Creamy cucumber salad is a dish I grew up with; it brings back memories of dinners at my Grandma Mary’s house.
This summertime staple is a fresh addition to any picnic, barbecue, or potluck with crisp cucumbers, fresh dill, and a simple sour cream dressing.
This easy recipe is fast to prepare with ingredients you likely have on hand.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Ingredients in Cucumber Salad
Cucumbers – Use long English cucumbers or Persian cucumbers for this recipe as have thinner skins and don’t require peeling (although you can peel them if you prefer).
Field cucumbers can have tough skins, so they should be peeled (or peel some strips). The seeds in field cucumbers are larger and can be scraped out with a spoon.
Onions – Sweet white onion or red onion is optional but adds great flavor to this cucumber salad. Thinly slice the onion and soak it in cold water while preparing the salad to take off a little bit of bite from the onion.
Variations – This salad is great with fresh garden herbs like basil and dill. Chop up your favorites and stir them in.
Dressing – Making this cucumber salad dressing is easy. Combine sour cream, mayo, vinegar, seasonings, and a touch of sugar. You can replace sour cream with plain Greek yogurt if you’d like.
How to Make Creamy Cucumber Salad
The best cucumber salad recipe is one that is simple so the cucumbers really shine.
- With a sharp knife or mandolin, slice the cucumber ¼-inch thick. Thinly slice the onion if adding per the recipe below.
- Whisk the dressing ingredients in a bowl and toss with the cucumbers, onion and dill.
- Refrigerate one hour before serving. Garnish with additional chopped dill.
To Make Cucumber Salad Ahead
This recipe can be made 4 or 5 hours in advance for the best flavor; this way, the cucumbers stay crisp!
If you’d like to make it further ahead, slice the cucumbers and onions if using, and store them separately from the dressing in an airtight container. Combine the two an hour before serving.
Storage
Creamy cucumber salad will up to 2 to 3 days in the fridge. Drain any juices before serving, and add a little bit of extra sour cream if needed.
More Cucumber Favorites
Did you make this Creamy Cucumber Salad? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Ingredients
- 2 English cucumber
- ⅓ cup sliced white onion optional
For the Dressing
- ½ cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- ¼ cup chopped fresh dill chopped
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash the cucumber and cut it into slices ¼-inch thick.
- In a large bowl, whisk the sour cream, mayonnaise, dill, vinegar, sugar and ⅛ teaspoon salt.
- Add the cucumbers and onions if using and gently toss well to coat.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
- Taste and season with additional salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh additional dill if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Diet Vegetarian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I used cottage cheese instead of yogurt or sour cream. Blended it with an immersion blender. Had a great tang and was delicious!
it’s a great recipe very refreshing for the summer months. However, let me add a change that’s for the better. it’s best to make this the night before. pre-cut and clean the seeds out of your cucumbers. refrigerate the cucumbers and chopped up Red Onion ove make your dressing at the same time and refrigerate it overnight as well. I put a little bit of black pepper freshly ground in mine. early to mid summer dill is not in season. mix the dressing and chilled cucumbers together at the same time you will find that the dressing does not separate but clings to the cucumbers and then refrigerate a few hours before serving. you will come away with a well-saturated cucumber salad. refrigerating it 1 hour before serving and 1 hour before you’re dropping and mixing the dressing he’ll come out of watery affair. just try my suggestion don’t be afraid to experiment with chopped up scallions to replace the onion. distilled white vinegar is a better flavor than Apple cider. by all means do not use balsamic it’ll look dirty. don’t try any other herb besides Dill. it does not blend well with the cream and cucumber. this is not a Mediterranean recipe so stay away from the herb de Provence. and by all means do not use cilantro. you will end up throwing the guitar recipe away no one will eat it.
Thank you for sharing your tips Matt!
The mansplaining for a cucumber salad just sent me. Glad he gave you five stars, though.
Easy to make. Supremely tasty.
liked this so much I made more
This was a huge hit at a family dinner.
Easy to make and tastes delicious!
I substituted the white onion for green onions. My husband loves it!