This cucumber salad recipe with tangy vinegar, dill, and red onion is light and refreshing, easy, and pairs nicely with all your favorite summer dishes.
In This Post
When it heats up outside, we keep it cool inside thanks to the constant opening of the refrigerator door to dip into our favorite, easy cucumber salad recipe. We’re crazy for cukes around here. From homemade bread and butter pickles and my crunch-a-licious Greek salad with avocado to my quick and easy refrigerator pickles—these elongated melons are always stocked in our fridge. This quick and refreshing cucumber salad is a summer staple and the perfect thing to make for a picnic or potluck, since it holds up well.
Why You’ll Love It
- This cucumber salad is so light and refreshing, and it goes with anything
- This cucumber salad is always crisp and never soggy!
- Using 3 different types of vinegar gives this salad the best flavor
Cucumber Salad Ingredients List
This cucumber salad is essentially cucumbers and onions in vinegar — three kinds of vinegar, to be precise.
- Cucumbers—Use a mix of cucumbers, or just one variety if that’s what you have, but choose thin-skinned cucumbers that will absorb the vinegar quickly, and avoid pickling cucumbers. Those have thick, tough skin, and take longer to marinate.
- Red onion—adds a nice flavor and color to this cucumber salad
- Kosher salt—for flavor, but the salt is also key here because the salt helps release some of the water from the cucumbers before they get dressed (in turn, keeping them from going soggy later)
- Granulated sugar—for our brine
- Red wine vinegar—for some zing
- White balsamic vinegar—I use white balsamic for flavor that won’t turn the cucumber salad an unattractive color
- Apple cider vinegar—I love the tart pucker of this vinegar
- Water—helps mellow the vinegar solution
- Fresh dill—I don’t recommend using dried dill in this recipe (if you don’t care for dill, you could use fresh parsley instead)
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Cucumber Salad
- Keep your cucumber slices consistently thin. To make easy work and the same size slices, I use my handheld mandoline for slicing the cucumbers and the onion.
- Do a quick cucumber salt and sugar brine. Add the thinly sliced cucumbers to a medium bowl and sprinkle with salt and sugar. So the cucumbers keep their snap and the vinegar dressing doesn’t get diluted, refrigerate the cucumbers for about an hour to brine and release excess water.
- Drain the cucumbers, then dress. Drain the cucumbers, then stir in the vinegars, water, sliced onion, and dill. Toss everything together. The heat of the onion will mellow in the vinegar solution as well.
- Thinly slice the red onion. I like my red onions sliced thinly so I can have a bit of onion with each cucumber bite and don’t taste just onion. If you prefer a thicker bite, consider slicing the onions into batons to give a different shape to all of the circles in the bowl. If the onions are extra strong, soak them in water then drain before adding them to the salad.
Kitchen Tools for this Recipe
- I like using a simple mandoline slicer for this recipe. It’s a quicker and more efficient way of slicing all those cucumbers.
FAQ and Recipe Tips
- How do you keep cucumber from getting soggy? Salting and sugaring the cucumbers is key to this recipe. Cucumbers are packed with moisture and over time will release water. A quick brine keeps them from leaching out too much water and gives the cucumber slices snap and crispness in each bite. I place a plastic colander in the bowl (I love these bowls for this) and the water drains straight away as they sit in the refrigerator.
- What is the best cucumber for salad? The farmer’s market is a grand place to start this salad thanks to the plethora of varietals you’re sure to encounter. For this cucumber salad, I recommend: Persian, Kirby, Japanese, Lemon, or English cucumbers
- Should you skin the cucumbers? If the skin is tender, there’s no need to peel them. The skin adds a nice color to the dish. Plus, I can quickly discern which seeded orb to pick up next!
Storage Tips
This vinegar cucumber salad will last up to 1 week in the fridge. Note that the onions and cucumbers will soften over time.
What Goes Well with Cucumber Salad
- The Best BBQ Chicken
- How to Make the Best Potato Salad
- The Best Juicy Grilled Pork Chops
- The Best Greek Chicken Marinade
- How to Make Classic Macaroni Salad
- The Best Garlic Burgers EVER
- Easy Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a 
star rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
EASY Cucumber Salad with Dill
Ingredients
- 1 pound cucumbers , (like English cucumbers, cocktail cucumbers, and garden cucumbers), sliced into ¼ inch rounds
- ½ red onion , peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup fresh dill leaves , chopped
Instructions
- Combine the sliced cucumbers in a colander set inside a medium-sized bowl and sprinkle with salt and sugar. Place in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
- Drain the cucumbers. Add the onion, vinegars, water, and dill.
