It's summer, so beat the heat by not using your stove. Make this large colorful bell pepper salad for supper instead. It's easy, tasty, and super healthy!
On a low carb diet? You'll definitely want to try our tomato olive salad and our Silician tuna salad. They both have less than 5 grams of carbs per serving.
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Ingredients
For this recipe, you'll be able to find all the ingredients year round at your local grocery store, but in the summer, you'll be able to find some of the produce at your local farmer's market.
- Sweet Bell Peppers: Use all three colors (red, yellow, and orange) for the best presentation. Stay away from green bell peppers though, as they aren't sweet enough.
- Cucumbers: Use a long English cucumber that is thinly sliced.
- Aromatics: Use roughly a third of a small red onion and 2 large cloves of fresh garlic.
- Fresh Herbs: Use fresh chives and fresh mint. Make sure to chop them just before using for maximum freshness.
- Spices: Finely ground sea salt and freshly ground black pepper is all the seasoning that is needed.
- Sweetener: A small amount of white granulated sugar is used in the dressing, but feel free to substitute with the sweetener of your choice.
- Acid: Freshly squeezed lemon juice from two large lemons will make the base for the dressing.
Questions
Yes, eating bell peppers along with other healthy fresh vegetables like cucumbers and tomatoes will assist you with your weight loss goals by helping to satisfy your hunger without adding too many calories. They're full of water and vitamins, too.
Start by rinsing the bell peppers and drying them off with a clean towel. Use a sharp chef's knife to slice off ¼ inch from the top and bottom of the pepper. Next,cut it in half from top to bottom to get two halves. Remove the membranes and seedsusing the knife or a grapefruit spoon and discard them. Then, slice into thin strips.
Red peppers are the sweetest and the juiciest. It also seems to be the easiest to find at the grocery store, right after the green bell pepper.
When it's summertime and bell peppers are in abundance, it's a good idea to find different ways to use up all the produce from your garden. Salads, fajita veggies, and roasted bell peppers with Italian sausage are all wonderful ways to put your bell peppers to use.
How to Make
Gather all the ingredients.
Prep everything ahead of time. Slice the red onion, cucumber and bell peppers. Chop the mint, chives, and mince the garlic.
Here's what you'll need for the dressing.
To make the dressing, whisk together the lemon juice, sugar, spices, and minced garlic.
You'll have ¼ cup of dressing. If you're not serving the salad right away, make sure to store the dressing separately.
Once all the ingredients for the salad are prepped, place them in a large bowl. Add the fresh chives and mint just before tossing. As the mint can turn brown if chopped and add ed to the salad too early.
Toss all the veggies together with some salad tongs.
Serve immediately with dressing or cover and place in the fridge for up to 30 minutes.
If you need to make this the night before, keep the dressing and fresh herbs separate.
What's stopping you from making this tonight? Grab up your fresh veggies and a chef's knife and get chopping!
Variations
- Need cheese? Add ½ cup cubed feta cheese right before serving.
- Want this spicy? Add 1 fresh chopped jalapeño pepper.
- Want to soften the bite of the red onion? Deflame it in red wine vinegar, cold water, salt, and sugar for 10 minutes.
- Need protein? Add white albacore tuna, chickpeas, or white beans.
- Want to add a grain? Serve with cooked quinoa.
- Want other fresh herbs? Try fresh dill and flatleaf Italian parsley.
Pro Tips
- The cucumbers will go from crunchy to mushy if they sit too long with the dressing. You'll want them to still have some bite.
- Use freshly squeezed lemon juice (not the bottled kind) for the dressing.
- Don't substitute the English cucumbers for other kinds of cucumbers.
- This tastes great stuffed into pita bread or paired with grilled chicken and fish.
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Recipe
Low Carb Bell Pepper Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 large orange bell pepper, thinly sliced in 2 inch lengths
- 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced in 2 inch lengths
- 1 large yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced in 2 inch lengths
- ½ English cucumber, thinly sliced
- ⅓ large red onion, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup fresh mint, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh chives, cut in ½ inch lengths
For the Dressing
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 2 lemons
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and sugar until well blended.
- In a large bowl, combine the bell peppers, cucumber, red onion, chives, and mint.
- Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss with tongs to combine. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 30 minutes then serve. You'll want the cucumbers and bell peppers to still be crunchy.
Notes
- The cucumbers will go from crunchy to mushy if they sit too long with the dressing. You'll want them to still have some bite.
- Use freshly squeezed lemon juice, not the bottled kind, for the dressing. We love using a citrus reamer to squeeze lemons. Using freshly minced garlic tastes better, too--and using a garlic press saves time.
- Don't substitute the English cucumbers for other kinds of cucumbers.
- Tastes great stuffed into pita bread just add feta cheese and cherry tomatoes.
- Pairs well with grilled chicken and fish.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on June 15, 2018.
Arleen
Thank you so much for this recipe! I took it to a "taco night" gathering and it was just the right flavor to add to the tacos. I will be using it again.
Emma
Thank you, Arleen! I'm so glad that you enjoyed the salad so much!
Connie Dangelser
Took this salad to a Taco Party!! People were asking me to share the recipe! That's a compliment in itself!!
Emma
Connie, we are so glad this recipe was a hit for you at your event! Thanks for sharing.
Beth
This salad is very crunchy. I love all the veggies!
Emma
Me too, Beth!