In our house, when it comes to cucumbers the mantra is “the more, the better.”
I hear the chanting of “CUKES! CUKES! CUKES” almost as loudly as “USA! USA! USA!” combined with a bunch of screaming at the TV during the final game of the World Cup. What an amazing ride that was!
From cucumber martinis to homemade bread and butter pickles and my crunch-a-licious Greek salad with avocado—and cucumbers, of course—these elongated melons are always around.
When it heats up outdoors, we keep it cool inside thanks to the constant opening of the refrigerator door to dip into our favorite—and insanely easy—cucumber salad. Please don’t report our non-eco-friendly behavior to the energy police. It’s simply a casualty of summer snacking and sometimes that short blast of cold air is exactly what the day calls for.
My husband is a fiend for cucumbers and while he’s known to eat a cucumbers sprinkled with salt in the same fashion others eat bananas, this Dill Cucumber Salad has made its way into his heart. And his cuke-obsessed belly.
We’ve tried to grow cucumbers ourselves, but for one reason or another they are never a success. So I leave the cucumber growing to the professionals and put my cucumber talents where they do best: eating them.
About the recipe:
The farmer’s market is a grand place to start this salad thanks to the plethora of varietals you’re sure to encounter. Persian, Kirby and lemon are just some of the kinds you can play with for color and texture. Or if you’re more daring than me, plant and harvest your own.
Some prefer to skin their cucumbers. For this recipe, I left the skin intact since the cucumbers become a bit thin and I feel like the skin gives a nice color to the dish. Plus, I can quickly discern which seeded orb to pick up next!
Salting and sugaring the cucumbers is key to this recipe. This serves as a quick brine, pulling the moisture from the cucumber slices giving each one a little 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.
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.
This salad is always on our BBQ menu, but they’re also dynamite on tuna fish or cottage cheese sandwiches. With potato chips. Because that’s how we lunch.
- 1 pound mixed 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
- Combine the sliced cucumbers in a colander set inside a medium size bowl and sprinkle with the salt and sugar. Place in the refridgerator for about an hour. Drain the cucumbers. Add the onion, vinegars, water and dill. Serve or refrigerate. The cucumbers will become more pickled as they sit.
With such a fondess for cucumbers there’s always room to get out and give your menu a Wheel of Fortune spin. The key to these food bloggers’ recipes are the super simple factor where cucumbers are the star.
Cucumber Ribbon Salad with Garlic Tahini Dressing
Red onions, fresh mint and kalamata olives add a perk to this crunchy salad, but I hear it’s the homemade tahini dressing that puts it over the top.
Recipe here.
Cucumber Caprese Salad
I love a gal who puts a spin on a caprese salad. I’ve added avocado before, but hadn’t thought to put cucumber into the mix. That’s all changed now.
Recipe here.
Cilantro Lime Cucumber Salad
If you’ve ever been on Pinterest, chances are you’ve seen this incredible looking salad. With a flick of the wrist it puts a whole new spin on Southwestern flavor.
Recipe here.
Cuke Salad with Sour Cream Dill Dressing
A family classic that stands the test of time to be eaten and eaten and eaten again and again and again.
Recipe here.
Cucumber Salad with Grapes and Poppyseed Dressing
Just another shining example that poppyseed dressing can harmoniously marry just about every flavor.
Recipe here.
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The ingredient list says mint, but should it be just dill?
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.
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.
cucumber salad is one of the highlights of summery foods. LOVE this!
I love cucumber salads too- in any form with any dressing. The photos are gorgeous, as always. Have a great holiday weekend!
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.
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.
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!
All of these look so good. Pinned, pinned and pinned. I know I will be enjoying them all summer long.
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!
I love cucumber salads, the dill in this sounds so good!
Cucumbers just so refreshing! Little Q had cucumber water recently and proclaimed to LOVE it 🙂 Have a great 4th!
Heidi, this is the most beautiful dill cucumber salad I have ever seen! gorgeous! Have a great 4th!
Thank you 🙂 and you too!
Looks awesome Heidi! Definitely want to try this out!
http://youtube.com/addalittlefood
This recipe looks delicious and simple enough to make! Saw this recipe on Pinterest and did not hesitate to pin it (: Thanks for sharing!
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When you say drain the cucumbers do you mean rinse off the salt and sugar?
Oooo! This looks so good!
My God! This was excellent! I can not believe this is delicious!
I picked beautiful cucumbers from the garden. Did the recipe. It was awful. Not sure how someone would enjoy this.