Creamy, crunchy, and smoky all at the same time, this salad invokes the warmth of summer. It hits all the spots and is a great dish to bring to parties or cookouts, work potlucks, or serve with dinner. With minimal prep time, this is a quick and easy salad.
I had my eye on testing out some vegan bacon lately using mushrooms and it was a hit! The mushrooms get nice and crispy and leave your home smelling amazing. While this salad is low on protein, it’s a great side salad for BBQ season where you can get your protein in meat or tofu!
For this recipe, I used liquid smoke. You can usually find it with the BBQ sauce in your local grocery store. If you can’t find it, you can replace it with coconut aminos or tamari sauce.
Yields 5 servings of Vegan Cucumber and ‘Bacon’ Side Salad
The Preparation
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 4 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 medium cucumber, chopped
- 1 medium fresh tomatoes, chopped
- 1/4 cup onion, diced
- 1 medium avocado, cubed
- 3 tablespoons italian dressing
- salt and pepper, to taste
The Execution
1. Pre-heat a skillet on the stove.
2. In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, sesame oil, liquid smoke, and paprika.
3. Add the oil mixture onto the skillet.
4. Place the mushrooms onto the skillet. Cook until crispy. Remove the skillet from the stove. Allow the mushrooms to cool.
5. In a salad bowl, add the sliced cucumber, mushrooms, chopped tomato, onion, and diced avocado.
6. Pour Italian salad dressing onto the salad. Toss together so the vegetables become evenly coated.
This makes a total of 2 servings of Vegan Cucumber and ‘Bacon’ Salad. Each serving comes out to be 436 calories, 39.2g fats, 12.9g net carbs, and 4.9g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 3 tablespoon olive oil | 358 | 40.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 teaspoon liquid smoke | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 |
| 1 teaspoon smoked paprika | 6 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| 4 ounce cremini mushrooms | 32 | 0.1 | 4.7 | 0.7 | 4 | 2.8 |
| 1 medium cucumber | 30 | 0.2 | 7.3 | 1 | 6.3 | 1.3 |
| 1 medium fresh tomatoes | 22 | 0.3 | 4.8 | 1.5 | 3.3 | 1.1 |
| 1/4 cup onion | 16 | 0 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 0.5 |
| 1 medium avocado | 301 | 27.7 | 15.6 | 12.2 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
| 3 tablespoon italian dressing | 106 | 9.3 | 5.3 | 0 | 5.3 | 0.2 |
| — salt and pepper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 871 | 78.4 | 42.6 | 16.9 | 25.7 | 9.8 |
| Per Serving (/2) | 436 | 39.2 | 21.3 | 8.4 | 12.9 | 4.9 |
Vegan Cucumber and ‘Bacon’ Salad
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 4 ounce cremini mushrooms sliced
- 1 medium cucumber chopped
- 1 medium fresh tomatoes chopped
- ¼ cup onion diced
- 1 medium avocado cubed
- 3 tablespoon italian dressing
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, sesame oil, liquid smoke, and paprika.
- Preheat a skillet on the stove. Add the oil mixture onto the skillet.
- Place the mushrooms onto the skillet. Cook until crispy. Remove the skillet from the stove. Allow the mushrooms to cool.
- In a salad bowl, add the sliced cucumber, mushrooms, chopped tomato, onion, and diced avocado.
- Pour Italian salad dressing onto the salad. Toss together so the vegetables become evenly coated.
