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Cool and refreshing Cucumber Dill Salad is the perfect summer side dish! You’ll love the combination of crisp cucumbers, onions and herbs tossed in a simple buttermilk dressing. Serve the easy, creamy salad with bbq chicken, burgers, pulled pork or grilled shrimp!
Creamy Cucumber Salad
Cucumbers are widely available year-round in just about any grocery store, but the veggies truly shine during the warm summer months. If you’re faced with a bumper crop of homegrown cucumbers, then this simple cucumber dill salad is the perfect way to enjoy them! The creamy buttermilk dressing is light, tangy, and a delicious contrast to the crisp vegetables. Best of all, the easy side dish comes together in about 15 minutes!
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a creamy cucumber and dill salad. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step instructions can be found in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Cucumbers: the star of the show! I like English cucumbers (or “hot house”) for this recipe because the skin is thin and the seeds are very small.
- Red onion: for zesty flavor and bright color.
- Fresh dill and fresh chives: herbs that add so much flavor to the salad.
- Buttermilk: the base of the dressing. The thick texture and rich flavor of whole buttermilk yields the best results.
- Mayonnaise: thickens the dressing and adds flavor. We prefer Duke’s brand.
- Sugar: just a hint of sweetness adds complexity and balances the sharp onion and tangy vinegar.
- Distilled white vinegar: for a little acidic “bite” in the dressing.
- Salt and pepper: to enhance the other flavors in the dish.
Do you peel cucumbers for salad?
It depends! If you’re using English cucumbers (as shown here), you do not need to peel them for the salad because the skin is very thin. Other cucumbers with a thicker, tougher skin, should be peeled before slicing. It’s also just a matter of personal preference. You might like to partially-peel the cucumbers, leaving some of the peel intact in strips.
How to Cut Cucumbers for Salad
You can use either a sharp knife or a mandoline slicer (affiliate link) to cut the cucumbers for this salad. I like the mandoline because it’s fast, and it slices the cucumbers into perfectly even rounds. If working with a mandoline, set it to the thicker width because you don’t want paper-thin cucumbers in this salad. A slightly thicker cucumber stands up to the dressing better.
How to Make Cucumber Dill Salad
This easy salad comes together in just minutes, with only a handful of simple ingredients. It’s truly the best summer side dish for those hot days when you just don’t feel like cooking!
- Combine cucumbers, red onion, dill and chives in a medium bowl.
- Prepare the dressing in a separate bowl by whisking together the buttermilk, mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the cucumber mixture and toss to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate for about 15-30 minutes, or up to 4 hours.
What to Serve with Cucumber Salad
This creamy Cucumber Dill Salad is a refreshing side dish that goes well with almost any of your favorite summer or meat-based entrees. Here are a few delicious options:
- Fried Chicken, Homemade Chicken Nuggets or Fried Chicken Tenders
- Sloppy Joes
- Beef Barbecue
- Cider Braised Pork Shoulder
- Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork
- Perfect 15-Minute Grilled Salmon
- Baked or Grilled Marinated Chicken Thighs
- Oven-Fried Breaded Pork Chops
- Crab Cakes
- Grilled New York Strip Steak or Marinated Grilled Flank Steak
- BLT Sandwiches
- Grilled Hamburgers or Salmon Burgers
- Fried Catfish or Oven-Fried Fish
- Grilled BBQ Chicken Breast
- Marinated Grilled Shrimp or Fried Shrimp
- Grilled Chicken or Grilled Pork Tenderloin
- Chicken Souvlaki
- Grilled Pork Chops
Make Ahead
You can make this salad up to 4 hours in advance. It’s best when it has about 15-30 minutes to chill in the refrigerator while the flavors come together, but you don’t want it to sit for too long or the cucumbers become soggy.
Storage
Leftover cucumber salad will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days; however, the cucumbers will not stay crisp and the dressing will become watery. Do not freeze the salad.
Why is my cucumber salad watery?
As the salad sits, the cucumbers release liquid and thin the dressing. That’s why it’s best to enjoy the salad shortly after stirring it together.
