetable that can be eaten raw, roasted, sauteed, pickled, braised, or used in stews or soups. It has an anise or licorice flavor when raw but mellows out when cooked.
This unique vegetable has three parts, the bulb, stalks, and fronds.
Bulb
- Flavor: Crunchy and celery-like when raw. It has a mild and refreshing anise-like flavor.
- Uses: Enjoy it raw in salads when thinly sliced or shaved, or savor its caramelized flavor when roasted. You can also braise, saute, or grill it.
Stalks
- Flavor: Crunchy and fibrous like celery with licorice notes. Similar to the bulb.
- Uses: Great for juicing, dressings, and sauces. Use it to add flavor when poaching, steaming, or making soup, stocks, stews, or braising. Use it as an aromatic flavor enhancer at the start of a recipe. You can substitute it for celery in a mirepoix.
Fronds
- Flavors: Grassy, herbaceous, sweet, and delicate with a licorice flavor and feathery texture.
- Uses: Use it where you would use fresh herbs, like on top of omelets, deviled eggs, salads, in pesto, sauce, pickling, garnish, or for stocks.
How to cut fennel
Cut the bulb in half using a sharp knife. With the tip of the knife or using a pairing knife, cut out the core from the bulb.
Use a mandoline on the thinnest setting to shave the fennel, working from the bulb to the top.
Alternatively, use a knife to (very) thinly slice the bulb, it does not matter what direction you slice. Also, for ease, you can trim off the fronds and slice them with a knife.
How to make a fennel salad
Step 1. Slice fennel into very thin slices, and cut cucumber into julienne slices.
Step 2. Toast sesame seeds until golden brown.
Step 3. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Step 4. Toss well to combine and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Slice the fennel very thinly, as this will mellow out the strong anise flavor.
- Use a mandoline for easier and more uniform slicing. Mandolines are very sharp, so to avoid any accidents, I highly recommend this cut-resistant safety glove. I don't use the slicer without it!
- Before slicing the bulb on the mandoline, remove the stalks and fronds first and slice them with a knife separately.
- If you don’t have a mandoline slicer, you can use a vegetable peeler to get paper-thin slices of fennel.
- Keep an eye on the sesame seeds, as they can burn easily.
- Storage: This salad holds up well and can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Recipe FAQ
Yes, you can eat raw fennel. Uncooked fennel has an anise flavor and crunchy texture. It softens and mellows out when it is cooked, but it is delicious both ways
When purchasing fennel, look for a large and hefty bulb with stalks that are closely packed together. The stalks should be firm and not limp. The outside should be dry, with minimal bruising, and brighter green in color.
When raw, fennel has a crisp and refreshing taste and texture. It is similar to licorice and anise. The texture is similar to an onion or celery. When cooked, it can become sweeter and caramelized, and the flavor becomes less sharp.
What to serve with fennel salad
Fennel salad is light and refreshing, making it the perfect side salad for a heavier main course like steak, fatty fish, or even as a compliment to ground beef stir fry. It would also work beautifully as part of a holiday dinner table, to brighten up some of the more indulgent holiday dishes.
This fennel salad pairs well with:
- A fatty fish - like salmon, halibut, or tuna.
- Steak - a ribeye or New York strip would work well.
- Lamb chops - like these delicious Lamb Shoulder Chops with a pomegranate glaze.
Other main course pairing ideas
More Salad Recipes
- Citrus Salad with Fennel
- Grilled Peaches, Arugula, and Halloumi Salad
- Grilled Romaine Lettuce
- Healthy Egg Salad Recipe (Without Mayo)
Easy Shaved Fennel Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large fennel (all parts - bulb,stalks, and fronds)
- 1 large cucumber, or 2 small ones
- 3 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 lemon , zested and juiced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Cut the fennel in half using a sharp knife. With the tip of the knife or using a pairing knife, cut out the core from the bulb. Use a mandoline on the thinnest setting to shave the fennel, working from the bulb to the top. Alternatively, use a knife to (very) thinly slice the bulb, it does not matter what direction you slice. Also, for ease, you can trim off the fronds and slice them with a knife.
- If using a mandoline, thinly slice cucumber into thin rounds or use the julienne setting. Or slice thinly with a knife into matchsticks, circles, or half rounds.
- Toast sesame seeds in a small pan, over low to medium heat. Use a spatula to move seeds around so they cook more evenly. Keep an eye on them as they can go from pale to burnt real quick. They are done, or golden, in about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and allow to cool.
- In a medium bowl, combine shaved fennel (bulb, stalks, and fronds), cucumber, lemon zest and juice, extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt. Add sesame seeds, mix, and serve!
Notes
- For the best flavor, let the salad stand for 15 min to allow the flavors to blend.
- Mandoline works best here, if not, use a sharp knife and slice very thinly.
- For sesame allergy - omit the sesame seeds, or swap with toasted sunflower seeds, pomegranates, hazelnuts, or shaved parmesan cheese.
- Storage: This salad holds up well and can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
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