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
- 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.
Have I told you lately that I love you? Well, actually it's your food I love.
Hi, I grew up eating cucumbers as main dishes! They are a favorite and I see the same love in my kids. Love the sound of the recipes. Can't wait to try them since we usually just eat them raw. My one question is why do u say to not eat the peel of regular cukes?
Thanks,
Leann
Love cucumbers! Found your recipes while looking for any recipes for using cukes in hot dishes..like pot roast? My Czech grandmom made a wonderful creamed cuke salad with fresh dill, much like this one seems to be done. My husband's family (of Japanese origin) makes a thinly sliced (not peeled)cuke salad using rice vinegar and tiny canned baby clams (or clam bits, if a budget concern), traditionally served during New Year's parties. The extra thin slicing (done with the fine slicing blade on a grater- box),with just the touch of peel left on, also makes it very pretty. It has a yummy sweet-tart taste, a bit different than regular vinegar cukes.
I am so thrilled to find this recipe! Creamed cucumbers bring back wonderful childhood memories for me as well. My Mom made them on a regular basis. Sadly, she passed away two years ago from Alzheimer's. So many times I have thought about this recipe, wishing that I could re-create it. Thank you so much.
sounds wonderful, can't wait to try the creamed cucumbers. Thanks so much for sharing.
This brings back so many memories! I thought I would never find anything close to what I had as a kid! You did it! Wonderful!
Erin..haha. Well Mom is right there but I'm still so happy to hear that they enjoyed it all anyway!!! 🙂
Ok, I made these as well as the BLT bites for a friends brunch. She has a little garden with delicious cucumbers and I wanted to make something good with them. I saw this recipe a while ago and I had never heard of them but i thought.. Everything I have made from you, has always been great. So I'll go with it. Well I forgot dill and was out of vinegar. So I left them out. I was telling my mom, on the way to the brunch and she lectured me how I HAD to have the vinegar! Well everyone loved them anyways even without the important stuff 🙂 Thanks again!
Erin
x0xmiss.erinx0x@gmail.com
I love creamed cucumbers and have never had a formal recipe. Oddly enough these were first made for me by a gal who was raised in Baltimore. 🙂 I am so happy to have a printable recipe – thanks!
Your creamed cucumbers look just like what my mother made. I didn't have her recipe so trying this for sure!
I adore cukes and will be sure to try the vinegar also.
The creamed cukes are so good – and cukes are certainly abundant this time of year!
Love me some cucumbers! I usually slice them up really thin, along with cherry tomatoes, red wine vinegar, and "Season All" seasoning. YUMMY!
Both of these recipes look delicious! We're big cucumber and squash eaters, so I'm sure I'll be working this into my summer veggie rotation.
Thanks for sharing your cucumber salad, this week, too! Great minds think alike. Thanks for linking up to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday over At The Well.
I often ate the vinegar cucumbers at my auntie's house. My mom made a simpler version with just sour cream and cukes. I want to try your version.
Would love the vinegar recipe
Your creamed cucumber salad sounds wonderful.
🙂 Mandy
My mom always made (and still does!) the cukes in vinegar, but I've never tried the creamed version. Sounds yummy! 🙂
I LOVE cucumbers. For me, the smell of fresh cukes and watermelon are the smells of summer. And I adore them in vinegar and creamed and plain and salted….oh heck, I just adore them. I'll definitely be giving both of these a try.
OMG I think we had the same mother. That is exactly how my mother fixed cucumbers with the vinegar and salt. I loved it that way! Wow things for the trip down memory lane! – Tammie
Brandie!!! This reminds me so much of my family. My mom always makes vinegar cukes or cream cukes. My mom says it comes from our Polish grandmother. Now, I don't know if that the origin of these cuke dishes are actually Polish…but I adore them anyways! So very much reminds me of being younger…we used to have these all the time.
Thanks so much for sharing it
Your Mom knew just how to stave the family off until dinner could be finished, and now that my kids are eating salad-type veggies, I find myself using the same tactic to find the peace she did. These are lovely recipes Brandie, fresh and healthy. Brava!
My daughter and I love cucumbers too! Most of the time we just peal and slice them — add a sprinkle of salt — and eat them. Next to that my favorite is the creamed cucumbers like you have! YUMMY!
Sounds and looks very tasty. I'm writing up my wife's grandmother's recipe for something similar for this weekend.
I've seen lots of slight variations on this. I like the onions in yours.
I love both these salads! A neighbor just gave me a new (to me) kind of cucumber called New Zealand, or apple. I'm anxious to do something with it.
Right now I have a ton of cucumbers in my fridge that need to be used but I am sick of making pickles. If I am feeling up to it (dentist today) I think I might make the creamed version. I love that stuff!