There’s so much to love about this cucumber salad. It’s easy to prepare, uses the simplest ingredients, and is filled with fresh flavors. You’ve got crisp cucumbers and onions, lots of dill, and a splash of tangy-sweet dressing.
Sunny Days Beckon This Easy Cucumber Salad
What’s one cure to a summer heat wave? This cucumber salad (or even this cucumber radish salad). It’s cooling, delicious, and aligns with the idea of no-fuss recipes for the season. Plus, I find that it’s the best side salad to make alongside any seafood or meaty main – like grilled salmon steaks, garlic grilled shrimp, grilled skirt steak, BBQ chicken, or pulled pork.
Fun fact – this cucumber salad will even help with digesting all those meaty dishes. That’s because greens, herbs, and vinegar help stimulate the body’s digestion and natural enzyme production. Which means there’s always a reason to make this summer salad!
What’s in This Cucumber Salad?
Now here’s something we all love to hear – this salad ticks the boxes for simple and budget-friendly ingredients. And given that this salad is predominantly cucumbers, I’d suggest grabbing the freshest from the bunch (meaning no brown spots or softness on the skin). You want your cucumbers as green and firm as possible!
- Cucumbers: I recommend English cucumbers as they’re larger, sweeter, have a slightly thinner skin, with no seeds. But you could certainly use regular cucumbers as well.
- Red Onion and Scallion: I love to use a combo of red and green onions for this salad. It adds more texture and color to the overall dish!
- Dill: Fresh dill really makes this salad feel “farmer’s market fresh”.
- Vinegar: Either champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar will work.
- Honey: Just 2 teaspoons of honey are all you need to help balance out the vinegar and salt.
Pro tip: If you want to make this a creamy cucumber salad, add ½ a cup of sour cream or yogurt into the mix!
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
Let’s Make the Best Cucumber Salad
This salad is all about the prep work, which should only take between 5 to 10 minutes. The key here is using a mandoline to make slicing the cucumbers and onions easy breezy. It’s a huge time-saver! But if you don’t have a mandoline, slicing with a sharp knife is fine, just try to slice everything in thin, even pieces.
- Toss cucumbers with salt. After you slice the cucumbers, place them in a colander and sprinkle on a little salt to help pull the water and moisture out. Cucumbers are moisture-rich, which makes them a great cooling vegetable, but you also don’t want a soggy salad!
- Wash and drain the cucumbers. Once your cucumbers have mixed with the salt for a bit, you should notice some liquid dripping out the bottom of your colander. Then wash and drain the cucumbers. This step is key to prevent an overly salty salad.
- Making the dressing. Stir together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
- Mix the salad together. Add the cucumbers, sliced red and green onion, and dill to a large serving bowl. Then pour the dressing on top and toss everything together. Oh, and don’t forget to add some cracked black pepper on top!
Storage Tips
It’s easy to devour this salad in one sitting, especially if you’re serving it for a small group. But if you have leftovers, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. Just note that the salad will become a bit watery over time.
And since this salad can last a few days in the fridge, it’s perfect for making ahead of time as well. Hint – make this for all your summer festivities like 4th of July or Labor Day!
Cucumber Salad Recipe Video
This is a simple recipe, but it always helps to get a visual of it, right? Check out the video below!
More Easy Salad Recipes
When you need a quick salad idea – the recipes below are my go-to’s!
Cucumber salad lovers can rejoice, because this one is a staple. Give it a try and let me know what you think of it in a comment below!
Easy Cucumber Salad
There’s lots to love about this cucumber salad in the summer. It’s easy to prep, uses simple ingredients, and is filled with fresh flavors!
Calories: 37kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 0.3g, Saturated Fat: 0.03g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.01g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g, Sodium: 296mg, Potassium: 247mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 191IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 30mg, Iron: 1mg
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Recipe originally posted May 2017, but updated to include new information.