Cucumber Salsa Is The Refreshing Topping Your Tacos Need

Salsa is no monolith, that's for sure. Around Mexico and other countries of Latin America and down the aisles of grocery stores in the U.S., varieties abound that work great on tacos. There are raw and cooked salsas, those with pungent spice and others sweetened with fruit, and chunky pico de gallos and thin salsas. One often overlooked ingredient makes for a crisp and refreshing salsa and works in myriad applications: cucumbers.

Used as a vegetable but technically a fruit, cucumbers are sliced, diced, or smashed to bring a note of brightness and a vegetal tang that frequently adds balance to a dish. Similarly, salsa frequently contributes acid and freshness to the rich meats, roasted vegetables, and sumptuous melted cheeses frequently used in tacos. Thus, it is easy to see why blending salsa and cucumber works so well. Of course, there are a variety of cucumbers to choose from, but for salsas, look to use thin, flavorful kinds, such as English cucumbers, rather than the more watery and seed-laden types.

Salsas with cucumber in the mix pair well with a range of tacos, especially those with a hearty, spiced richness. Grilled or roasted chicken tacos with a chili rub can easily be perked up with a cucumber salsa verde. Light fish, such as tilapia, make for great tacos and host an easy mango salsa punched up with cucumber quite well. There are no rules; simply follow your intuition and taste. 

The approach to adding cucumbers to your salsa for tacos can take a range of forms. The most straightforward is a fresh pico de gallo recipe. This chunky salsa marries together tomatoes, onions, chilis, cilantro, and lime juice for a salsa that's almost a salad. The ingredients for pico de gallo go well with cucumber, which brings another layer of crunch that plays beautifully on a freshly-made taco. All that is needed is to dice the cucumber about the same size as the other vegetables and gently stir it into either homemade or store-bought pico de gallo. You can spoon this cucumber salsa over any number of tacos, from grilled flank steak to seared shrimp. 

Salsa verde is another popular salsa for splashing on tacos. Here, the unique flavor is derived from tomatillos rather than tomatoes. Despite the similar sounding names, tomatillos are actually closer in relation to gooseberries and add a zesty, fruity flavor to salsa verde. Cucumbers reinforce not just the color of salsa verde, but also the mellow flavor by bringing in a slightly Mediterranean influence. To add them to our favorite creamy salsa verde recipe, simply pulse them in the food processor along with the other ingredients. Imagine this salsa strewn across spiced grilled chicken tacos wrapped in fresh tortillas, onions with cilantro, and lime wedges for squeezing on top.