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Smashed cucumber and peanut salad with toasted seeds
youryum.com/recipes/smashed-cucumber-and-peanut-salad-with-toasted-seeds · serves 4

Three kinds of crunch, one cold bowl

Toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds add a second kind of crunch to the peanuts without making the salad heavy.

  • Vegan
  • Gluten free
Maren Ashby in her kitchen, in a dark apron, looking away from the camera
By Maren Ashby · Writes and tests everything here
Published 28 July 2026
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Smashed cucumber and peanut salad with toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds
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Prep
15 min
Cook
25 min
Total
40 min
Serves
4
Per serving
231kcal
Effort
Easy

Peanuts give this salad its rounded, roasted flavour. Pumpkin and sesame seeds make the crunch more scattered and delicate, so you get a different texture in every forkful.

Toast the seeds before you smash the cucumber. They need a few minutes to cool, and hot seeds melt into a dressed salad faster than you expect.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Seed topping

Salad

Equipment

  • Large chopping board
  • Chef's knife
  • Colander
  • Small bowl

Method

  1. Toast the seeds

    Put the pumpkin and sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over medium heat. Shake for three minutes, until the pumpkin seeds puff and the sesame smells warm. Stir in the soy sauce, cook for 20 seconds and tip onto a plate.

    If the cucumber is still wet when it meets the toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds, drain it again. Water is not neutral here: it thins the dressing, carries the salt to the bottom of the bowl, and leaves the peanuts tasting like an afterthought. If the pieces feel soft, stop tossing. A few careful lifts with your hands are enough.

    Hands preparing toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds smashed cucumber and peanut salad during the toast the seeds step

  2. Smash and drain

    Crack the cucumbers with the flat of a knife, cut them into chunks and toss with a pinch of salt. Leave for ten minutes, drain and pat dry.

  3. Make the dressing

    Whisk the lemon, oil and garlic in a bowl. Taste before adding salt because the seeds and peanuts are already seasoned.

  4. Toss the cucumber

    Add the cucumber, peanuts and herbs to the dressing. Turn gently so the herbs stay fresh and the dressing reaches the cracked surfaces.

  5. Scatter the seeds

    Give the seeds five minutes to cool, then spoon them over the salad. Serve immediately, before the dressing softens the topping.

Cucumbers peanuts herbs and ingredients for toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds smashed cucumber salad arranged on a kitchen counter
The ingredients for the toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds version, ready before the cucumber gets smashed.

Why smashed cucumber works

The topping is deliberately cooked separately. A hot seed mixture on a wet salad becomes chewy; five minutes on a plate lets the thin soy coating set and keeps the seeds brittle.

The soy sauce is seasoning, not sauce. You want the seeds to taste toasted first, savoury second.

The small failures are useful

If the finished bowl tastes dull, add acid before salt. Cucumber and peanuts can absorb more seasoning than you expect, while too much salt makes the water come out faster. A teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar usually fixes the balance without changing the character of the toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds.

If the cucumber has gone soft, serve it colder and stop stirring it. The texture will not return, but the flavour can still be good over warm rice or beside grilled bread.

For a different meal, replace the peanuts with toasted cashews, sunflower seeds or crisp beans. Keep the same smashed-and-drained method. The dressing is flexible; the texture work is not.

One last check before it leaves the kitchen: taste a piece from the bottom of the bowl, not the top. The dressing settles there, and a salad can seem seasoned on its surface while the cucumber underneath is bland. Lift the pieces once, adjust with a small splash of acid, then stop. The toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds should be visible and distinct rather than folded into a single wet flavour.

Nutrition

Per serving, for 4 servings. Estimated from ingredient weights — it moves with the brands and cuts you actually use.

NutrientPer serving
Calories 231 kcal
Protein 6 g
Carbohydrate 14 g
Fibre 3 g
Fat 14 g

Source: Estimated from ingredient weights, USDA FoodData Central

Questions

Can I use only sesame seeds?
Yes, use three tablespoons and watch them closely because small seeds go from golden to bitter quickly.
Can I make the seed topping ahead?
Yes. Cool it completely and store it airtight at room temperature.
Can I use sunflower seeds?
Yes. They are slightly softer than pumpkin seeds but still give the salad good texture.

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