Easy Cucumber Salad
65 Comments
Updated May 23, 2024
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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
Description
Video
Ingredients
- 2 large English cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
- 1½ tablespoon champagne vinegar, or white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Toss cucumbers with salt. Add the sliced cucumber to a colander and toss with the salt.
- Wash and drain the cucumbers. Set the colander in your sink or on top of a plate, as the salt will pull liquid from the cucumbers. Let this sit for 20 minutes, then rinse the cucumber with cold water.
- Add the salad ingredients to a bowl. Add the drained cucumber to a salad bowl along with the red onion, green onion and fresh dill.
- Make the dressing. Stir the vinegar and honey together in a separate small bowl, then pour on top of the salad.
- Garnish with black pepper and additional fresh dill leaves.
Lisa’s Tips
- I use this mandoline for slicing up the cucumbers fast and easy!
- And these glass mixing bowls are my favorite and used in almost all my recipe videos.
Nutrition
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Recipe originally posted May 2017, but updated to include new information.
Hi Lisa. I am a real estate student in London Ontario. I am creating a website to showcase my city and it’s communities. I would also like to feature a “Good Eats” section on my page. I was wondering if I could share your recipes on my website? I have absolutely no problem with you getting all the credit for the good recipes I share and would love to direct folks to your website.
Please Let me know if this is ok. Thank you
Allen
Hi Allen – Please email lisab@downshiftology.com for further assistance on this!
I’d love to make it in advance. Have you tried that? Lots of cukes coming off the vines 😊
Yes, you can definitely make this recipe in advance. It’s a great meal prep recipe. :) Enjoy!
Excellent accompaniment with fish and meat main course 👍
Hi Erlinda – Happy to hear you love this cucumber salad!
Quick and easy side! Perfect for summer. Recommend!
Hi Nicole – I’m so glad you love this cucumber salad!
Great recipe, this is going to be a repeat all summer!
Happy you loved it, Karen!
Can you substitute something else for the honey?
You can use other liquid sweeteners you like!
Really great recipe!! Super flavorful and easy to make! We ate this with your Greek Chicken Souvlaki and tzatziki sauce. Loved the entire meal!!
Very yummy! Made with home grown cucumbers.
I’m sure your homegrown cucumbers tasted amazing for this salad!
Do you think apple cider vinegar would work instead of the wine vinegars? My grandson gets migraines from anything that has grapes. Thank you. Looks dekiciius!!
Yes, no problem!
This is so delicious and easy! Very refreshing for hot Hawaii weather!
Glad this salad was a hit!
I made this twice and loved it. The second time I used Tarragon vinegar instead just to try it and I wasn’t disappointed. I’m going to do the salad for Easter for about 20 people. I’m happy that I found this recipe.
Oh my gosh! This is sooo good! Love it as a side dish or a snack. The flavor is excellent! So versatile!
Glad you’re loving this cucumber salad Christina!
I Made the creamy version , was absolutely delightful, very refreshing salad , will be making this’s one again.
So simple too.
Glad the creamy version turned out perfectly!
I have made both this Easy Cucumber Salad and your Cucumber Radish Salad. Today, I had smaller portions of red and green onions, so I added radishes! Delicious!!
They’re both truly summer staples! Thanks for leaving a review Debbie :)
Does this recipe have enough flavor without the dill? I would like to try a healthier version but I don’t like dill.
I do think the dill really makes this recipe, but you could use another tender herb.
Hi Lisa, you are my god sent angel. I am a single grandma adopted 5 grandchildren all under the age of 10. But mind you I had them for 6years now so they were pretty much babies. I have sacrificed so much as well as my health I use to go to the gym and eat healthy all the time but of course when I got the children I could not do it anymore I get so busy taking care of everyone else I forget myself but I had to realize that if I don’t take care of myself how can I take care of these children. I was looking up healthy recipes or I should say my oldest granddaughter was looking for me and came across some of yours and hour preparations and how you explained in detail everything in your recipes really got my attention. I have tried several recipes of yours and I am very satisfied in all. You are a rockstar!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart .
