Creamy Cucumber Salad
This Creamy Cucumber Salad is made with fresh cucumbers, sour cream, mayonnaise and fresh dill. So easy and creamy! Perfect summer salad!
A SIMPLE, FRESH CUCUMBER SALAD RECIPE
I just adore cucumbers and slicing them up brings back a flood of memories of my childhood years. If you’ve never eaten cucumber in vinegar or in a creamed salad before, these recipes might sound really weird or strange. I guess it is one of those things that you just gotta grow up eating to truly appreciate. But I’m thinking, if you give them a try, you just might grow to love this simple but tasty Creamy Cucumber Salad. If you enjoy tzaziki sauce then I think you would love this too!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’S)
English cucumbers, also known as seedless or hothouse cucumbers, are a type of cucumber with a thin, super tender, edible skin and smaller seeds. You don’t have to peel them either if you don’t want.
They are longer and slimmer than traditional cucumbers and are typically wrapped in plastic to maintain their freshness. English cucumbers are crisp, mild in flavor, and perfect for making this salad. Check your local grocery store wherever they sell cucumbers and you’ll likely find English cucumbers.
It’s normal for Cucumber Salad to get a little watery as it sits. As the cucumbers “relax” in the salad they release water that’s naturally in them. The only way to avoid it is to try to get some of the water out of the cucumbers before making the salad (note: you won’t get all the liquid out of the cucumbers and you don’t want to or they won’t taste good.) The only way to do that is to salt the cucumbers in a colander and let the salt draw out the moisture. You may want to rinse them a bit afterwards too so your salad doesn’t end up too salty.
This Creamy Cucumber Salad is always a hit! It’s a perfect side dish to any spicy food you might be eating. It works with Buffalo Chicken Wings or Nashville Hot Chicken!
It’s a good potluck salad side dish and goes great at any bbq or picnic. Just note: if taking this to an outside event, try to keep it on ice to keep it cold.
Cucumber Salad will last up to 2 days in the refrigerator. The longer it sits, the more watery it will get since the water releases from the cucumbers. So, I suggest enjoying this the day you make it.
No. Cucumbers don’t freeze well because of all the water in them so the salad texture will change once frozen and thawed and it’s definitely not optimal.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- English cucumbers– these are my preference to use, but if you want to use regular cucumbers you can. The English ones have much smaller seeds and if you don’t feel like peeling cucumbers, you can eat the tender skin on the English cucumbers. If using regular cucumbers, I would suggest peeling them.
- red onion – instead you could use a shallot. It would give you a lighter onion flavor.
- sour cream– you could swap this out for plain Greek yogurt
- mayonnaise – you could use Miracle Whip if you enjoy it.
- fresh dill – if possible, use fresh dill over the dried stuff if makes all the difference in flavor.
- white vinegar – I don’t recommend apple cider vinegar here. I think it would throw off the flavor. Rice wine vinegar would probably work.
- white sugar – cucumber salad has a sweet and sour flavor. If you don’t like that, then leave out the sugar. Or you could use a sugar substitute.
HOW TO MAKE CREAMY CUCUMBER SALAD
Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and slice into ¼” slices. Place them in a bowl along with sliced red onions. Combine all dressing ingredients.
Toss dressing with cucumbers and onions.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour before serving. Stir before serving.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
- Marinated Tomato Cucumber Salad
- Cucumber Cream Cheese Spread (+Video)
- Vinegar Cucumber Salad (+Video)
- Carrot Salad
- Apple Fruit Salad
- Watermelon Salad
- Southern Ambrosia
- Bread and Butter Pickles
- Marinated Green Bean Salad
- Refrigerator Pickles
- Succotash
Originally published: August 2011
Updated photos & republished: March 2024
Creamy Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 2 English cucumbers
- ½ cup sliced red (or white) onions
- ½ cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- ¼ cup chopped fresh dill (optional)
- 3 Tablespoons white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Slice the cucumbers.
- Add cucumbers and sliced onions into a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, mayonnaise, fresh dill, vinegar and granulated sugar.
- Pour over cucumbers and onions. Stir to thoroughly coat cucumbers and onions.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour before serving.
- Taste cucumbers and season with salt at this point if preferred. Stir before serving.
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
This is a super easy recipe that gets rave reviews from the ladies in my luncheon group.
YES!! Finally, as most recipes only use sour cream and not the mayo, or vinegar and sugar. Thank you, I appreciate this recipe so much.!!
Delicious! I made this last night with cucumbers and fresh dill from my garden (I live in AZ, so this is prime gardening season!). I’ve tried tons of cucumber salad recipes and this one is a keeper. Thanks for sharing it!
When I was a child my mother would send me to my country grandparents for the summer. Back then I thought it was torture to be awakened before dawn to help cook for the pile of hungry farm hands who would gather around the table for breakfast before starting work. We would cook whatever was on hand, depending on the garden and what was freshly butchered.
I now treasure those memories and all of the knowledge I gained during those summers. This recipe reminds me of a salad we made made back then. I think we used all mayo, but I always cut mayo amounts with plain yogurt now (instead of sour cream as this recipe shows) and add a few good grinds of pepper. Crisp, cool, and delicious. And, goes well with anything. Thanks for sharing!
My mother would put ice cold water over cucumbers and lots of salt, let sit a few hours then rinse, then squeeze cucumber tight to rid of most water then pour on vinegar. Delicious!!
I really like your take on the Creamy Cucumber recipe. I've never used sour cream but it sounds delish! I use one cup Mayo, 2-3 TBLSP White Vinegar, 1 TBLSP Apple Cider Vinegar, 2 tsp Sugar, 3 TSP Dill W, Onions and Cucumbers. I'm really excited to try a combination of your recipe and mine. I'll use both Sour Cream and Mayo; just not as much Mayo. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I'm loving this. Yes, my mother made a cucumber and onion salad I loved. I remember her putting ice cubes in it to make it cold. So many of your recipes bring back wonderful memories of her! Thanks!! Pinning it!
I've never had the creamy kind but willing to give it a try.
Those creamed cucumbers look delicious! Thanks for posting this recipe. I had not heard of a recipe like this until I saw your post. Thanks again.
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Lee Ann<