Cucumber Salad is a total classic! It’s light and delicious and tends to be a popular option for summer side dishes and gatherings like backyard barbecues and cookouts. This dish isn’t limited to warm weather though! Because it requires some sitting time before serving, it’s often served for weeknight meals as well as larger meals with numerous dishes. It’s light, refreshing, and easy to make. What’s not to love?
If you love cucumber salad but prefer the creamy variety, we’ve got you covered with our favorite creamy cucumber salad recipe!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A super simple vinaigrette keeps things easy while still bringing the tangy zip.
- Fresh dill adds to the pickled flavor people love about this dish.
- English cucumbers are used for the best texture.
Cucumber Salad is a family favorite that people have been enjoying for ages. Thinly sliced cucumbers and onion are tossed in a sweet and tangy vinaigrette for a classic side dish.
This dish is heavily rooted in German ancestry where they call it Gurkensalat. It’s a popular side dish that has made its way to America. It’s light, refreshing, and easy to make. While the recipe seems to have originated in Germany, it made its way to the Southern United States via German immigrants. There are slight variations out there, of course, but this version is our absolute favorite.
Ingredient Notes
- English Cucumbers: have more flavor and less seeds than regular seedless cucumbers, but both can be used.
- Red Onion: is perfect for eating raw and provides a nice bite. A white onion can also be used, but avoid yellow onions.
- Fresh Dill: is strongly preferred in this recipe. If you can’t find fresh dill or don’t have access, you can use 2 to 3 teaspoons of dried dill.
- White Vinegar: provides a classic strong vinegar flavor. For a more mild flavor, you can also use apple cider vinegar.
Sweating Cucumbers:
This recipe calls for “sweating” the cucumbers. When sweating a vegetable you use salt to draw out excess moisture. This is commonly done when working with eggplant. You can certainly skip this step in the recipe, however, you’ll end up with extra liquids from the cucumber, which have a high volume of water content.
Storage Instructions:
Store your cucumber salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
More Simple “No-Lettuce” Salads
Watermelon Feta Salad
10 mins
Healthy Cucumber Tomato Salad
1 hr 15 mins
Balsamic Tomato Salad
10 mins
Caprese Avocado Salad
15 mins
So tasty and just what I needed to use up the abundance of cucumbers and dill in my garden! Thanks! ๐
Love this cucumber salad…my Hungarian grandmother would always make this salad as a side dish when she made Chicken Paprikas’ – and it would always have the sour cream and dill in it…SOOOO delicious…???
Do they have to be English cucumbers? Can I use white onions instead of red?
English cucumbers have a thinner skin and better flavor, but you can use other cucumbers as well. White onions aren’t as good as red onions when eating raw.
Hi Rachel, I find it interesting that it says it’s an old German recipe. My mother’s family had a recipe very similar f that had been passed down for generations and they are from Denmark. I know the traditions are similar.
I love this recipe so much. Iโve actually made it into quick pickles by putting it in a mason jar with extra liquid. Yesterday I skipped the dill and added pickling spice. Itโs my favorite fridge quick bite snack!
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I used to make this every summer when my son was growing up, just like my mother did when my sister and I were growing up. This is basically the recipe we always used though I sometimes make it with cider vinegar and put in a little fresh basil as well.
Thanks for posting this.
Can u use apple cider vinegar instead
Worth a try!
Do you pour mixture over while it is hot, or let it cool first?
While it is still hot.
I added thinly sliced romaine tomatoes and it was so good. Thanks for posting this easy to make yummy recipe