This fresh-tasting Cucumber Salsa is quick and easy to make, and it goes perfectly with chips and fish tacos!
It’s Mystery Dish time again! If this is new to you, once a month one blogger chooses a list of ingredients, and a group of us creates a recipe using a certain number of ingredients from the list.
This month’s host is The Pajama Chef, and she put together this super fun list: Coffee (grounds or brewed), sour cream, farro, almonds, cherries, watermelon, cantaloupe, jicama, cucumber, tomatoes, infused or flavored olive oil, fresh herbs (any kind), cornmeal, and hot peppers (any kind).
Last month I had a hard time coming up with three ingredients to use together. This time around, I had too many ideas! With so many tasty fruits, vegetables, and versatile ingredients, the possibilities were endless. I decided on this tasty cucumber salsa, and I actually have a cocktail recipe coming up next week that I almost used in its place.
This cucumber salsa recipe uses four ingredients from the Mystery Dish list: Cucumber, tomatoes, herbs (cilantro), and hot peppers (jalapeño). I have actually been wanting to bring you a food processor salsa recipe since I got my Ninja recently. It is so dang easy to make salsa in that thing! It seriously takes about five minutes, and it’s cheaper, fresher, and better than store-bought salsa. (It’s funny that my first Mystery Dish post was all about not having a food processor, and look at me now!)
I liked the idea of cucumber salsa, but I was a tad nervous to taste it for fear that it would taste like, well, cucumbers. You know what it tastes like? Good! You don’t exactly taste cucumber, but it just tastes very crisp and fresh. I usually think fresh cilantro brightens up salsa, and the cucumber enhanced that. We got busy gobbling this down with chips as soon as it was done, but we restrained ourselves to save some for fish tacos for dinner.
For these salmon tacos, I just sprinkled the salmon with Cajun seasoning and browned it on both sides until it was medium rare. Then I arranged the fish in tortillas (gluten-free corn tortillas in my case), topped it with fresh cucumber salsa, and crumbled queso fresco on top.
What would you make using this ingredient list? Let me know in the comments!

Prep Time | 5 minutes |
Servings |
-3
|
- 1/2 English cucumber cut in half lengthwise and seeded
- 1 large tomato quartered and seeded (or substitute 2 roma tomatoes)
- 1 jalapeño ribs and seeds removed
- 2 cloves garlic minced or crushed
- 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Ingredients
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- Place all ingredients into a food processor, and pulse until evenly chopped. Add additional lime juice or salt to taste.
- Serve over tacos or with chips for dipping.
Using a food processor makes this recipe very fast, but of course you can dice all the ingredients by hand if you prefer.
You’ll also love this grilled pork with lemon avocado salad!
This is fabulous! Is there a way to can this? How long will it last in frig.?
I canned it last year. Turned out great! Processed for 10 minutes. Heated ingredients to a boil ,then simmered for 10 minutes first.
I was in Mexico in April, and after an excursion, a woman was out making fresh salsa for everyone. I had a bite and fell in love. Something about this fresh Mexican salsa was different from any I’d ever had. I took a close look and realized there were cucumbers in it. I made a mental note of the ingredients and when I got home Googled “Mexican cucumber salsa” I looked through what I found and your recipe seemed to match exactly what I saw. I made it and this is spot on! It took me right back! Thank you… Read more »
I am also wondering if you can can this salsa?
can you put it in a mason jar to preserve it or does it have to be eaten right away
Super yum! Found this recipe on Pinterest while I was looking for more ways to use my steady crop of cucumbers. Absolutely delicious and so fast to,prepare in the food processor. Will be making a lot of this over the summer. Thanks for the recipe.
Is there a particular way to get involved with this mystery dish club? I’m a small health/fitness blog but I’m trying really hard to grow! I have such a passion for cooking and creating my own healty recipes – this sounds like such a fun thing to do!
Hi, Ashley! I think this particular group has ended. I’m not sure because I only participated for a few months. I would suggest teaming up with some other bloggers in your niche and starting your own! Do you have connections with other bloggers through Facebook groups or anything like that?
I do participate in some Facebook groups. I don’t really think I could start my own though because my readership is still low and i pro ably wouldn’t get a large response when it comes to making the ingredient list.
Don’t sell yourself short! You could pick five blogging friends and rotate making up the ingredient list. It’s a fun way to work together and promote each other to your own audiences. Email me if you want more details/advice on how to set it up. You can contact me directly through the link in my header. Take care!
Thanks for the advice! I think I’ll give it a try! :)
I have so many cucumbers from my garden and I am running out of creative ways to eat the, so this recipe is perfect timing for me!
Thank you, Emily! I think you will really like this one.
Did you can them??
Great recipe. I would love it if you joined and contribute your awesome posts at my link party at City of Creative Dreams, starts on Fridays :D Hope to see you there at City of Creative Dreams Link Party.
Thank you, Shanice! I’ll check it out.