This classic cucumber salad is a blend of thinly sliced cucumbers, red onion and fresh dill, all tossed together in a sweet and tangy dressing. An easy and refreshing salad that takes just minutes to put together.
I love a refreshing salad, especially on a hot day. Some of my favorites include cherry tomato salad, watermelon salad and this traditional cucumber salad.
You can never go wrong with a cucumber salad, and this version happens to be my all time favorite. Cucumbers are such a versatile ingredient – they’re healthy, refreshing and work in so many different applications.
You can enjoy this salad with summer favorites like grilled lamb chops, grilled chicken tenders or grilled swordfish!
Cucumber salad Ingredients
To make this classic cucumber salad you will need English cucumbers, kosher salt, sugar, red onion, fresh dill, red wine vinegar, black pepper and olive oil.
How Do You Make Cucumber Salad?
This classic cucumber salad recipe starts with thinly sliced cucumbers. Once you slice your cucumbers place them in a medium sized bowl and sprinkle salt and sugar over them. Stir the cucumbers with the salt and sugar and let them sit for a few minutes. While they sit, whisk together red wine vinegar, pepper and olive oil in a small bowl to make your dressing. Add sliced red onion and fresh dill to your cucumbers, pour the red wine vinaigrette over the veggies and toss everything together. Enjoy this cool and refreshing salad!
Tips For The Perfect Cucumber Salad
- I like to use English cucumbers for this salad, which are the long cucumbers wrapped in plastic. The skins and seeds of these cucumbers are soft so no peeling required! You can also use small Persian cucumbers or the classic waxy cucumbers. If you use waxy cucumbers, you may want to peel and/or remove the seeds from the cucumbers.
- Fresh dill is an important component of this recipe, the flavor is so much better than dried dill.
- Use a sharp knife or a mandoline to get super thin slices of cucumber and red onion. Thin slices help you get the right amount of salad and dressing in every bite.
Quick Tip
The salt helps to draw any excess moisture out of the cucumbers which will prevent your salad from getting watery and help maintain crispness.
Recipe FAQs
You can make this salad up to one day before you plan to serve it. Just store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Be aware that the cucumbers will release some liquid as they sit, so your dressing will be a little more watery the next day.
I recommend salting your cucumbers as this recipe calls for, which helps to draw the moisture out of the cucumbers up front so that your dressing won’t get diluted later. It’s best to serve your salad within a few hours to avoid excess moisture from the cucumbers sitting too long in the dressing.
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Flavor Variations
While I love this salad as-is, sometimes I add other ingredients to jazz things up a bit.
- Tomatoes: Add 3/4 cup halved cherry tomatoes or diced Roma tomatoes.
- Olives: Add 1/2 cup sliced Kalamata olives.
- Feta: Try mixing in 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese.
- Peppers: Add 3/4 cup diced red or green bell peppers.
- Herb Lover’s: Add 2 tablespoons each of fresh herbs like minced parsley and chives.
- Protein: You can top this salad with grilled chicken breast, grilled shrimp skewers or your favorite meat.
- Creamy: Whisk some plain Greek yogurt or sour cream into your dressing or check out my creamy cucumber salad recipe.
I make this salad almost every week, it’s so simple yet pairs well with a variety of foods. Try it with Greek recipes like chicken souvlaki and spanakopita. This salad is perfect for a potluck or as a side dish for everyday dinner. Even my kids love this refreshing side dish!
More Cucumber Recipes
Thai Cucumber Salad
26 mins
Creamy Cucumber Salad
11 mins
Asian Cucumber Salad
11 mins
Cucumber Feta Salad
11 mins
Cucumber Tomato Salad
11 mins
Cucumber Salad Video
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Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound English cucumbers very thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/3 cup red onion very thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup fresh dill chopped
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Toss the cucumber slices with the salt and sugar in a medium sized bowl. Let the cucumbers sit for 5-7 minutes.
- Add the red onion and dill to the bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar, pepper and olive oil.
- Pour the dressing over the cucumber mixture and toss to coat evenly.
- Let the salad sit for 10 minutes, then serve.
Notes
- I like to use English cucumbers for this salad, which are the long cucumbers wrapped in plastic.
- The salt helps to draw any excess moisture out of the cucumbers which will prevent your salad from getting watery.
- Use a sharp knife or a mandoline to get super thin slices of cucumber and red onion.
Yes! I seriously love how easy this is!! So refreshing, too!
I can’t resist to this this cucumber salad. It’s perfect as a side dish for tonight!
This cucumber salad looks absolutely delicious! Yummy!
I can not get enough of this cucumber salad!
One of mine and hubby’s favorite! We love this salad. It has great color and is so easy!
Using a mandolin definitely makes this dish a snap to make! I love how light this is and will quickly become a summertime favorite of ours.
So refreshing! The perfect summer salad. Pairs well with seared tuna for a light dinner
I made this with your suggestion of cherry tomatoes and we really enjoyed it!
This has become one of my favorite salads.
So full of flavor and quick to prepare.
I have a couple of variations! I’m excited to try yours!
This is so fresh and light for summer! The family loves it!
A must have at every party, this salad is absolutely perfect!
I love this salad so much! I used stevia to make it sugar free!
This cucumber salad was light, refreshing, and so delicious!
This has always been a favorite summer salad of mine. I love this time of year for fresh cucumbers and onions.
Looks absolutely awesome! Love those combinations of flavors, gotta give this a try!
This salad is perfect for Spring! We love it!
This is one of my favorite Summer salads! So light and refreshing!
I think this might just become my new summer go-to side dish. So delicious and so easy to make. Winner!
I love that bit of red onion in there. Such a lovely salad!