Cabbage Cucumber Salad with Miso Sesame Dressing

This Cabbage Cucumber Salad is crunchy, refreshing, and easy to make ahead of time! It's loaded with sesame seeds and green onions and tossed in an irresistibly delicious miso sesame dressing. It makes for the perfect stir-fry side dish, or add some protein and rice to make it a main dish!

Meet my new favorite salad: this cabbage cucumber salad, tossed with a fabulous miso sesame dressing. It's all the things: fresh, crunchy, tangy, nutty, flavorful, refreshing, and absolutely delicious.

This salad was originally inspired by a few different things: some cucumber salads I saw on TikTok, and my favorite cucumber summer salad from my favorite vegetarian Thai restaurant in San Diego, Plumeria. Once I started making it at home, with my own twists, and realized how easy it was...it came a staple on repeat in my kitchen. I've had countless days standing at the kitchen counter eating this salad for lunch.

It's the perfect salad for summer, and since it's lettuce-free, you can make it ahead of time and grab it out of the fridge when you need something quick and refreshing. It makes a great side dish, or add some extra protein (ideas below!) to make it a full meal. I think you'll be as obsessed as I am!

What's in this cabbage cucumber salad?

Persian Cucumbers: these are the smaller ones, and I find they work best because the seeds are tiny and the skin is thin, so no need to peel!
Thinly Shredded Cabbage: I used red cabbage, green will work too!
Green Onions: we use LOTS for maximum flavor.
Peanuts: feel free to skip if you have a peanut allergy or sub for almonds.
Toasted Sesame Seeds: these are a MUST - they add so much texture! If you only have raw sesame seeds, toast them for a few minutes in a dry pan on low-heat.

Let's make the miso sesame dressing!

This dressing is so good you could DRINK it!! It's light, refreshing, and perfect for this cucumber salad. It would also be a great dumpling dipping sauce :)

What you need to make it is:

Tamari: or regular soy sauce if you're not gluten-free. Coconut aminos are a great soy-free option.
Rice Vinegar: I use regular unseasoned rice vinegar, but if you have seasoned on hand, that works too!
Lime Juice: fresh is best!
White Miso: I used chickpea miso, regular white miso works great too.
Toasted Sesame Oil
Chili Crisp: or chili powder. I used Trader Joe's Chili Garlic Crunch
Garlic: I use fresh and grate it right into the sauce.

Could I add a protein?

If you want to serve this cucumber salad as a main dish, you absolutely could, but I would recommend adding some protein to make it a complete meal! You can add meat or a plant-based protein. Some of my favorites are:

I would serve with a grain like rice or quinoa to make it a filling, delicious meal. I hope you adore this recipe as much as I do!

Want more easy salads?