Friday, July 17, 2026

A Very Straightforward Cucumber Salad – A Couple Cooks

This cucumber salad recipe is crisp, tangy, and funky, tossed with onion and contemporary dill in a fast vinegar dressing. It’s the simple summer season facet you’ll make on repeat!

Right here’s one among my favourite summer season facet dishes that’s full of taste and suits nearly any weight loss plan: my cucumber salad! It’s easy and punchy, with a vinegar-based dressing that packs in candy and tangy taste.

I grew up with this salad on the BBQ desk, and if you happen to did too why it’s so nice (proper?). It has the proper summer season vibe for nearly any event: summer season cookouts or pitch-ins, lunches, or a simple make-ahead facet dish you’ll be able to maintain within the fridge for dinners all week. Skinny cash of cucumber and onion marinade in a pointy, sweet-salty vinegar brine, and if simply retains getting higher over time!

5 Star Reader Assessment

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Tremendous-delicious!!! I made this tonight with the Cajun Salmon and Straightforward Lemon Orzo. What an ideal combo. It was a giant hit with my husband. Positively cooking all of those once more very quickly. Thanks.” -A.M.

Elements You’ll Want

This cucumber salad recipe is definitely extra like quick-pickled cucumbers and onions than a salad (much like this German Gurkensalat). Whereas we love a creamy cucumber salad, the vinegar-based cucumber salad is our desire. It’s really easy, holds up effectively over time, and has unimaginable taste. Listed below are the components you’ll want:

  • English cucumbers: Search for the lengthy, skinny English cucumbers that come plastic-wrapped within the grocery retailer.
  • White onion and crimson onion: I like utilizing each to get the intense colour of crimson and the delicate taste of white.
  • Contemporary dill: It’s greatest with contemporary herbs, however you’ll be able to substitute dried dill right here and it’s nonetheless unbelievable.
  • White vinegar: Ensure that it’s white vinegar (not white wine vinegar); it has a piercing simple taste that’s the signature of this salad recipe.
  • Granulated sugar: A little bit of sugar balances the acidity.
Cucumber salad recipeCucumber salad recipe

The Greatest Kind of Cucumber for Salad

To me, that is the only most necessary factor about cucumber salad. The most effective sort of cucumber to make use of is an English cucumber, aka Persian cucumber or seedless cucumber. It’s bought a significantly better texture and taste in comparison with an ordinary cucumber.

  • English cucumbers are lengthy and straight, with a skinny, vibrant inexperienced pores and skin with ridges. The seeds are very small and the flavour is nice and delicate. Due to the skinny pores and skin and small seeds, it doesn’t should be peeled or seeded earlier than consuming. You will discover English cucumbers subsequent to the usual cucumbers within the produce part: it’s offered with a plastic protecting to guard its delicate pores and skin.
  • Normal slicing cucumbers are shorter, with thick, darkish inexperienced pores and skin and really massive seeds. The thick pores and skin and seeds might be bitter, in order that they’re typically eliminated when cooking.

Wish to use commonplace cucumbers? You’ll be able to substitute the identical weight of ordinary cucumbers right here and it’ll style nice too! Ensure that to slice them very thinly, or you’ll be able to peel them if you happen to’re delicate to the bitter taste of the pores and skin.

English cucumberEnglish cucumber

Ideas for the Greatest Cucumber Salad

Received your cucumbers? Listed below are a couple of ideas for making this cucumber salad recipe, the best summer season facet dish for cookouts, pitch-ins and extra! Right here’s what to know:

  • Use a mandolin for straightforward slicing. A mandolin is a slicing blade that makes it straightforward to chop greens uniformly. For those who’ve bought one, it makes this salad recipe a breeze! Ensure that to put on the protecting gloves that include the blade to stop damage.
  • Don’t have one? Use a chef’s knife to chop the cucumber as thinly as doable.
  • French lower the onions. Lower the onion from the foundation finish to stem finish to take advantage of attractive-sized items (right here’s a video).
  • Refrigerate for 1 hour. You’ll be able to eat this salad instantly, but it surely’s greatest after 1 hour of refrigeration. This chills the salad and softens the greens.
Cucumber SaladCucumber Salad

What to Serve With Cucumber Salad

This refreshing summer season cucumber salad is in fact an ideal pairing for something wealthy, smoky, or grilled as a cool, crunchy distinction. Listed below are a couple of of my favourite pairings:

Storage and Leftovers

This cucumber salad recipe is nice for making upfront and holds up effectively within the fridge. Retailer cucumber salad for as much as 7 days refrigerated. It tastes even higher after a couple of days of refrigeration. Use it for facet dishes all week lengthy!

Cucumber Salad Variations

There are many variations on this theme! Listed below are a couple of extra cucumber salad recipes:

Dietary Notes

This cucumber salad recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

Print

Straightforward Cucumber Salad Recipe

Cucumber SaladCucumber Salad

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5 from 2 opinions

This cucumber salad recipe is crisp, tangy, and funky, tossed with onion and contemporary dill in a fast vinegar dressing. It’s the simple summer season facet you’ll make on repeat!

  • Creator: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: quarter-hour
  • Cook dinner Time: 0 minutes
  • Complete Time: quarter-hour
  • Yield: 8 1x
  • Class: Aspect Dish
  • Methodology: No Cook dinner
  • Delicacies: Greens
  • Eating regimen: Vegan
  • 2 English cucumbers* (1 3/4 to 2 kilos)
  • 1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 crimson onion, thinly sliced (or extra white onion)
  • 3 tablespoons chopped contemporary dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
  • ½ cup white vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Contemporary floor black pepper, to style

  1. Slice the cucumbers as skinny as doable, utilizing a mandolin if desired. Thinly slice the onion. Chop the dill.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the white vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and pepper. Pour the combination over the cucumbers, onions, and dill, mixing every part collectively to make sure even protection. You’ll be able to serve instantly, but it surely’s greatest to refrigerate 1 hour so the greens grow to be softer.
  3. Stir once more to evenly combine the dressing. Then serve with a slotted spoon. Retailer refrigerated for as much as 7 days.

Notes

*English cucumbers are seedless cucumbers with a really skinny pores and skin and delicate taste: they’re value in search of out for this recipe. For those who’d like, you should use the identical weight of ordinary cucumbers: be sure to slice them very thinly or peel them if you happen to’re delicate to the bitter taste of the pores and skin.

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