When I want to make a quick and easy side dish, especially in the Summer, I always turn to this zesty Cucumber and Onion Salad. This Cucumber Salad recipe comes together quickly and easily with just a few ingredients. Fresh cucumber and red onion slices are dressed simply in a homemade vinegar salad dressing. It’s a flavor combination that makes me think of beautiful weather, family get togethers, and fun around the table.
This dish a refreshing and tangy side salad, and I find that it’s a great accompaniment to chicken, grilled meat, seafood and so much more. This easy Cucumber Onion Salad is a must-make for any Spring or Summer get-together!
What’s in this Cucumber Onion Salad Recipe?
I have a neighbor that always brings over home grown cucumbers, and that leads to us sharing a plate of this delicious salad! All you need are fresh veggies and some pantry staples to make a simple vinegar dressing.
- Cucumbers: Start with fresh, juicy cucumbers, cut into slices.
- Red Onion: Red onion has a nice bite that “spices” this salad up. We like cutting them into half moons, but you can chop or dice onions if you prefer.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: This is the base of our vinegar salad dressing. It’s tangy and slightly sweet, and less acidic than some other vinegars, which is perfect for a light salad.
- Sugar: Add just a little bit of granulated sugar into the dressing for sweetness.
- Water: Water fills out the dressing. No oil needed here!
- Salt + Pepper: Some salt and pepper to gently season the dressing.
Variations
This healthy cucumber salad recipe is so simple, it’s easy to make a few adjustments without any extra stress. Here are some things I do to change up the flavor combination from time to time.
- Finish the salad with some fresh herbs, like dill, rosemary, or parsley.
- Use a different salad dressing. Ranch dressing would make it much creamier; dress it simply with extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper; or use your favorite vinaigrette.
- Toss in some crumbled feta, homemade croutons, bacon crumbles, or diced green apples.
- Start with pickled cucumbers for an extra tangy salad, or add pickled beets or onions.
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How to Make Ahead
I love that this quick and easy cucumber salad with vinegar dressing can be prepped and/or made ahead of time.
Veggies: Slice cucumbers and onions ahead of time, and store them in airtight containers (separately) until ready to use. If you do this, we recommend salting the cucumbers so they don’t accumulate moisture. You can also go ahead and soak the onions if you want to cut their intensity.
Dressing: Combine the vinegar dressing ingredients in a jar as instructed in the recipe card. This can be kept in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. Just shake or stir before tossing into the salad.
Toss everything together when you’re ready to serve it.
How to Store
If you prefer to make the full salad, or if you just need to keep leftovers, that works too. Store the cucumber and onion salad (in the vinaigrette is fine) in an airtight container, and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also cover the entire salad bowl with plastic wrap to store until you’re ready to serve. This is perfect if you’re planning to bring it to a potluck!
Serving Suggestions
This easy cucumber salad is one of our all-time favorite spring and summer salad recipes. I love to serve it for light lunches outside along with grilled chicken breast, garlic butter salmon, or grilled pork chops. It’s also a great side salad for Easter dinner, along with lamb or ham. It really pairs beautifully with so many dishes!
Notes from the Test Kitchen
If the red onion flavor is overpowering, try soaking slices in water before adding them to the salad. I personally love a strong onion taste, but if my husband is eating it too, that’s my favorite trick!
5-Star Review
“Easy to make crunchy Cucumber cold salad. Taste gets better with each day it marinates. Thank you for posting.” -Wendy
Cucumber Salad Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 cucumbers
- 1 red onion sliced
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Slice each cucumber in ¼-inch slices and add to a large bowl.2 cucumbers
- Add in the sliced red onion (sliced into half moons) and toss to combine.1 red onion
- In a mason jar or small bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and pepper.⅓ cup apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup water, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Pour the dressing mixture over the cucumber and onion and toss to fully coat/combine.
- Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- If you like, finish the salad with fresh dill or parsley.
Nutrition Information
How to Make Cucumber Salad Step by Step
Slice the Cucumbers: Slice 2 cucumbers into ¼-inch slices and add to a large bowl.
Add the Onions: Add in 1 red onion sliced into half moons and toss to combine.
Make the Dressing: In a mason jar or small bowl, whisk together ⅓ cup of apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup of water, 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt, and 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper.
Toss the Salad: Pour the dressing mixture over the cucumber and onion and toss to fully coat/combine. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.
Generously sprinkle salt over the cucumber slices before tossing them into the salad. The salt will draw out extra water and moisture so that they don’t get watery or soggy. You can salt them in a colander to prevent too much salt from accumulating on the slices.
It depends on the type of cucumbers you use. Most varieties at the grocery store here in North America (English cucumbers and “garden cucumbers” are common) will be fine without peeling. But if you use a variety with thick or bumpy skin, feel free to gently peel them.
We cut them into ¾ inch slices for this salad recipe, but you can really slice them however you like. A mandolin works really well for quick slicing. Thinner or thicker slices work, as do diced or cubed cucumbers. A chopped cucumber and onion salad is great too!
We highly recommend using apple cider vinegar for this cucumber salad dressing. Other vinegars can be overwhelming on such a simple and light salad, but white wine vinegar is one of the better substitutes.
If you have leftover cucumbers, try making little cucumber sandwiches. You can also add slices to water for a refreshing and healthy beverage.
Can I add tomatoes to this salad and what if I don’t like onions. I do like to cook with dried minced onions. Would it be possible to mix some of them in with the dressing and let them soak before mixing it with the salad?
Hi Janie, yes, you can absolutely add tomatoes! We have not experimented with adding dried minced onions to the dressing, but we think it could work!
I have made this but heated the sugar water then sprinkled crushed dill over and poured liquid and everyone goes crazy over it
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Fresh, flavorful, great for any type of meal presentation.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Trisha!
Very tasty recipe! I did not add any water, since cucumbers tend to release so much of their water when introduced to salt. As I was making the recipe, I thought there would be WAY too much pepper, but I followed the recipe exactly anyway. I’m glad I did because the pepper amount was perfect! This is a keeper for my recipe collection. Thank you!!!
This was great for an amateur cook. Thanks
Thanks for this recipe. It’s delicious and even better when the cukes, onions and dill come straight from your garden. YUM!!
So glad you enjoyed it, Shan!