A Tip for Crisp Cucumbers
If you need to prep ahead by more than about 4 hours and you want the cucumbers to stay crisp for a longer period of time, it helps to salt the sliced cucumbers before adding them to the salad bowl. To do so, place the cucumber slices in a colander and sprinkle them with about 1 teaspoon of salt. Toss with your hands to make sure that all of the slices are salted. Place the colander in the sink and let it sit for about 30 minutes. The salt draws out some additional liquid from the vegetables. Once the cucumbers are ready, rinse them gently under cold water and then dry them really well with paper towels or a dishcloth. Place the cucumbers in the bowl and use as directed.
Recipe Variations
- Swap out the mayonnaise for sour cream or plain Greek yogurt. The dressing will have a more tangy, slightly less salty flavor, but it will still be good.
- If available, include additional fresh herbs in the salad. Parsley, basil, thyme and oregano would all be delicious.
- For a more mild taste, omit the red onion and just use the fresh chives. You can also substitute with sweet Vidalia onion if you prefer.
- Include sliced radishes for extra color and a zesty bite.
- To feed a larger group, double all of the ingredients.
Tips for the Best Cucumber Dill Salad Recipe
- Use a mandoline slicer to quickly cut the cucumbers into equal rounds. Make sure that you use the wider setting on the mandoline so that your cucumbers are not paper-thin. The thicker rounds stand up to the dressing and stay crisp for longer.
- Use whole buttermilk rather than low-fat buttermilk, since the whole buttermilk has a much thicker, richer texture and flavor. Be sure to shake the bottle well before using it, too!
- If time allows, let the cucumbers sit and marinate with the other ingredients for about 15-30 minutes before serving. Do not prepare the salad too far in advance, though. It’s best when enjoyed within about 4 hours so that the cucumbers don’t get soggy.
More Cucumber Recipes to Try
- Refrigerator Dill Pickles
- Cucumber Salad with Vinegar
- Tomato Cucumber Onion Salad
- Creamy Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream
- Cucumber Dill Greek Yogurt Dip
Cucumber Dill Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups sliced English cucumber (about 1 ½ cucumbers)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
- ½ cup whole buttermilk, shaken
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
- ÂĽ teaspoon salt
- ÂĽ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine cucumber, red onion, dill and chives.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the cucumber mixture and toss to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate for about 15-30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
Notes
- Swap out the mayonnaise for sour cream or plain Greek yogurt. The dressing will have a more tangy, slightly less salty flavor, but it will still be good.
- If available, include additional fresh herbs in the salad. Parsley, basil, thyme and oregano would all be delicious.
- For a more mild taste, omit the red onion and just use the fresh chives. You can also substitute with sweet Vidalia onion if you prefer.
- Include sliced radishes for extra color and a zesty bite.
- To feed a larger group, double all of the ingredients.
- Use a mandoline slicer to quickly cut the cucumbers into equal rounds. Make sure that you use the wider setting on the mandoline so that your cucumbers are not paper-thin. The thicker rounds stand up to the dressing and stay crisp for longer.
- Use whole buttermilk rather than low-fat buttermilk, since the whole buttermilk has a much thicker, richer texture and flavor. Be sure to shake the bottle well before using it, too!
- If time allows, let the cucumbers sit and marinate with the other ingredients for about 15-30 minutes before serving. Do not prepare the salad too far in advance, though. It’s best when enjoyed within about 4 hours so that the cucumbers don’t get soggy.
- Recipe adapted from Downhome Dinners magazine.
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Every year we have tons of cucumbers from our garden. We grow Japanese Long cucs and they are excellent for any recipes for cuc salads because they have thin skins, they’re extra crunchy and have small seeds along with a delicious mildly sweet flavor!! My husband takes some form of cuc salad to work for lunch every day because he says they’re really refreshing while he’s out in the heat. Though I wouldn’t suggest taking anything with dairy in a lunch box out in the heat, if he has ice in his cooler, this will be great for lunch. I can’t wait to check some of your other cuc salad recipes! We also grow our own herbs so a variety of flavors are at my finger tips.
Perfect, Debra! I hope you enjoy this version with all of your fresh garden produce! 🙂