Creamy Cucumber Salad

5 from 3 votes

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This classic, creamy Cucumber Salad is the perfect side dish for your next meal. Made using chilled, sliced cucumbers and onion all tossed in a tangy sauce with fresh dill. Light, healthy and refreshing!

Classic Cucumber Salad in brown wood bowl


Creamy Cucumber Salad

This cucumber salad is so easy to make and is great for potlucks, BBQs and picnics. Just keep it cold along with your drinks and it’s the perfect side salad.

Summer grilling season is on and I love to mix up my salad game. This isn’t my grandma’s cucumber and onion salad recipe either. I’ve adjusted hers to this version using Greek yogurt in mine.

What kind of cucumber do I use in the salad?

While I love English cucumbers in this, the ones at the market were just too thin and since I find the peel not that tasty, after peeling I’d be left with not much cucumber, so regular cucumbers were next on my list. So, first pick would be the long English cucumber and second the thicker, regular cucumber.

Typically less flavorful and a bit more watery than the English variety, I remedied that by sweating the slices with some salt.

sliced cucumbers on wood board with knife

Are cucumbers a fruit?

Cucumbers are usually considered a vegetable because of how it’s used in the culinary world. However, as it grows from flowers and contains seeds, it’s botanically a fruit.

What’s sweating a cucumber?

It’s when salt is tossed with the vegetable and allowed to rest. The excess water is pulled from the vegetable and discarded.

No one wants a soupy salad, right?

What’s in cucumber salad?

  • thinly sliced cucumber
  • thinly sliced red onion
  • plain Greek yogurt (in lieu of mayonnaise)
  • apple cider vinegar
  • fresh dill
  • seasonings

Super easy, right? Either slice the cucumber and onion thinly by hand or use a mandoline.

sliced cucumbers and red onions

This is the best Cucumber Salad for bringing back those memories of summer, barbecues and family. I remember always eating this at lunches and dinners seated at picnic tables up at a summer resort with my grandparents and family. We would leave the City of San Francisco and head up to the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, California, and vacationed at a town called Guerneville. Great memories!

The creamy dill sauce is fantastic, perfectly balanced with the sweetness from the sugar, tartness from the apple cider vinegar and tang from the Greek yogurt. As I’m not a big mayonnaise fan, it works fantastic.

I’ve also made this using rice wine vinegar and omitted the sugar, it works great. Enjoy!

Other salads to try:

  • Smoked Potato Salad
    A must try and easy to make. Instead of boiling the potatoes I smoked them first then tossed them with the usual ingredients plus bacon for the win.
  • Broccoli Salad
    Cold Broccoli Salad with Tarragon Dressing has lots of fresh broccoli, golden raisins, marinated red onion and roasted pumpkin seeds all tossed in an amazingly tangy and delicious salad dressing.
  • Greek Salad with Feta
    Chunks of cucumber, sliced teardrop tomatoes, a variety of olives and crumbled feta in an herb infused, lemon dressing.
  • Summer Pasta Salad
    This has an incredible, homemade Cilantro Ranch dressing that’s super easy to make and is loaded with lots of fresh vegetables, nuts and cheese, too.
overhead shot of Classic Cucumber Salad
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close up of Classic Cucumber Salad

Creamy Cucumber Salad

5 from 3 votes
This classic, creamy Cucumber Salad is an easy side dish using sliced cucumbers and onion tossed in a tangy sauce with fresh dill. Light, healthy and refreshing!
Servings: 6
Prep: 15 minutes
Chioll Time: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 2 large cucumbers peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 large red onion thinly sliced

Salad Dressing

Instructions 

  • Peel the cucumber and using a sharp knife or food mandoline, slice thinly. Place the cucumber slices in a sieve and toss with the tablespoon of kosher salt. Allow to drain for 30 minutes.
  • Peel the red onion and using a sharp knife or food mandoline, slice thinly. Add to the cucumbers.
  • In a small bowl mix together the salad dressing ingredients.
  • In a salad bowl add the drained cucumbers, onion and dressing, tossing to coat and mix thoroughly. Season to taste (See Note 2). Cover and chill for an hour before serving.

Notes

  1. If you do not have apple cider vinegar, you can substitute red wine vinegar or if using rice wine vinegar omit the sugar.
  2. To add a bit of a kick, I sometimes add a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Nutrition

Calories: 34kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 203mg | Potassium: 186mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 82IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American, Western
Have You Made This Recipe? Let Me Know on InstagramTag @keviniscooking or tag me #keviniscooking!
overhead of cucumber salad with creamy dill dressing in wood bowl

Kevin

Whether in the kitchen or on the grill, you’ll find me cooking American favorites with a love for BBQ, Mexican and Tex Mex. I’m passionate about making tasty food because life’s too short to be bland!

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6 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This cucumber salad is delicious. Unfortunately, my husband is allergic to cucumbers. We have learned to substitute zucchini. And it is very good with the zucchini as well. First recipe from your blog. Will not be my last. I appreciate your no-nonsense approach to putting out your recipes. Thanks so much. Now if I could have a grill in my place….Oh, and the no-bake cheesecake is to die for. Thanks so much.

  2. 5 stars
    No one wants soupy salad, indeed! We’re going to a bbq this weekend and now I know what to take along – this yummy cucumber salad! This looks so fresh and tasty, Kevin 🙂