California Roll Cucumber Salad {viral recipe}
If you love the taste and flavor of California rolls, you’ll go crazy over this viral California roll cucumber salad! Cucumber, avocado, red onion, and crab meat are tossed in a creamy Asian-inspired dressing. Serve it with rice or alongside an Asian-inspired dish, or simply enjoy it on its own for a quick lunch salad or light dinner!
Here are a few more cucumber salad recipes you’ll love: Cucumber, avocado, and tomato salad and this creamy cucumber salad.
Recipe Ingredients: California Roll Cucumber Salad
For the dressing:
For the salad:
Ingredient Notes, Substitutions & Additions
English or Persian cucumbers: These have thin skin and fewer seeds, so they stay crisp and don’t need peeling.
Mayo: Regular mayo is just fine, but kewpie (Japanese mayo) is super creamy and delicious.
Crab meat: While you can certainly use real crab meat, imitation crab meat is typical in a California roll, so that’s what I always use. Plus, it’s more cost-effective 🙂
Sesame seeds or furikake seasoning: Furikake seasoning is a Japanese seasoning that has a mild umami flavor — it’s slightly salty and a bit nutty. It’s DELISH on this salad. Both furikake seasoning and sesame seeds give a little added crunch.
Sriracha: Add sriracha to the dressing for some spice or drizzle it over the top of the salad.
Expert Tips
- Storage: This salad is meant to be enjoyed right away. You can store it for a day or so in an airtight container in the fridge but the avocado and the cucumbers do not keep very well.
- Avocado: Cut and add the avocado last, for maximum freshness.
- Serving: You can serve this salad right way or pop it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to allow the flavors to marry a bit. Do not store it too long — this salad is meant to be enjoyed soon after making it.
How to Serve
Side dish: You can serve this California roll sushi salad as a side dish for any Asian meal.
With seaweed and rice Wrap this salad in seaweed wrappers (nori) and add a little rice for a deconstructed sushi roll with all the flavors but zero hassle!
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Thank you! ~ Casey
California Roll Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 tsp sugar
For the cucumber salad
- 1 English cucumber, diced about 2-3 cups
- 1 ripe avocado, diced
- 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
- 4 oz. imitation crab meat or fresh crab meat!
- sesame seeds or furikake seasoning optional
Instructions
- Make the dressing: Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.
- Assemble: Add cucumber, avocado, red onion, and crab meat to a medium bowl. Toss with the dressing. Generously shake on the sesame seeds or Furitake seasoning and serve right away.
This salad is the perfect little lunch! It tastes so much like a California roll with zero hassle. I hope you love it! XO ~ Casaey