Creamy Cucumber Salad

Creamy and crunchy cucumber and onion salad with sour cream dressing is a perfect summer side dish to serve alongside salmon, chicken dishes, and spicy food.    

This easy creamy cucumber salad recipe is a staple in my kitchen that I can whip up ahead of dinner in just 18 minutes.

My top advice for you is to use full-fat sour cream in the dressing and smaller fresh cucumbers to make sure you have all the ingredients in every bite.

Love cucumbers? Try my Apple cucumber salad, Cucumber Tomato Feta salad with light dressing, and carrot cucumber salad, too.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• How can you not? It just uses very simple ingredients, but it bursts with so many different flavors!
• You wouldn’t know regular cucumbers can taste that good. It is a great recipe to pair with Buffalo chicken recipes, steaks, ribs, and to bring to potlucks.
• The sauce reminds many of the classic Tzatziki dressing, so if you love Greek food, this can be a great recipe to try.
• Exactly like grandma used to make it! This easy cucumber salad is the perfect side dish for potlucks!

Ingredients Notes

• English cucumbers. If you grow your food, garden cucumbers work just fine! Small Persian cucumbers work in a pinch, too. If you only have large cucumbers, you can still cut them in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds if they are too big.
• Small red onions are sweeter (and prettier when added to the salad in a bowl) than yellow or white onions.
• Sour cream and Mayonnaise make the best tangy and salty combo for the dressing.
• Fresh dill. I love adding chopped fresh dill, but if you can’t find it, dried dill works too, and it is actually stronger than fresh.
• White vinegar for a little acidic tang.
• Granulated sugar to balance out all the flavors.
• Garlic powder or fresh garlic – minced garlic adds a stronger garlic flavor.
• Kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Salt here is not just for taste, though. It interestingly helps to make cucumbers slightly sweet, and the salt draws excess moisture from them.

Kitchen Equipment

• Large mixing bowl
• Large colander
• Mandolin or sharp knife
• Optional: paper towels or a salad spinner to dry cucumbers.
• Small bowl to store leftovers 

How To Make Creamy Cucumber Salad

1: Make The Cucumber Salad Dressing

Combine sour cream, mayonnaise, chopped dill, vinegar, sugar, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until combined.

2: Add Cucumbers And Onions

1. Fold in the sliced cucumbers and thinly sliced onions until thoroughly coated.
2. Chill for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator to bring out the flavors before serving.

Storage

Keep leftovers refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

The mixture can get a little watered down and doesn’t stay fresh long. The water can be strained out before serving again. But this recipe is best when served immediately or the same day.

Do not freeze, as dressing ingredients will separate and the cucumbers will soften too much.

Substitutions & Variations

• Dressing: You can substitute sour cream with plain Greek yogurt, and use apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar, too.
• Fresh lemon juice can be an easy replacement for vinegar in this recipe.
• Add sliced radishes, which are also crunchy, and add a little twist to the flavor.
• Add avocado for a softer texture.
• Add feta and capers to add a Greek-Italian twist to the salad.
• Switch dill with other fresh herbs – green onion and parsley work just fine!
• Spicy version. Add red pepper flakes to spice it up.
• Change it up with purple onions, tzatziki sauce, dill weed, sweet onions, or fresh lemons.

Popular Questions

What Should Not Be Mixed With Cucumber Salad?

When making cucumber salad, avoid adding ingredients that are too strong in flavor or can add too much excess liquid to the salad. I don’t recommend adding strong cheeses, as they can overpower the fresh taste of the cucumbers.

How Do You Keep Cucumber Salad From Getting Watery?

To keep cucumber salad from getting watery, you can slice the cucumbers, sprinkle them with a little salt, and let them sit for about 30 minutes before mixing the salad. This helps draw out excess moisture.

Then, rinse the cucumbers with cold water and pat them dry with paper towels. This way, they won’t release as much water into the salad, keeping it nice and crisp!

If you love this side salad recipe, you’re going to love these other sides for dinner too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Great Cucumber Recipes

Apple Cucumber Salad

Carrot Cucumber Salad

Cucumber Sandwich Recipe

Easy Chef Salad

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