Cucumber Dill Salad
Cucumber Dill Salad is a simple 10-minute side dish made with thin cucumbers, red onion, fresh dill, and a vinegar dressing. There’s no cooking, just slicing, whisking, and a short rest before serving. You need only 6 ingredients, plus salt and pepper, to make it.
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Cucumber dill salad is a tangy, fresh salad that pairs well with all kinds of dishes. It’s the perfect balance of sweet, sharp, and fresh.
My Caprese Pasta Salad is another delicious recipe that’s easy to make, and this Orzo Pasta Salad is light and summery. You might also enjoy this Dill Chip Dip or playful 2-ingredient Dill Pickle Shots. And my Jalapeno Cucumber Lemonade is a great option if you have cucumbers left over and want to try something delicously different!
Why You’ll Love It
- 10-minute prep: This cucumber dill salad recipe takes just 10 minutes and doesn’t need the stove. The main work is slicing the cucumbers and onion, chopping the dill, and stirring the dressing, and that’s about it!
- Fresh dill flavor: Fresh dill is the main herb here, not a garnish. It gives the salad that familiar cucumber-dill flavor that works with grilled meat, sandwiches, and picnic food.
- Sharp vinegar dressing: White vinegar gives the dressing a direct tang. Sugar, olive oil, salt and pepper round it out enough for the cucumbers without making the salad sweet. It’s easy to whip up and has a fresher flavor than store-bought dressings.
- Versatile side dish: This salad can go to the table chilled or at room temperature. I love it chilled with BBQ or grilled chicken to contrast with the tangy dressing, but it works with a lot of different dishes.
- Simple ingredient list: Cucumbers, red onion, and dill are easy to find. The rest of the dressing uses basic pantry ingredients, which you probably already have.
Dill Cucumber Salad Ingredients
- Cucumbers: Regular cucumbers are fine, though English cucumbers have fewer seeds and thinner skin.
- Red onion: Raw onion can be strong, so you’ll need to slice it very thinly to distribute it evenly. A mandoline slicer is the easiest way to get nice, thin onion and cucumber slices.
- Fresh dill: This gives the salad its main herb flavor. Use fresh dill for the clearest cucumber-dill taste.
- White vinegar: This makes the dressing tangy and bright. It’s the main liquid in the dressing. White wine vinegar or champagne vinegar would work here.
- Olive oil: This softens the vinegar a little and helps the dressing coat the cucumber slices. I recommend using extra-virgin olive oil for the smoothest flavor.
- Sugar: This rounds off the sharpness of the vinegar. White granulated sugar is best for this cucumber dill salad recipe.
- Salt and black pepper: To season the cucumbers and dressing.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients, measurements, and detailed instructions.
Substitutions and Variations
- English cucumber: Use English cucumber if you want thinner skin and fewer seeds.
- Another vinegar: Try apple cider vinegar for a fruitier tang or rice vinegar for a milder dressing.
- Less sugar: Use less sugar if you prefer a sharper cucumber salad with dill.
- More onion: Add a little extra red onion if you like a stronger raw onion bite.
- Creamy dressing: Stir in a spoonful of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt for a creamy cucumber salad with dill.
- Dried dill: Use 2 teaspoons dried dill in place of the 2 tablespoons fresh dill. Stir it into the dressing so it has a few minutes to soften before serving. Fresh dill is much tastier in this salad, though.
Cucumber Dill Salad
Equipment
- Small Bowl or Jar with Lid
- Whisk Optional
- Mandoline Optional
- Salad Tongs or Wooden Spoon to Mix
Ingredients
- 2 cucumbers large, thinly sliced
- ¼ red onion small, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅓ cup white vinegar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the sliced cucumbers with the dill and red onion.
- Toss gently to distribute the ingredients evenly.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, white sugar, salt and black pepper. Alternatively, shake the dressing ingredients in a small jar. Keep whisking or shaking until the sugar is dissolved.
- Pour the dressing over the cucumber mixture and toss to coat.
- Let the salad sit for at least 10 minutes before serving, so the flavors can blend.
- Serve at room temperature or chilled, as you prefer.
Notes
- Rest for 10 minutes: The recipe needs a short rest before serving. That gives the cucumber, onion and dill time to soak up the dressing flavors.
- Stir before serving: Cucumbers release liquid as they rest, so stir from the bottom of the bowl before serving.
- Serve with a slotted spoon: The dressing is thin, so a slotted spoon helps leave extra liquid in the bowl.
Nutrition Information
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Kim’s Top Tips
- Slice evenly: Cucumber slices all the same size and thickness pick up the dressing more evenly and look better too.
- Keep the onion thin: Thick raw onion can dominate the dill and cucumber. Thin slices give the salad the right amount of bite without taking over.
- Dissolve the sugar: Whisk the dressing until the sugar and salt dissolve into it. Leaving it undissolved would give it a gritty texture.
How to Store
- Refrigerator: Store leftover cucumber salad with dill in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. The cucumbers will soften during storage.
- Before serving: Stir the salad before serving because the dressing collects at the bottom of the container.
- Freezing: Don’t freeze this salad. Cucumbers lose their crisp texture after thawing.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this salad with Grilled Chicken Tenders or Seared Balsamic Pork Chops. These Air Fryer Greek Chicken Kabobs would be really good with it too. For a bigger spread, add Crescent Roll Parmesan Garlic Bread and Air Fryer Bang Bang Shrimp. Packing cucumber dill salad for a picnic? Match it with some of these Easy Picnic Recipes for a portable feast!
Cucumber Salad with Dill FAQs
Yes, although the texture is best the day it’s made. Cucumbers release water as they rest and over time this dilutes the dressing.
I recommend that you peel them if the skin’s thick or waxy, but you can leave the skin on if it’s thin and tastes mild.
Yes. Add a little more sugar, or use rice vinegar instead of white vinegar for a softer vinegar flavor.