- Serve or refrigerate. The cucumbers will become more pickled as they sit.
Nutrition
More Cucumber Recipes You Need to Try
- Sweet and Sour Asian Pickled Cucumbers
- Thai Chicken and Cucumber Salad
- Tomato, Avocado, Cucumber, & Onion Salad
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Crunchy Asian Cucumber Watermelon Salad
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Zenith Clipping
Appreciating your idea!!
Box elder
What is the half cup of water used for?
Hayley
Hi there! It helps dilute the vinegars. We hope you enjoy!
Gracie Herbert
This recipe was easy and delicious. I didn’t presalt/presugar the cucumbers (Mostly because I didn’t read the directions before hand and didn’t have time) and skipped the water step. My husband and 11 and 8 year old boys loved it, they said I didn’t make enough and called it Pickle Salad. Whatever works, it was great!
Hayley
Thanks for sharing, Gracie! We’re happy you and your family enjoyed it (especially your boys—that’s awesome)!
kristin
Used your cucumber dill as the foundation idea of the one I made for dinner tonight! Added a 1/2 cup sour cream, lots of fresh black pepper, 3 tsp. of red wine vinegar and 2 tsp of Himalayan salt (fine) 2 heaping tsp of chopped fresh dill. Perfectly refreshing on this HOT & STEAMY summer’s day. YUM
Blaine
I picked beautiful cucumbers from the garden. Did the recipe. It was awful. Not sure how someone would enjoy this.
Danny
My God! This was excellent! I can not believe this is delicious!
Saraswati Mantra
Oooo! This looks so good!
dani o'brien
When you say drain the cucumbers do you mean rinse off the salt and sugar?
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It’s hard to come by educated people in this particular subject,
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Morgan - In Good Taste Mag
This recipe looks delicious and simple enough to make! Saw this recipe on Pinterest and did not hesitate to pin it (: Thanks for sharing!
Millie l Add A Little
Looks awesome Heidi! Definitely want to try this out!
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Alice // Hip Foodie Mom
Heidi, this is the most beautiful dill cucumber salad I have ever seen! gorgeous! Have a great 4th!
Thank you :) and you too!
Gerry @ Foodness Gracious
Cucumbers just so refreshing! Little Q had cucumber water recently and proclaimed to LOVE it :) Have a great 4th!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
I love cucumber salads, the dill in this sounds so good!
Eileen
Hooray for cucumber salads! My mom used to make a salad very much like this one when we were growing up, and everyone LOVED it because of the striking similarity to pickles. :) So good!
Emily @ Life on Food
All of these look so good. Pinned, pinned and pinned. I know I will be enjoying them all summer long.
Karen @ The Food Charlatan
Heidi this salad is gorgeous! There is just something about cucumbers and vinegar that makes the world go round. I love all the pretty dill in this. And the white balsamic! Bring it on. Thanks so much for including my Cilantro cuke salad, you are sweet! After your salad I want to try that caprese up there. Yum!
Bri | Bites of Bri
I love this cucumber salad and I just got a boatload of cucs from my granfather’s garden. This will totally be on our menu this weekend at some point.
Kathy @ Olives and Garlic
Heidi your cucumber salad is right up my alley. I make it all the time. It perfect with fish, or anything for that matter. Delicious.
kelley
I love cucumber salads too- in any form with any dressing. The photos are gorgeous, as always. Have a great holiday weekend!
Christine at Cook the Story
cucumber salad is one of the highlights of summery foods. LOVE this!
Kari@Loaves n Dishes
A cool cucumber salad is just what a summer bbq calls for. The vinegar dressing is perfect to serve with rich burgers and steaks! Have a great weekend.
Erica
The ingredient list says mint, but should it be just dill?
Carrie
Wondering the same thing…? Is it supposed to be “mint OR dill?” Or is it a type-o, and supposed to just be dill?
Woops. Just dill. I was thinking about adding mint originally :) It would be a great addition.
Jill Kruse
Where does one buy balsamic white vinegar? Can’t find it anywhere.