An Easy Cucumber onion salad (also cucumber salad) that gets ready in less than 30 mins start to finish. With just a few ingredients, anyone can make this easy Cucumber Salad. Tasty and tangy, if you love vinaigrette based salads, this salad would definitely become your go to, easy to make side dish that can be served with just about a thing from meats, rice dishes or as a stand-alone meal. Let me show how easy it is to make this healthy salad.
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Table of Contents
- 1 Easy Cucumber and Onion Salad Recipe
- 2 Health benefits of Cucumber and why you should be making this salad.
- 3 What type of cucumber is best for cucumber salad?
- 4 The best dressing for Cucumber onion salad
- 5 Ingredients for Cucumber Salad (Cucumber onion salad)
- 6 How to make Cucumber Onion Salad with Vinegar
- 7 Make ahead instructions and how to store
- 8 How to serve
- 9 Quick Recipe notes and tips
- 10 FAQs on this recipe
- 11 Cucumber Onion Salad (Cucumber Salad)
Easy Cucumber and Onion Salad Recipe
There are variety of cucumber recipes based on the ingredients in the cucumber salad. This cucumber onion salad is one of the easiest cucumber recipe you can try. Similar to my creamy cucumber salad the only major difference is in the type of dressing used.
In this recipe, I use a just vinegar, sugar syrup if I may call it that.
Health benefits of Cucumber and why you should be making this salad.
Cucumber is a very healthy vegetable that should be incorporated in as many dishes as possible. By time you skimp through the health benefits of cucumbers in this post, I hope this easy cucumber salad will be added to your meal time rotation😉
- Cucumbers are a low calorie vegetable rich in vitamins and minerals
- They contain antioxidants which prevent the accumulation of harmful free radicals.
- Cucumbers are mostly composed of water therefore they can help you keep hydrated.
What type of cucumber is best for cucumber salad?
Any cucumber can be used for cucumber salad. I prefer to use the English cucumbers or Persian cucumbers. They have tender seeds that can easily be chewed and won't affect the texture of the salad.
The best dressing for Cucumber onion salad
Salads can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. A vinaigrette based dressing like the dressing used in my Cobb salad is great dressing for this cucumber salad.
A creamy dressing like I used in my coleslaw recipe can be used as well. To create a variety I decided to use this sweetened vinegar dressing for this recipe. Giving it a pickled taste.
Ingredients for Cucumber Salad (Cucumber onion salad)
Cucumber salad requires just a few ingredients
- Cucumbers
- Fresh dill ( you can use dry)
- Red or white onions
- Distilled white Vinegar
- Sweetener of choice, regular sugar or a sugar free sweetener like erythritol just like in this keto cucumber salad
- Salt
How to make Cucumber Onion Salad with Vinegar
This is an overview of the recipe with step by step photos. Full recipe can be found at the printable recipe card at the bottom of this page.
Pic 1-3; First you sweat the cucumber, this is done by adding salt to the cucumber slices. This process draws out excess moisture from the cucumbers. Cover and set aside.
Pic 4-6; Chop onions and dill, boil water sugar and vinegar.
Pic 7-9; Drain sweated cucumber, Add sliced onions and dill then pour vinegar mixture over the salad cover and chill.
Make ahead instructions and how to store
This salad can be made up to 2 days ahead. You can cut up your ingredients up to two days ahead. On the day you would love to serve the salad, sweat the cucumber and pour the vinegar mix into the salad. Chill and serve.
Storing left overs isn't advised but can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 24hrs.
How to serve
Serve Cucumber and onion salad as a side with any of the recipes below.
- Spicy barbecue chicken,
- air fryer wings,
- Jollof rice,
- onion rice recipe,
- as a side to this Instant pot Chicken Tikka Masala
Quick Recipe notes and tips
- A mandolin slicer will make it easier and faster to get thin slices of cucumber. If you don't have one, you can use a sharp knife but be careful as you slice.
- Let the cucumber rest for at least 20 mins after adding salt to help draw out enough moisture.
- You don't need to pour the vinegar mixture while it's hot. The vinegar in the mixture will eventually soften the cucumbers by the time you are ready to have your salad.
FAQs on this recipe
Is cucumber a low carb vegetable?
Cucumbers are low carb vegetable and are perfect for most diets.
What does sweating cucumbers mean?
This is a process of removing moisture from the cucumbers by adding salt.
Can I use dried dill instead of fresh dill?
Yes you can use dried dill for this recipe.
Do I need to peel the cucumbers?
Peeling cucumbers for salads is a matter of choice. If you are using regular cucumbers with tougher skin than English cucumbers, it may be best if you peel the cucumbers. It will still taste amazing if you don't.
Other cucumber recipes and cucumber salad recipes you would love.
- Cucumber tomato salad
- Creamy cucumber salad
- Asian cucumber salad
Did you enjoy this recipe or found it helpful, leave me a comment and share with family and friends and in your favorite Facebook group.
Love,
Click here to pin this easy Cucumber recipe
Cucumber Onion Salad (Cucumber Salad)
Ingredients
- 2 large English cucumbers thinly sliced
- 1 medium red onions thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon fresh dill chopped
- ½ cup white distilled vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- 4 Tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- Add salt to cucumber slices, mix cover with cling film and let sweat for 20 mins
- Add water, sugar and vinegar to a pot and bring to boil until sugar dissolves. Let cool
- Drain excess water from sweated cucumbers, add onion slices and chopped dill. Pour cooled vinegar mix into the cucumber salad, cover and chill for up to an hour.
- Bring to room temperature before serving. But If you like it cold, dig in as soon as you get it out of the refrigerator.
Notes
- This salad can be served at room temperature or chilled right out of the refrigerator
- Sweating and draining the cucumbers help to reduce the liquid in the salad.
- I used a vinegar syrup as a dressing for this recipe. Feel free to use a creamy dressing or an based vinaigrette. See body of post for suggestions.
So… what do you think?