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Cucumber Salad

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  • Prep 10 min
  • Total 3 hr 10 min
  • Servings 6
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Summer is officially declared started when this no fuss, slightly sweet, slightly tangy cucumber salad is placed on the table. It’s quick to make and refreshingly delicious next to just about anything you want to throw on the grill. From burgers to brats or grilled chicken to salmon, cucumber salad is a natural for easy, breezy casual dinners on hot nights.
The perfect blend of vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper creates a light dressing for thinly sliced cucumbers to marinate in, infusing them with zingy flavor. With just 5 ingredients, the simplicity of this salad means even the pickiest of eaters will gobble this up.
Keep it on hand for when you find yourself with a bumper crop of cucs or you’ve purchased several cucumbers at your local Farmer’s market, when they are at their peak of freshness. But since cucumbers are available any time of the year, don’t just bring it out during the summer! The slightly crunchy texture is just as welcomed next to slow cooker chicken, or a warm-from-the oven baked casserole.
Updated Feb 29, 2024
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How Is Cucumber Salad Made?

Our cucumber salad recipe uses only 5 ingredients—including the cucumbers!

Slice Them Up: The cucumbers are sliced thinly to soak up the maximum flavor the can from the dressing.

Make a Simple Vinaigrette: A light cucumber salad dressing is made with the perfect proportions of white vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Marinate for Flavor: The cucumbers hang out in the dressing in the refrigerator to soak up all that tangy-sweet flavor, that means it’s a great make-ahead recipe to take the heat off dinner prep! Follow the step-by-step directions below for all the exact measurements. Thoroughly tested by professionals, you can count on the easy-to-follow instructions and the well-blended flavors of this salad.

Dive In: Anyone can make it, and everyone will enjoy it! Be sure to add this to your go-to list of summer favorites. Can’t wait for the cukes to marinate? Trust us, we understand! Mix it up while you prepare the rest of your meal, tossing it occasionally, giving it one more toss right before serving. The cucumbers will be a little crunchier and they will not have taken on as much flavor as when they are marinated, but it will be still totally delicious.

What Should I Serve with Cucumber Salad?


With Your Favorite Grilled Dinner: Any time you’re going to fire up the grill, make this cucumber salad. It literally goes so well with any grilled meats—burgers, brats, hot dogs, chicken, pork chops, shrimp, or salmon.

With Our Fav Dinner Recipes: There are so many endless ways to enjoy Try it with our teriyaki chicken or grilled salmon.
As a Garnish: Better yet, put some ON the grilled salmon, a salmon burger or tuna sandwich, for a unique garnish/salad that adds color and crunch! Spoon some on a pulled pork or Cuban sandwich or add some onto a grilled burger with cheese and your favorite condiments.

Make a Cucumber Salad Bed: Serve your favorite tuna or pasta salad on a bed of the easy cucumber salad, making it heartier and more special without extra work. (And what a yummy way to get in more veggies!)

Add it To a Board: offer it on an appetizer or snack board. It will be a welcome and refreshing alternative to other heavier nibbles.

How Do You Store Cucumber Salad?

3 hours of marinating is all that the cucumbers need to soak up all the flavor of the cucumber salad dressing; after that, they won’t take on any more flavor. If you have any leftover salad, be sure to drain any remaining dressing before storing the cucumbers, so that the dressing does not continue to soften the cucumbers. Place the salad in a food storage container with a tight-fitting lid or wrap a bowl of it tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. The cucumbers will be a little softer than when first served, but they will still be packed with flavor! Take leftovers as a nice side to your brown bag sandwich for lunch the next day!

Ingredients

  • 2 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup cider or white vinegar
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • Chopped fresh dill weed or parsley, if desired

Steps

  • 1
    Place cucumbers in small glass or plastic bowl.
  • 2
    In tightly covered container, shake remaining ingredients except dill weed. Pour over cucumbers. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours to blend flavors.
  • 3
    Drain cucumbers. Sprinkle with dill weed. Store covered in refrigerator.