Hi Sabrina – Wow, 5 grandchildren is a lot and I’m sure it must have taken a toll on your body and health. But, I’m glad you discovered Downshiftology as well and that I’m able to help you in a positive way with all my content + recipes! If you ever need help, please reach out via email.
I love everything you made. Because of you will improved my health for now on. Thank you for help so many people. God bless you for ever.
Thanks so much for your kind words Sandra! Happy to hear you’re enjoying all the recipes so far :)
I only had red wine vinegar on hand and this still turned out well! I paired it with pulled pork and it was a really nice balance. Even on day 3 it was still great.
Hi Aimee – Happy you enjoyed this salad with the red wine vinegar :)
Awesome summer salad. For me it’s a little too vinegary but my friends love it. Still trying to figure out the best pairing but definitely flavourful!
Hi Marcos – This will pair great with any meaty main course such as my crispy baked chicken thighs or even carne asada!
Excellent recipe and just in time for the upcoming summer season! (thanks for sharing the salt tip)
It really is the perfect salad for summer! Hope you enjoy the recipe Connie (and you’re welcome on the salt tip). :)
I cooked for dinner. Great idea! Many thanks for the recipe. Very surprised by the sauce. Unusually for me. But it’s delicious!
Yes, the sauce is super simple. Glad you enjoyed it Elena! :)
You really can’t beat a good cucumber salad, so refreshing. I bet the addition of those onions lifts it right up. Perfect for Summer.
I agree! And yes, those thin onion slices add just the right zing of flavor. Hope you enjoy it Michelle!
It’s so hot in here in the past few days and the weather is CRAZY I wouldn’t mind having this delicious cucumber salad for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Looks delicious and refreshing!
Yes, it’s cooling and hydrating for sure. Hope you enjoy it Natalie!
I eat cucumbers everyday as a snack. I love how fresh and full of flavor you prepared this dish. I am sure we all will love it here. Will be making this on Memorial Day weekend for the gang thanks for posting!
Glad you enjoyed it Claudia! And yes, it’s perfect for Memorial Day. Will be making it again then myself! :)
Cucumber and dill go so well together! We add a little sour cream to ours too.
That’s sound like a great idea for a creamy cucumber salad!
Your photos are just beautiful!! The dressing also sounds super delicious! That’s the perfect salad! And I think it will be a favorite in my house specially for my two year old son who loves cucumbers and raw onions (like, really loves raw onions!)
Thanks Camila! And so funny about your son. Guess he knows what he likes! ;)
I love simple veggie salads like this, vinegar and honey I’m sure gives it a great flavor!
It really does! Amazing what a few simple flavors together can do. :) x
That would be so refreshing in this heat! lovely flavor combination.
Yes! It’s such a cooling and hydrating salad for sure. :)
This looks so delicious! I would be great with a little added feta!
Yes, or goat cheese (my personal fave). ;)
Such a great, healthy side for labor day weekend! Love the fresh dill :)
Absolutely! It’s perfect for any barbecue or outdoor party. :)
This would make a delicious salad for a party.
100%! And it’s all about the outdoor parties this time of year.
I used to make this all the time……them tummy complained. I have switched it up to lemon or lime juice instead of vinegar. :) Gets a thumbs up from me & my tummy!
Perfect! And that’s great that you listened to your body and made the appropriate adjustment. :) x
Such a refreshing, summertime cucumber side/salad/recipe! Wishing you a fabulous long weekend ahead, Lisa. xx
Thanks Liz! You too – enjoy the long weekend! :) x
This was just delicious. I grow Japanese cucumbers and they have been prolific. I found seasoned rice vinegar to be a perfect blend of sweet/salty/sour but not as sharply sour as some other vinegars. We love it with that and/or mixed with mayonnaise and the onions. I occasionally chop fresh jalapeños into it when I’m feely “spicy”. Thanks for this wonderful riffable recipe.