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
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.
What do you all think about adding thin slices of green olives?
Try it and let us know if it’s tasty!
I think sliced black olives would be a bit better. Green olives have kind of a bite in flavor and may compete with the tangy vinegar.
I lessened the amount of water in the recipe and added more apple cider vinegar to make it more tangy.
Thanks for sharing, Jackie!
Great recipe! Added 2 cloves sliced garlic. Very close to my grandmother’s recipe. Loved it!
Thanks for sharing, William!
This was a really refreshing lunch! I added feta cheese and a few cherry tomatoes as well. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing, Aimee!
Fussy partner loved it! He’s not generally into veggies, sharp or peppery tastes, but devoured it! It’s easy-peasy, and on our regular meal list now.
Thanks for sharing, Elliot!
Delicious. Never made before ..
for sooth .. Husband loved it and is on his regular request list. I will remember to score or peel cukes next time, but I also enjoy combination of colors.
Thanks for sharing, Liz!
For Sooth. I haven’t heard that phrase in decades. Made Mr.Man look it up. = )
Modify to your liking!
Thank you for being so gracious in the face of such rudeness.
I made this. Yes, it’s yummy and remind me of Japanese Namasu, which also use same ingredients for marinate, usually use daikon radish for vegetable.
That looks delicious!!
This was delicious. I peeled my cucumber and substituted stevia for the sugar and sweet onion for the red onion. I did not put any fresh herbs on it. It was good without them. Maybe would add for company. I will make this again.
Thanks for sharing!
I love the flavor of this recipe and would offer the suggestion to peel the cucumbers first. I found the cucumber peel to be tough and it made it difficult to eat the salad. Or score the peel so just a bit of it remains to provide a bit of color.
Definitely modify to your liking!