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Vegetarian Recipes

Cucumber Salad

https://www.loveandlemons.com/cucumber-salad/

The first time I tried a sweet, vinegary cucumber salad, I was hooked. The cool, crisp cucumbers burst with tangy flavor, onion added just the right amount of bite, and a sprinkle of dill gave it an addictive, pickle-like taste. When English cucumbers started popping up at the farmers’ market this summer, I immediately thought of that first bite of cucumber salad, and I knew that I wanted to make a version to share with all of you.

This cucumber salad recipe is the quintessential summer dish. Like all the best summer recipes, it requires just a few ingredients to pack a big punch of flavor. It’s delectably salty & sweet, and the chilled cucumbers and onions are super refreshing on hot summer days. It takes just 15 minutes to make (including 10 minutes of hands-off chill time), so toss it together and enjoy it as a dinner side or – like me – eat it straight out of the bowl!


Cucumber salad recipe ingredients


Cucumber Salad Recipe Ingredients

The best thing about this bright, fresh, addictive cucumber salad recipe is that it requires just 8 ingredients:

  • English cucumber! I use a mandoline to get my slices nice & thin.
  • Red onion. The thinner these guys are the better, so if you have a mandoline, use it for the onion as well as the cucumber.
  • Rice vinegar, sesame oil & honey combine to make a light, sweet & savory dressing for the crisp veggies.
  • Dill & mint. This combo adds delicious freshness to the cool cucumbers and onions.
  • Pickled mustard seeds. I list these as optional, but I highly recommend using them. Their flavor is a great complement to the dill, and they add tangy complexity to this super simple cucumber salad.

Add a sprinkle of sea salt, and you’ve got everything you need!

How to Make Cucumber Salad

This cucumber salad recipe is easy to toss together. Here’s all you need to do:

  1. First, add the sliced English cucumbers and onion to a large bowl along with the honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, salt, and fresh dill. Toss it all together and put the bowl in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes.
  2. After the mixture has chilled, transfer it to a serving dish, leaving behind any excess liquid.
  3. Top the cucumber onion salad with fresh mint leaves and pickled mustard seeds, if you’re using them.
  4. Season to taste and enjoy!

What to Serve with Cucumber Onion Salad

I have a hard time not gobbling up this salad as soon as I toss it together. On the days when it makes it to the dinner table, we love this recipe as a side dish with classic summer picnic fare like veggie burgers, black bean burgers, BBQ sandwiches, portobello mushroom burgers, and corn on the cob. It’s also delicious served with grilled vegetable kabobs and generous dollops of tzatziki.

The sweet rice vinegar & sesame oil dressing makes this cucumber salad recipe a great pairing with Asian flavors as well. Try it as a side with soba noodles, crispy tofu, or banh mi sandwiches. Add a scoop to a watermelon poké bowl, or pair it with sushi, spring rolls, or summer rolls to make a light meal.

If you love this cucumber salad recipe…

Try my watermelon salad, orzo salad, broccoli salad, Greek salad, or pasta salad next, or head to this post to see more of my favorite summer salad recipes!

Cucumber Salad

Author: Jeanine Donofrio

Recipe type: Side dish

  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • ½ tablespoon agave nectar or honey
  • 1 English cucumber, thinly sliced into rounds
  • ⅓ cup thinly sliced red onions
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon chopped dill
  • 1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves
  • Pickled mustard seeds, optional (recipe below)
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling, optional
  1. In a large bowl, combine the vinegar, agave nectar, cucumber, onion, salt, sesame oil, and dill. Toss to coat and chill for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl, leaving some of the excess water behind. Top with fresh mint, dollops of pickled mustard seeds, if using, and a drizzle of olive oil, if desired. Season to taste and serve.
Pickled Mustard Seeds
½ cup apple cider vinegar

½ cup water

3 tablespoons cane sugar

½ teaspoon salt

⅓ cup yellow mustard seedsCombine the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a small pot over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stir in mustard seeds, reduce the heat, and cook over low heat for 30 minutes or until the mustard seeds are plump.

Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Store in the refrigerator.

 

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Cheesy Vegetarian

Creamy Vegan Corn Chowder (with Coconut Milk)

I am well and truly into soup mode, with all this cold weather we’ve been having – and corn chowder has got to be one of the most hearty, most comforting soups there is. This thick and creamy soup is packed with fresh veggies, and the addition of coconut milk makes it extra tasty (and vegan too!).

A piece of buttered toast being dipped into vegan corn chowder.

The flavours in this soup are just delicious – the slight heat from the chilli and the touch of sweetness from the creamy coconut milk are such a wonderful combination. I might even try it with sweet potatoes next!

This vegan corn chowder is already super filling due to the potatoes and corn, but I do love a bit of buttered toast dipped in… it’s autumn in a bowl.

⭐ What is Chowder?

Chowder is a thick kind of soup, usually made with milk or cream – but this vegan corn chowder uses coconut milk instead, which makes it even tastier.

It’s generally left chunky (unlike a smooth blended soup), which makes it feel much more hearty and filling than a thinner soup. I did partially blend my coconut corn chowder, because it helps to break down the potatoes and corn, making the soup extra thick and creamy – though I didn’t make it totally smooth.

(you can if you want to, though! I’m not the chowder police.)

Overhead shot of vegan corn chowder with buttered toast.

