The beautiful thing about salads that are super tasty? You feel like you’re excited to eat them, instead of feeling like “mehhhh, another salad”. This sesame cucumber and carrot salad clearly meets the oh-so-deilcious criteria. It’s tangy, has sesame-soy flavors, and requires zero cooking. And as a dietitian, I’m all about any recipe that helps you eat more veggies!
Instructions
You’ll find the full recipe instructions and amounts in the recipe card, but here’s a helpful overview with photos.
This recipe is very simple. It does take a few minutes to cut the veggies into ribbons, if you want the style that I’ve made here. You can also just julienne the veggies instead if you prefer, though I do think the texture is better with the ribbons. To cut them like that, just run a peeler over the cucumbers and carrots over and over. You’ll get a big bowl like this:
In another bowl, mix together all the dressing ingredients: the rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, ginger paste, and salt.
Toss that with the veggies, add the sesame seeds, and dig in!
You can store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. The vegetables might soften up a bit but it still tastes great. In fact, I kind of prefer this after it’s sat in the fridge overnight and the veggies absorb more of the flavor from the dressing.
Recipe Modifications
Here are some suggested modifications and substitutions for different dietary needs:
- To reduce the sodium content in this recipe, skip the pinch of salt and use lower sodium soy sauce.
- To reduce the added sugar, reduce or skip the honey or use a no-added-sugar sweetener instead.
- To make vegan, use maple syrup instead of honey.
Serving Suggestions
Here are a few pairing suggestions for main dishes to serve with this salad as a side:
- Gochujang chicken drumsticks (this salad serves as a great pairing to the bold flavors in the chicken)
- Hoisin turkey lettuce wraps
- Soba noodle broth bowls
- Air fryer chicken and spinach meatballs
I hope you enjoy this simple (but super flavorful) side dish. If you get a chance to try it, feel free to leave a recipe rating or comment below.
Sesame Cucumber and Carrot Salad
Ingredients
- 2 large seedless cucumbers, peeled then peeled into ribbons (see notes)
- 4 medium carrots, peeled then peeled into ribbons
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey (or maple syrup)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste (or minced ginger)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (plus additional if desired for garnish)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers, carrots, and scallions.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, ginger paste, and salt.
- Pour the dressing over cucumber carrot scallion mixture and add the sesame seeds. Toss well with tongs until all the vegetables are well coated in dressing. Enjoy! Feel free to garnish with an extra sprinkle of sesame seeds right before serving.
Notes
- To peel the carrot and cucumber into ribbons, just run a peeler over it repeatedly, turning a quarter turn every so often to try to get as much of the veggie sliced into ribbons as possible. You may end up with some scraps when you can’t peel a clean ribbon anymore; these can be cut for snacking another time, or added directly to the salad simply with the different shape.
- As an alternative to peeling the vegetables into ribbons, you could instead julienne the veggies, or slice the cucumber and grate the carrots. However, I think the texture is best as written.
- To reduce the sodium content in this recipe, skip the pinch of salt and use lower sodium soy sauce. To reduce the added sugar, reduce or skip the honey or use a no-added-sugar sweetener instead.
- This recipe makes 2 larger sides or 4 smaller sides.
Nutrition
Please pin this post – it helps you save it for later and helps share this content with others, keeping this site running!
- Sesame Cucumber and Carrot Salad - June 2, 2026
- Gochujang Chicken Drumsticks - June 1, 2026
- Spiced Lamb, Zucchini, and Rice - May 29, 2026
Leave a Reply