Cucumber Salad
Posted Jul 26, 2024
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This cucumber salad recipe is a simple & flavorful side dish. Cucumbers and onions are tossed in a delicious 6 ingredient homemade dressing for a light and refreshing salad perfect for barbecues and potlucks!
I love barbecuing because my husband usually takes over making the main dish (hamburgers, kebabs, etc.) and I get to focus on the sides. So, I usually keep it simple and choose easy but delicious recipes, like this cucumber salad.
This crowd-pleasing cucumber salad recipe is easy to make in less than 10 minutes with only 8 ingredients. But don’t let it’s simplicity fool you, it’s bold flavor and fresh texture will keep you coming back for more.
Serve it alongside your favorite sides like fruit salad and potato salad for a delicious meal!
Cucumber Salad: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Cucumber. Use traditional or English cucumbers.
- Red onion. Yellow or white onions also are great choices.
- Mayonnaise. There really is no substitute for mayo in the dressing.
- Honey. granulated sugar can be used in place of honey.
- Red wine vinegar. white wine or apple cider vinegar are both good substitutes.
- Celery Seed. you can substitute celery salt, or a very finely diced rib of celery.
- Dill. fresh or freeze-dried dill are great choices.
How to Make Cucumber Salad
Let’s walk through this cucumber salad recipe together, and don’t forget to watch the video.
Begin by preparing the vegetables. First, peel and finely slice the cucumbers.
Then, finely slice the red onion.
Next, make the dressing by whisking the dressing ingredients together a small bowl.
Then, assemble the cucumber salad. First, put the cucumbers and red onion to a medium-sized bowl (preferably one with a lid).
Then, pour the dressing over the cucumbers/onion and stir to combine.
Once the cucumber salad is mixed, cover it and let it chill for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator, and up to 4 hours.
Serve
Serve the cucumber salad chilled as a side to your favorite main dish recipes along with your other favorite sides. Here are some suggestions.
- Serve it with your favorite grilling recipes like homemade hamburgers, chicken kebabs, and BBQ chicken.
- It’s a great side dish for chicken salad or pecan cranberry chicken salad.
- It pairs well with sides like coleslaw, potato salad and broccoli salad.
Store
Store leftover cucumber salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. If it gets watery, simply drain off the excess water and add an extra dash of salt and pepper.
Cucumber Salad Recipe FAQS
I prefer to peel cucumbers for salad. Some softer varieties (like English cucumbers) may not need to be peeled. It is really personal preference.
Make sure all your ingredients are washed and dried (specifically the onion and cucumber) before using in this recipe. The cucumbers will naturally leach a little water, you really cannot avoid that. But this dressing is thick and creamy and this salad isn’t watery.
Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Yes, you can easily double or even triple the recipe to feed a crowd.
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Creamy Cucumber Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound cucumbers (2 medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced thin)
- ½ cup red onion (sliced thin)
Dressing
- 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- ½ Tablespoon honey
- ½ Tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon celery seed
- ¼ teaspoon dried dill
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients.
- Add the cucumbers and red onion to a medium-sized bowl.
- Pour dressing over the cucumbers/onion and stir until combined.
- Chill for at least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours.
- Serve chilled.
Video
Notes
- Cucumber. Use traditional or English cucumbers.
- Red onion. Yellow or white onions also are great choices.
- Mayonnaise. There really is no substitute for mayo in the dressing.
- Honey. granulated sugar can be used in place of honey.
- Red wine vinegar. white wine or apple cider vinegar are both good substitutes.
- Celery Seed. you can substitute celery salt, or a very finely diced rib of celery.
- Dill. fresh or freeze-dried dill are great choices.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is tasty and fresh, and a very good way to use up my abundance of cucumbers!
Thank you, Sarah!