I Tried the Viral “Cucumber Toast” and Now I Want to Eat It for Breakfast and Lunch
Melissa Ben-Ishay, better known as “Baked by Melissa” on Instagram and TikTok, is no stranger to creating viral recipes. There were the sweet and colorful Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls, the finely chopped and highly coveted Green Goddess Cabbage Salad, and now the Cottage Cheese and Cucumber Toast.
Loaded with cottage cheese (or avocado, if you prefer) and a refreshing-looking salad made of finely chopped cucumbers, garlic, and dill, it seemed like the ideal savory breakfast for a hot summer morning. After seeing one happy testimonial after another on TikTok, I knew I had to see what all the fuss was about.
Get the recipe: Cottage Cheese and Cucumber Toast
How to Make Baked by Melissa’s Cucumber Toast
Start by toasting your bread of choice. While it’s toasting, finely dice cucumbers and transfer them to a medium bowl. Add minced garlic, olive oil, lemon, and chopped dill. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, stir well, taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Spread a generous scoop of cottage cheese or mashed avocado on to your toast, then top with a spoonful of your cucumber salad. Gently press the cucumber mixture into the toast to help secure it, and enjoy.
My Honest Review of Baked by Melissa’s Cucumber Toast
This toast was both refreshingly light-tasting and surprisingly filling. Although I loved the combination of the creamy cottage cheese and the garlicky cucumber salad, I actually preferred the version with avocado; the smooth texture of the avocado was a delicious complement to the crispness of the cucumber.
I’d definitely whip up either version again, although I might skip the salad prep to save time. Instead, I’d slice the cucumbers in strips or rounds and season them once on top of the toast with salt, pepper, a squeeze of lemon, and a drizzle of olive oil. Although I might not put in the effort to mince a clove of garlic, rubbing a cut piece of garlic to the surface of the toast before adding toppings would definitely do the trick.
3 Tips for Making Baked by Melissa’s Cucumber Toast
- Start with one clove of garlic. If you’re a garlic lover, you may be tempted to use more garlic than the recipe calls for. My advice is to start small, with one clove of garlic. Because it’s raw, it’ll pack a punch, and too much of it can overpower the mild flavors of cucumber and cottage cheese or avocado. You can always add more after tasting!
- Use whole-milk cottage cheese. You’ll want to contrast the tangy, bright flavors of the cucumber salad with something fatty, and low-fat cottage cheese just doesn’t bring the rich, creamy goodness that the whole-milk variety provides.
- Use Persian cucumbers. They’re sweet, practically seedless, and you don’t need to peel them!
Get the recipe: Cottage Cheese and Cucumber Toast
This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: I Tried Baked by Melissa’s Viral “Cucumber Toast,” and I’m Eating It for Breakfast and Lunch