A refreshing collection of the best cucumber salad recipes, from classic marinated versions to creamy, Asian-inspired, and sweet fruity twists. Something for every BBQ, picnic, or weeknight side dish!
They are sorted by style, so scroll to the section that matches your mood and stop there. One thing worth knowing before you start: a cucumber is about 96 percent water, and that water is the reason most cucumber salads go limp an hour after you make them. Salt fixes it, and there is a tip section further down explaining exactly how.
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Favorite Cucumber Salad Recipes
Cucumbers are one of the most versatile veggies in my kitchen: crisp, refreshing, and ready to soak up whatever dressing or flavor pairing I throw at them. Below is my full collection of cucumber salad recipes, organized by style so you can jump straight to what you're craving.
Marinated & Classic Cucumber Salads
These are the ones that get better while they sit, because the vinegar dressing draws the water out of the cucumbers and turns it into the dressing. The marinated cucumber, tomato and onion salad is far and away the most made recipe on my whole site, and it still only takes five minutes to throw together.
Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad
Simple Cucumber Onion Salad (No Tomato, 3 Ingredients)
Mediterranean Cucumber Salad
Marinated Cucumber Carrot Zucchini Salad
Cabbage Cucumber Salad (With Easy Dressing!)
Creamy Cucumber Salads
Sour cream, yogurt or mayo, plus a lot of fresh dill. These are the ones that feel like a proper side dish rather than a garnish. Creamy dressings thin out fast as the cucumbers release water, so these are the salads I dress right before serving rather than hours ahead.
Creamy Cucumber Tomato Salad (Summer Side)
5-Ingredient Cucumber Radish Salad with Dill
Creamy Cucumber Pea Salad (Spring Side Dish)
Asian-Inspired Cucumber Salads
Smashed, sliced thin or shaken in a jar, with rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic and chili doing the work. These come together in about 15 minutes and they are the ones I make when dinner needs something sharp and cold next to it.
Quick Asian Cucumber Salad (Ready in 15 Minutes!)
15 Minute Korean Cucumber Salad (Spicy Cucumber Salad)
Sweet & Fruity Cucumber Salads
Cucumber goes with fruit better than people expect, because it is mild and cold and stops everything from tasting like dessert. These are the ones I bring to a brunch or a baby shower when I want the bowl to look pretty.
Cucumber Strawberry Salad (6 Ingredients)
Avocado Tomato Salad
Cucumber Appetizers
Same crunch, different job. When cucumber becomes the vehicle instead of the salad, you get something you can hand around at a party without anyone needing a fork.
Creamy Salmon Cucumber Rolls With Avocado
Crunchy Korean Cucumber Salad in 15 Minutes
Before You Go
If you found this post helpful, I'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts, questions, or experiences. Your feedback helps me create content that truly serves this wonderful community. ❤️
My Best Tips for Cucumber Salads
Cucumber salad is about as simple as a recipe gets, which means the few things that can go wrong go wrong every time. Here is what I have learned making these on repeat all summer.
- Salt the cucumbers first: Slice them, toss with a good pinch of salt, and leave them in a colander for 15 to 20 minutes, then pat dry. You will pour off a surprising amount of water. This one step is the difference between a salad that is still crisp at the end of dinner and a watery bowl nobody goes back to.
- Buy the right cucumber: English or Persian cucumbers have thin skins and barely any seeds, so they stay crunchy and you can skip peeling. The big waxed ones from the garden are fine too, but peel them and scrape the seeds out with a spoon first, because that seedy middle is where all the water lives.
- Dress creamy ones late, vinegar ones early: A vinegar dressing gets better with an hour in the fridge, so marinated salads only improve while they wait. Anything with sour cream, yogurt or mayo goes the other way and turns soupy, so hold that dressing until you are ready to put the bowl on the table.
- A pinch of sugar is not optional: Even in a savory salad, a half teaspoon of sugar in the vinegar rounds off the sharp edge and makes everything taste more like itself. You will not taste sweetness, you will just notice it tastes finished. Honey works too.
- Slice them thin and evenly: Thick chunks stay bland in the middle because the dressing never gets in. I use a mandoline for anything marinated, which takes about a minute and makes the whole bowl look much better than my knife work does.
Cucumber Salad FAQs
How do you keep cucumber salad from getting watery?
Salt the sliced cucumbers, let them drain in a colander for 15 to 20 minutes, then pat them dry before anything else goes in. If you are making it ahead, keep the dressing separate and toss it together just before serving.
What kind of cucumber is best for salad?
English or Persian. Thin skin, small seeds, and they hold their crunch. Regular field cucumbers work if you peel them and scoop out the seedy center, which is the part that waters everything down.
Should you peel cucumbers for salad?
Not if they are English or Persian, the skin is thin and it adds colour and a bit of fibre. Peel the waxed supermarket ones and any oversized ones from the garden, because that skin is tough and slightly bitter.
How long does cucumber salad last in the fridge?
Vinegar based ones keep 3 to 4 days and honestly taste best on day two. Creamy ones are good for about 2 days, and they will keep releasing water, so pour off the liquid and give them a stir before serving leftovers.
Can you make cucumber salad ahead of time?
Marinated and vinegar salads, yes, make them the night before. Creamy ones are better assembled the same day. For a party I slice and salt the cucumbers in the morning, keep them dry in the fridge, and dress them at the last minute.
What dressing goes best on cucumber salad?
Three that never miss: white or apple cider vinegar with a little sugar and salt, sour cream with fresh dill, or rice vinegar with sesame oil and garlic for an Asian version. Each one is the base of a whole section above.
Before You Go
Start with the marinated cucumber, tomato and onion salad if you have never made one of these, it is the recipe my readers make more than any other. When the cucumbers keep coming, my tomato and onion salad uses up the rest of the garden in about ten minutes.
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