This Healthy Cucumber Salad with sliced cucumbers, onions, fresh dill and a touch of vinegar comes together in 10 minutes. The perfect crispy summer side dish!
Stay cool as a cucumber this season with creamy cucumber salad, Thai cucumber salad or creamy cucumber tomato salad options!
Table of contents
If you love all things vinegar and dill, this healthy cucumber salad is for you!
It’s made with crisp cucumber and red onion slices, a bit of oil and vinegar, salt and pepper, and a sprinkle of dill to finish it off. It couldn’t be a more easy healthy salad recipe or more refreshing!
It’s great as a side dish for grilled meat, fish, and your favorite BBQ burger. The zesty tang is so addicting you may find yourself picking up slices with your fingers and eating them as a snack too!
Why You Will Love This Salad
- Healthy. Cucumbers are loaded with Vitamins B, C, and K. They also contain antioxidants, and fiber and have the water needed for hydration throughout the summer.
- Fast and easy. This salad is as easy as they come. Chop and slice, toss, then eat!
- Goes with everything! We love this healthy cucumber salad recipe on the side of grilled anything. Chicken, beef, pork, fish, you name it.
Ingredients You Will Need
- English cucumbers, thinly sliced.
- Red onion, thinly sliced.
- Fresh dill, finely chopped.
- Olive oil
- White vinegar
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Cucumber Salad
All you need to make this healthy salad is a sharp knife, a sturdy cutting board, and a salad bowl.
Slice cucumbers into thin rounds. Using a mandoline helps to get them the same size, but do your best when using a knife.
Don’t cut it too thin so cuke slices can’t hold their shape. And don’t cut them too thick so salad is hard to eat. Be sure to hold the cucumber steady as you cut along the length.
Transfer to a large salad bowl.
Chop the fresh dill and slice the red onion. Cut the whole onion in half, then in quarters. Thinly slice a quarter of the onion and allow the strands to fall apart.
Remove dill weed from thick stems for more pleasant salad texture. Chop it up and add to the bowl with cucumbers.
Combine and toss. Add the veggies, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper over the veggies and gently stir to combine. Take your time as cucumber slices are larger pieces, you can also slice them into half moons next time.
Expert Tips
- Use English cucumbers: They have thin skin and do not require peeling. Also, Persian cucumbers will work, which are smaller in diameter.
- Dill: Use fresh, not dried dill weed. Substitute for chives, if necessary.
- Garlic: Add a small clove of freshly grated garlic.
- Add yogurt: Add 3 tbsp of full fat Greek yogurt or sour cream for a richer, creamy result.
- Oil: An even swap for the extra virgin olive oil would be to use avocado oil instead. The good fat and neutral flavor are found in either one.
What to Serve It With?
- Grilled shrimp skewers
- Chicken burger recipe
- Grilled chicken breast
- Carne asada steak
- Healthy black bean burgers
- Grilled salmon
FAQs
It won’t usually be necessary unless it’s a thick field cucumber or one that has a thick bitter skin. Cut one slice first, try it, and then decide before slicing the whole thing. If you do keep the skin on, make sure to wash it first.
Cucumber salad is best served immediately because the cucumber becomes watery over time. Enjoy it the same day!
Sure! Add all of the ingredients except the salt and pepper. Keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours and sprinkle with seasoning just before serving.
Salt draws out water, so adding too much of it can cause it to be watery right away. If you notice it watery later on, it just means you’ve let it sit for too long. Drain the water and enjoy!
A simple, light and healthy cucumber salad is a super quick way to use up your cucumbers and requires just 10 minutes and minimal effort.
So, load up your plate while you can because this salad won’t last long!
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10 Minute Healthy Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 2 long English cucumbers thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh dill finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add cucumbers, red onion, dill, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
- Stir well to mix. This salad is best served immediately because the cucumber becomes watery over time. But you can add all ingredients, minus salt and pepper, and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Season and stir before serving.
Notes
- Use English cucumbers: They have thin skin and do not require peeling. Also Persian cucumbers will work, which are smaller in diameter.
- Dill: Use fresh, not dried dill weed. Sub for the chives.
- To slice veggies evenly: You can use a mandoline or sharp knife. The key is to slice cucumbers and red onion evenly.
- Add yogurt: Add 3 tbsp of full fat Greek yogurt or sour cream for a richer result.
I had printed this recipe off and it was on my list to make. Well, today we came in late from fishing and I had to get the sides ready quickly. I made this and it was the perfect vegetable dish after a long day in the Florida summer heat. Thank you so very much for creating such healthy dishes for us to enjoy!
Sounds like it hit the spot! Hope you got to have some fresh fish with it 🙂
Bought ingredients to make it twice and boy, am I glad I did. SOOOOO good. 10 minutes? Olena, what??!!! More like 60 minutes with the washing, chopping, trimming the dill, etc. And mixing it is a huge chore because there’s so much and it’s heavy. I followed the basics but added a lot of sunflower seeds to the first batch 3 days ago and last night added the rest of my sunflower seed supply and a lot of pumpkin seeds, an avocado, 8 sliced radishes, two chopped steamed potatoes, and a fair amount of fresh chives. Both times I added a whole thing of dill minus the stems, of course. Chopped it good. Can’t overdo dill. The toasted sesame oil is killer!! I used 1t of balsamic in both batches. It’s good. The Ukrainian Salad is A HUGE WINNER, Olena!! And so are you!!!
Glad you enjoyed it and were able to adapt it for a few meals!
Hi Olena, you made my day! I sat down to eat my CUCUMBER SALAD for dinner and checked my email. I was intrigued by your daily digest and read the recipe. Surprise! There was my mother’s and my grandmother’s and probably her mother’s cucumber salad recipe, dill and all. Good old Swabian cuisine. Everything tastes better with a little vinaigrette.
P.S. This evening I went rogue and used lovage and shallot in place of dill and red onion. Super hearty.
And that makes our day! So glad you enjoyed the cucumber salad, so good in the summer!
I have been making this for years- think it originated in the Southern states (like Arkansas) – big hit! Only thing I do differently is to use ice cold water and vinegar – no oil. Lots of pepper!
Awesome, cucumber salad is so refreshing for the summer!
Easy and delicious, doesn’t get better than that for summertime!
Glad you enjoyed it!