I tried the viral cucumber salad recipe + this is what I really thought
It feels like there’s a new TikTok food trend every other week. From baked feta pasta to ‘girl dinner’, Proffee to TT’s viral 5-minute breakfast sandwich, it can be difficult to know what’s actually worth trying. The latest in the culinary world of TikTok? The cucumber salad.
‘Sometimes, you just need to eat a whole cucumber,’ says TikTok creator Logan (@logagm) in his viral video of the now-famous salad. With 6.4 million followers – and each of his recipes for cold, crisp cucumber salads in a jar clocking up anywhere between one and 30 million views – he’s widely regarded as the leader of the ‘cucumber community’. Some have even called him the ‘most hydrated person’ on the app and anecdotally mentioned he’s responsible for cucumbers being sold out at the supermarket.
It's a simple concept – slicing a whole cucumber with a mandoline over a Tupperware container – and one people are clearly enjoying, as variations of the salad are continuously going viral with thousands of people recreating the recipe.
Safe to say, people are really into cucumbers right now.
So what do these salad recipes actually involve and are they a healthy choice for people looking for a new lunch option? Since I strive to be as hydrated as Logan and often don’t get enough vegetables in my diet, I tried the OG cucumber recipe myself — keep scrolling to see how I got on...
What is in the cucumber salad?
There's been plenty of takes on the cucumber salad now. The original was inspired by Asian cuisine and it's pretty simple. Here's everything Logan uses in the OG cucumber salad:
How to make the original cucumber salad
Ingredients
1 cucumber
Soy sauce
Fish sauce
Sesame oil
MSG
Rice wine vinegar
1 clove of garlic, grated
Sugar
Chili oil
Spring onions
Method
Simply combine all of the ingredients in a container, shake them and that's your salad.
The other variation of the cucumber salad that people – well, 34.7 million people and counting – have particularly taken to, is Logan's salmon avocado bagel cucumber salad.
How to make the salmon and cream cheese cucumber salad
Ingredients
1 cucumber
Cream cheese
Smoked salmon
Ranch dressing
1 red onion
½ lemon
MSG
Everything Bagel seasoning
Method
Chop up your cucumber, add all the ingredients together in a container, shake them and voila.
Is eating a whole cucumber actually healthy?
According to TikTok, the cucumber salad is delicious. But is the urge to eat an entire cucumber actually a healthy one? ‘It's absolutely fine to eat a whole cucumber in one meal if you can and if you want to. There's no harm in it and cucumber is mostly water and fibre so it will certainly do you some good,’ says Sophie Medlin, registered dietitian and director of City Dietitians.
Is the cucumber salad a healthy choice?
The cucumber salad is a great, easy lunch option. However, the original version might not keep you feeling energised throughout the day, as it lacks both protein and carbohydrates.
The salmon and cream cheese variation, however, is high in nutrients and vitamins as well as protein, says Medlin.
That said, there are a few changes you can make to make it even more nutritious. ‘Watch out for the salt content if you are going to be eating this on a regular basis,’ Medlin says.
Logan's recipe contains MSG, AKA monosodium glutamate, which is an additive designed to make food taste more savoury.
‘MSG isn't necessarily unsafe or a cause for concern on its own, but some people can be sensitive to it,’ Medlin says. ‘If you just add a little bit of salt that will do just as good a job and it will mean that you can control how much sodium you're having so that you don't end up with problems like high blood pressure.’
Medlin also notes that all of the variations of the cucumber salad are low in carbohydrates, which means it might not keep you energised if this is the only thing you're eating for lunch or dinner.
‘It's important to pair it with something that gives you a bit of carbohydrates,’ she says. ‘Try some sourdough toast on the side or seeded rye bread to make this meal more balanced.’
I tried the viral cucumber salad recipe – and this is what I really thought
Having watched so many videos of people raving over this salad, I had to give it a go. I decided to go for the cream cheese and salmon option – given this is a topping I usually enjoy on a bagel, plus it was the better choice to help me hit my protein goals.
I decided to swap out the MSG for salt and I substituted the Everything Bagel seasoning for some pepper and garlic powder, but otherwise, I tried to follow the recipe as closely as I could.
I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to make – it took around five minutes to put together — and shaking the plastic container was a very satisfying way to put my meal together.
And I have to admit it, the cucumber salad is not just a fad – it was delicious. Medlin was right in noting it's pretty salty and it did start to get a little bit sickly towards the end. Not to mention the fact that it took me a while to get through all of that cucumber.
Top tip: Really chop/slice everything finely so you get all the ingredients in every bite.
But the cucumber works well as a substitute for lettuce if you're looking to switch up your typical lunches. And, paired with a slice of sourdough toast, I felt full and energised all afternoon after eating it and didn't feel the need to snack.
The bottom line? All in all, I’d say that you probably don't need to eat an entire cucumber, but there’s absolutely no harm in doing so, and you might just discover a new favourite lunch to make your WFH days a little bit more exciting (because, delicious at is, smoked salmon might not be suitable for the office fridge unless you want to be that person).
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