This simple cucumber salad recipe with a delicious vinegar dressing is perfect with thinly sliced, crisp cucumbers. I genuinely can’t stop making it!
The secret to my favorite cucumber salad recipe is salting the cucumbers for 30 minutes before tossing them with our dressing. Cucumbers have a lot of water, and my salting step makes sure that your salad stays crisp and never soggy.
I can finish an entire bowl of this salad. The vinegar-based dressing reminds me a little bit of pickles. We balance the vinegar with Dijon mustard and a bit of sugar (not a lot, this salad is not sweet). For more cucumbery recipes, see our creamy cucumber salad (inspired by tzatziki sauce) and this avocado salad with cucumbers!
Key Ingredients
- Cucumbers: I love thin-skinned cucumbers like Hot House or Persian cucumbers for this salad. Garden cucumbers are fine, but they usually have thicker skins and seeds, so I peel them and scrape out most of their seeds before using them in the salad. (I use the same cucumbers in most of the cucumber recipes on Inspired Taste.)
- Salt: The secret to the best cucumber salad is to salt your cucumbers. The salt makes the cucumbers taste better and removes excess water, which, if left, dilutes your delicious dressing. I use sea salt, but any salt will do.
- Vinegar: I love apple cider vinegar in this dressing, but white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, or rice wine vinegar also work nicely.
- Sugar: I don’t like sweet salad dressings, but I think a teaspoon (or two) of sugar balances the vinegar in this recipe nicely. I share a suggested range in my recipe below so that you can add it to your taste.
- Dijon mustard: Creamy Dijon adds a tangy flavor to this salad. I love it. Whole grain mustard would be lovely, too.
- Onion: Cucumbers and onion are a classic combination, so I toss in some sliced red onion. I like the red onion for color, but a sweet onion like Vidalia or Walla Walla onion would be amazing.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make the Best Cucumber Salad
Tip 1: Draw out excess water with salt. Salting the cucumbers for this salad draws out excess water and intensifies their flavor. This means your dressing won’t become watery and your cucumbers will taste more cucumbery (is that a word?). It takes 30 minutes, but it’s easy (promise). I also salt cucumbers when making dill pickles and salt cabbage when making this cilantro lime coleslaw.
Tip 2: Squeeze out water. After 30 minutes, I rinse the cucumbers with cold water to remove any excess salt so the salad will not be too salty. Finally, I squeeze them dry by adding them to a clean dishcloth and squeezing out as much liquid as possible.
Tip 3: Let your salad sit. I toss the salted, rinsed, and squeezed cucumbers with the rest of our salad ingredients. You can enjoy the salad immediately, but it gets even better after an hour in the fridge.
More Summer Salads
- No Mayo Herb Potato Salad
- Easy Couscous Salad
- Perfect Greek Salad
- Perfect Panzanella Salad
- Avocado Salad – with cucumber!
Easy Cucumber Salad
- PREP
- TOTAL
I have a hard time not eating the entire bowl of this vinegar cucumber salad! It’s so simple, but so delicious. I love apple cider vinegar or champagne vinegar for this, but rice wine vinegar is lovely, too. Add the sugar to your taste. I prefer a more zippy dressing, so I use 2 teaspoons.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 ½ pounds seedless cucumbers, like Hot House or Persian, about 2 large or 5 small cucumbers
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 to 3 teaspoons granulated sugar, depending on taste
¼ cup (60ml) apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¼ of a medium red onion, thinly sliced
Directions
1Salt the cucumbers: Thinly slice cucumbers, toss with 1 teaspoon of salt, then add to a colander set over the sink or bowl. Let them sit for 30 minutes.
2Rinse the cucumbers with cold water, then spin dry in a salad spinner (or add the cucumbers to a clean dish towel, tie it up, and gently squeeze).
3Make the dressing: Whisk two teaspoons of sugar, vinegar, and mustard in a large bowl. Taste, then add the additional teaspoon of sugar if needed.
4Make the salad: Add the cucumbers and red onion to the dressing, then toss. Enjoy immediately, or refrigerate for up to 3 days (the cucumbers will soften over time and are best on days 1 and 2).
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Cucumbers: You will often find seedless cucumbers sold wrapped in plastic. They have thinner skin and are a little sweeter than regular cucumbers. Other names include English cucumber and hothouse cucumber. If you cannot find them, use regular cucumbers and a spoon to scoop the seeds before slicing. If the cucumbers have a thicker, waxy peel, we recommend peeling all or some of it away.
- What to serve it with: This light, zippy salad is an essential summer salad. We love it for BBQs and serve it next to grilled steak, grilled chicken, cedar plank salmon, and slow cooker pulled pork (the vinegar cuts through the fat really well). It’s also great next to other salads like our pasta salad, Caprese salad, watermelon feta salad, or this quinoa salad. I’ve also served it with gazpacho and loved it!
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
I love cucumber salads!!! And yours is fresh and intoxicating. Thank you, Adam and Joanne. Loving all your recipes.
You are so welcome. We agree! 🙂
Delighted my favorite cucumber salad & delicious dressing
Thanks for the great recipe, I made it as a side dish for memorial day grilling and it was requested to be a standard offering going forward.
Amazing! Thank you so much for coming back and letting us know! It means a lot!
Just tried Easy Cucumber Salad. I used white wine vinegar and was delicious. Company loved it. BUT I would ise less vinegar since I’m not a vinegar person.
So happy you tried the recipe, Natalie! Thank you for coming back!
