15 Minute Fresh Sliced Cucumber and Fennel Salad

Fennel: Choose a firm fennel bulb without any browning. You can thinly slice it with a sharp knife, a mandolin (what I do!) or you can use the slicer attachment on your food processor. And fennel keeps really well, so don’t worry if you have leftovers!
Cucumber: I use the mini Persian cucumbers here but you can absolutely use long English cukes if that’s what you’ve got on hand. Just slice thinly!
Peach: I really love the juicy sweetness of peach in this salad but for those months when peach isn’t in season, some ripe pear or fresh apple would absolutely work.
Mint: I’m doubling down on freshness and greens by using fresh mint. You could also add any fennel fronds from the fennel bulb too!
Salted almonds: yes, you can totally use raw almonds here but roasted and salted almonds – or black pepper almonds, which I’ve also used – add a nice touch
Garlic Vinaigrette: I’ve tried this with a couple of dressings, and I love it with my easy garlic vinaigrette best…it’s the most popular salad dressing on my blog for a reason!

This bright, crunchy and refreshing cucumber and fennel salad will shake up your salad rut! Crisp cucumber and fennel paired with juicy peach, mint and salted almonds and a garlic vinaigrette make a quick and simple salad that has so much flavour and texture you’re going to want to make it every week.

cucumber and fennel salad on white plate — this gorgeous salad is so quick and easy to make, but it packs a big flavour!

Hi, my name is Desiree and I really, really love salads. And no, that’s not the dietitian me talking. It’s the me, the food nerd: I take my salads seriously because I would happily eat a salad every single day! Whether it’s my creamy, tangy kale caesar, a filling kale and quinoa salad or my eats-like-a-meal vegan cobb salad, a good salad on the table makes me very, very happy.

Which is why I tend to make a lot of meal-sized salads, both here on the blog and in my books, like Eat More Plants. And I realized that it might be time to make something a little more side salad appropriate. Like you just need to whip up something quick and fresh and flavourful, whether you’ve got people coming over or it’s just a Tuesday night at home.

But simple doesn’t mean boring… I know that a lot of folks are subjected to bland, uninspired salads in the name of a bit of ruffage. But to me, as far as plant-based recipes go, salads are one of the most exciting ways to play with colour, texture and flavour…which is why I created this cucumber and fennel salad to show you just how delicious a simple, 5 ingredient salad can be!

It’s a lovely side dish salad pretty enough to serve guests but fast enough to make on a weeknight. It is versatile enough to pair with whatever else you’re serving, whether it’s grilled tofu, a curry, lasagna or even a veggie burger.

And if you’ve never tried fennel in a salad before, this is your chance! When sliced super thin, it has the perfect crisp texture without being too annoying to crunch through and it’s mild flavour, with a hint of licorice is never overpowering, I promise!