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🥗 Ingredients and Substitutions

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

Ingredients for vegan corn chowder laid out with text overlay.
  • sweetcorn – I used frozen corn, but you could use canned or fresh corn instead, if you prefer.
  • unsweetened coconut milk – use the canned stuff, as it’s thicker and creamier than the kind that’s designed for drinking. I used light coconut milk, but regular would also be great (and would make an even creamier soup).
  • onion
  • celery
  • carrot
  • potatoes – you could even try using sweet potatoes (or a bit of both kinds) instead, if you want an extra hint of sweetness in your soup.
  • vegetable stock – I used a crumbled stock cube plus some water, but liquid stock would also work well.
  • red chilli – just use a small amount to begin with! You can always spice up your soup more later if it needs it, but adding too much chilli is a good way to quickly ruin a tasty soup.
  • smoked paprika
  • cumin
  • garlic

Becca’s Top Tip

If you don’t want to buy a whole pack of red chillies to only use a small amount, a dollop of sweet chilli sauce will also work really well in this recipe.

📹 Recipe Video





🔪 Equipment

To make this vegan corn chowder, I used an immersion blender (hand blender) to partially blend the soup. It helped to break down the potatoes and corn, making the soup extra thick and creamy.

If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can choose to leave the soup unblended – but if you’d like to make soup regularly, a hand blender is definitely something worth buying, as they’re not expensive, and they’re a tool you’ll probably use regularly. I make soup about once a week, so my immersion blender is one of my most-used kitchen tools.

Here’s a great one on Amazon, with really positive reviews:

Sale

OVENTE Electric Immersion Hand Blender 300 Watt 2 Mixing Speed with Stainless Steel Blades, Powerful Portable Easy Control Grip Stick Mixer Perfect for Smoothies, Puree Baby Food & Soup, Black HS560B

OVENTE Electric Immersion Hand Blender 300 Watt 2 Mixing Speed with Stainless Steel Blades, Powerful Portable Easy Control Grip Stick Mixer Perfect for Smoothies, Puree Baby Food & Soup, Black HS560B

I use this kind of hand blender at least once a week to make homemade soup.

If you’re in the UK or Australia, click ‘Buy on Amazon’ to view a local product.

$17.08

Buy on Amazon

A bowl of vegan corn chowder topped with cilantro.

🖨 Printable Instructions

Buttered toast being dipped into a bowl of coconut corn chowder.

Print

Vegan Corn Chowder (with Coconut Milk)

This creamy vegan corn chowder recipe is made with coconut milk, which makes it extra luxurious and extra delicious!
Course Appetiser, Light lunch, Soup
Cuisine American
Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 3 people
Calories 360kcal
Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp oil
  • 450 g (~ 1 lb) potato (~ 3 medium)
  • 1/2 large onion (or 1 small)
  • 1 medium carrot
  • 1 large celery stick (~ 80g / ~ 3 oz)
  • 250 g (~ 9 oz) frozen sweetcorn
  • 1/2 small mild red chilli, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 400 ml tin coconut milk (~ 1 1/2 cups) – I used light
  • 1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled
  • 500 ml (~ 2 cups) water
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Dice the potato, onion, carrot and celery stick fairly small (1cm or less). Heat a dash of oil in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat, and add the chopped vegetables. Cook for 5 minutes or so, until fragrant.
    Diced potatoes and other vegetables in a saucepan.
  • Add the frozen sweetcorn, chilli, garlic, smoked paprika and cumin. Mix well, and cook for a couple more minutes.
    Sautéed vegetables and spices in a saucepan.
  • Next, add the can of coconut milk and the vegetable stock – I used a stock cube and water, but you can use liquid stock if you prefer.
    Vegetables and coconut milk in a saucepan.
  • Bring to a simmer, and cook for 25 minutes or so, until all the vegetables are very soft.
    Chunky corn chowder in a saucepan.
  • Use an immersion blender to partially blend the soup, breaking down some of the potatoes and corn, and leaving some whole.
    Vegan coconut corn chowder in a saucepan.
  • Season to taste, and serve warm.
    Coconut corn chowder in a bowl with buttered toast.

Video





Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 360kcal | Carbohydrates: 49.2g | Protein: 8.4g | Fat: 15.4g | Saturated Fat: 8.5g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 552mg | Potassium: 1083mg | Fiber: 7.6g | Sugar: 5.7g | Calcium: 554mg | Iron: 3mg

💭 Recipe FAQs

Does this corn chowder reheat well?

Yes! The leftovers are great reheated – just microwave until piping hot. This means you can also prepare the soup in advance if you need to, and reheat when you’re ready to serve.

Can I freeze corn chowder?

Soup generally freezes very well – just allow it to cool and store it in an airtight tub in the freezer.

How should I serve corn chowder?

Because of the potatoes and corn, this is a hearty soup that doesn’t really need anything else alongside. However, I do love it with a slice of crusty, buttery toast for dipping.

🥣 Other Soup Recipes

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Buttered toast being dipped into a bowl of coconut corn chowder.

Creamy Vegan Corn Chowder (with Coconut Milk)

Easy red lentil soup topped with Greek yogurt and red pesto.

Seriously Easy Red Lentil Soup

A bowlful of creamy potato and spring onion soup.

Creamy Potato and Spring Onion Soup

Vegetable gyoza soup in a bowl.

Vegetarian Gyoza Soup

The post Creamy Vegan Corn Chowder (with Coconut Milk) appeared first on Easy Cheesy Vegetarian.

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