Haven’t tried it yet but love cucumbers so will be trying it and have no doubt that it will be delicious.
can the simple cucumber recipe be used on lettuce salad?
Of course!
i love it
When I tasted the dressing, I was worried, but needn’t have been because it all came together deliciously! I used a yellow onion because it was what I had and added a little salt for serving. I liked that it didn’t require fresh herbs or have a creamy dressing. Will make again and again!
Hi Nicole, Thank you so much for trusting us! The salad definitely changes over time for the better!
I made it with the mustard and without. Prefer it without the mustard.
This recipe was delicious! I reduced the oil to one tbsp and also added some green pepper. Used scallions because that’s what I had handy. So tasty!
What oil, how much? I can’t find where it says to use oil anywhere.
Awesome. Went directly to recipe and none the ridiculous adds thank you. So simple an used my own cukes
Glad you enjoyed it, Bob!
Fabulous. Best cucumber salad I’ve ever made. The Dijon mustard puts it over the top. Perfect blend of flavors.
Wow, what a compliment! Thank you so much for coming back and letting us know!
Exactly what I was looking for! This is the best tasting cucumber salad I’ve ever tried! For some reason though, my cucumbers turn into soggy mush after salting and rinsing them. Any help would be much appreciated! Thank you!
Hi Jessica, The cucumbers should not be soggy. What variety of cucumbers did you use. I love the thinner skinned varieties (like Hot House or Persian).
Made the cucumber salad last night – it was wonderful – nice and crispy and so easy – thank you – its a keeper. Jean
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed it Jean!
The mustard is an inspired addition! (I used a “country dijon.”) This is a great recipe, and so easy to modify/vary.
Glad you like it, Connie!
It’s great, and I added chopped sweet red pepper and some cherry tomatoes.
Mine were very salty. Should I rinse them after 20 minutes next time, or rinse longer?
Hi Steve, You want to rinse the cucumbers after they have had time sitting with the salt.
I have made a similar recipe for years, instead of a bowl I layer the cucumber coins in circle on large plate, salt cucumber, place a plate on top ( upside down) and left it in the fridge then just run liquid off and sprinkle with vinegar, but this recipe is on another level & using djon mustard is the masterpiece. My new cucumber salad so thank you
Great tips!! Thanks for sharing.
My Mother made this when I was young and I was always looking for a recipe to recreate it and enjoy it again! Thank you for the recipe.
I made this salad for dinner tonight. Great idea to salt the cucumber slices before mixing with dressing. I liked the saltiness this added to them. I had to use white balsamic vinegar because this is what I had in the pantry and substituted a milder Vidalia onion for the red onion and the salad was very good. I love the sweet tart mustardy dressing. I would like to make this again. Thank you for this tasty recipe.
Thanks to my restrictive diet, I need to find healthy alternatives minus the diary, tomatoes broccoli and vinegar. I am looking forward to receiving your recipes.
Can honey be use instead of sugar
Yes, absolutely.
Omg. Tastes SO amazing!!
Love your recipe for potato salad. I thought mine was the best until I tried yours. simple change made the difference. Have you ever tried a small amount of vermouth?
❤️
Store had sale on cukes! Went wild and bought too many. Love em, but WHAT was I thinking?! This simple recipe to the rescue! Its really easy and very good. I used regular cukes. I cut in various thicknesses. Also varied skin removal. All…so I could see what I liked best for the next time. Recipe is definitely a keeper. I think I like thicker cut with just a little skin. Seems the cukes held together better. I also made Xtra dressing to use on salads. It’s really good stuff. Now, I have no fear of over purchasing cukes. Lol. Oh, I will try the honey instead of sugar next time. Thanks for sharing this recipe. A total 5 star review.
Looks good! Would white wine vinegar work as well?
Yes, white wine vinegar would be great.
I have been unable to eat cucumbers without considerable burping ever since I can remember, so it is a food I largely ignore. Because of the salting step, I decided to try your recipe and see what would happen. Miraculously, I am able to eat and enjoy with no ill effect. Thank you for a tasty cucumber salad I can eat.
P.S. I used regular cucumbers and left the seeds in but left in salt for 1 hr. Great!
Very good! I just made it without leaving it in the fridge, or taking the water out of the cucumbers. Substituted one tsp of sugar for one of honey. It is delicious!
I made this for a sunday brunch. the bowl was licked to clean. it was a total hit I think I’m gonna make it again for lunch :):):)):):)
Licking the bowl is the best! So glad you enjoyed the salad.
If you would like your cucumbers to stay crunchy, salt them (use a lot of salt between each layer) and put them in a Japanese pickle press. This presses out the excess water that causes the cucumbers to go soft. Wash the salt off with fresh water and use them as you wish. They will be nice and crunchy. Also, to avoid the sharper, bitter flavor of freshly cut onions, I blanch them for a few seconds in boiling water, rinse them in cold and they are much more mild and palatable.
Thanks for the tips!
Great recipe! I’m doing it right now.
I just noticed that it says I can’t marinate or more than a day.
In case there are left overs, can I keep them in the fridge for another day or two?
Newbie in the kitchen, any help appreciated.
Yep, you can keep leftovers. The cucumbers do soften and loose some crunch over time, though.
Do you really mean 1 and 1/2 POUNDS kosher salt????
No, the recipe calls for 1 1/2 pounds of cucumber
This looks so fresh and delicious! Bookmarked and pinned.
Awesome 🙂