Artificial Food Coloring Free Basil-Pesto Radish & Cucumber Salad
This vibrant salad is a celebration of fresh, garden-forward flavors — crisp cucumber rounds and peppery radish slices brought together by a bright, herb-packed pesto that you blitz up yourself in minutes. Every single ingredient here is whole and recognizable, which means no mystery additives or synthetic dyes hiding in a store-bought dressing. The pesto comes together from fresh basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, and good olive oil, giving you that bold, coarse, brilliant-green sauce without anything artificial doing the heavy lifting. Salting the vegetables first and letting them rest is a small but smart step that draws out excess moisture, so the pesto clings to every slice instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl. The result is cooling, a little sharp from the lemon and radish, and deeply herby in the best possible way. It's the kind of side dish that looks impressive on a platter but comes together with almost no effort — and you'll know exactly what went into every bite.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
For the salad
- 2 medium english cucumbers, thinly sliced into rounds
- 1 bunch radishes (about 10–12), thinly sliced
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
For serving
- 2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, torn (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Place the cucumber rounds and sliced radishes in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt, toss to coat, and let stand for 10 minutes until the vegetables release some of their liquid.
- 2
While the vegetables rest, combine the basil leaves, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, and sea salt in a food processor. Pulse 8–10 times until the herbs are roughly chopped.
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