Tips from the Betty Crocker Kitchens

  • tip 1
    Pickles are a big “dill”! For this almost like a pickle twist, allow the cucumbers to marinate in the tangy-sweet dressing just until the cucumbers wilt and are deliciously tender. During the marinating time, add fresh dill or fennel fronds, a pinch of allspice, whole coriander seed or a bay leaf for an aromatic herbal note to the Cucumber Salad with vinegar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do You Peel Cucumbers for Cucumber Salad?

We have called for regular cucumbers, which are much cheaper than English (usually seedless) cucumbers. But regular cucumbers have a thicker skin that English ones, which can cause some people gastrointestinal issues.

Peel or Partially Peel: There is no need to peel the cucumbers if you don’t want to. The color of the peel does add a lot to the appearance of this salad, but if you’re not a fan of eating a lot of cucumber peels, consider peeling the cucumbers in stripes with your vegetable peeler. (Take one pass with the peeler down the cucumber, leave about the same width unpeeled, and make another pass next to the unpeeled portion. Continue this method until you go around the entire cucumber.) This striped look not only cuts the amount of peel you are eating in half, but it gives the cucumber salad an attractive look when sliced!

Substitute an English Cucumber: Or substitute 1 English cucumber for both regular ones.

What Are Other Variations of This Recipe?


Cucumber-Onion Salad: For a quick cucumber onion salad, stir in some chopped or slivers of red or white onion with the cucumbers. You can use regular white onions for a more pungent flavor or try sweet onions, such as Walla Walla, Maui, or Texas Sweets for a slightly sweet, mild onion flavor.

Add Even More Color: Throw in some cherry or pear tomato halves with the cucumbers—so pretty and tasty!

Make It Herbal: For a woodsy herbal flavored cucumber salad, you can change up the dill for thin slices of fresh basil and/or oregano leaves.

Create Ribbons: You can change the look of the cucumber salad recipe, simply by changing the shape of the cucumber slices! Using a wide vegetable peeler, strip off the peel from one side of the cucumber, from one end to the other. Then run the peeler over the skinless area, with each pass making a cucumber ribbon.

Make a Main Dish Mediterranean Salad: Create a delicious main dish Mediterranean salad by doubling or tripling the dressing, and adding cherry tomato halves, sliced black and pimiento-stuffed olives, drained garbanzo (chickpeas), chopped, drained marinated artichoke hearts and bell pepper and crumbled feta cheese with the cucumbers. These colorful ingredients add flavor and interesting textures to the dish while giving the typical lunch sandwich the heave-ho!

If you love cucumber salads like we do, try this Dilled Cucumber and Tomato Salad.

How Do You Keep Cucumber Salad from Getting Soggy?

You want the cucumbers to get a little soft, because that means they are soaking up all that wonderful cucumber dressing, for that amazing, slightly puckery flavor. And because they soften sightly, it also means you can get more cucumbers into every bite! For the most flavor, our testing found that 3 hours was the magic amount of time for the cucumbers to take on the maximum flavor before getting too soggy, do not marinate this easy cucumber salad longer than that. See also How to Make Cucumber Salad (above), for more helpful tips. If there are any leftovers, be sure to drain the cucumber salad dressing from the cucumbers before storing it in the refrigerator. Store the remaining salad covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Nutrition

30 Calories, 0g Total Fat, 0g Protein, 7g Total Carbohydrate, 6g Sugars

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving (about 1/2 cup)
Calories
30
Calories from Fat
0
Total Fat
0g
0%
Saturated Fat
0g
0%
Trans Fat
0g
Cholesterol
0mg
0%
Sodium
200mg
8%
Potassium
115mg
3%
Total Carbohydrate
7g
2%
Dietary Fiber
0g
0%
Sugars
6g
Protein
0g
% Daily Value*:
Vitamin A
4%
4%
Vitamin C
6%
6%
Calcium
0%
0%
Iron
0%
0%
Exchanges:
0 Starch; 0 Fruit; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 1 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 0 Fat;
Carbohydrate Choice
1/2
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

More About This Recipe

  • Salads and summer go hand in hand. When it heats up, thoughts go to lighter, simple fare. With all the season’s best produce available, salads are the best they can be! Whether you enjoy them for a meal or part of a meal, we have loads of great tasting salad recipes you’ll enjoy eating all summer long!
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