Pickled Cucumber Salad

Quick pickled cucumber salad with the tangy taste of apple cider vinegar paired with fresh cucumbers and red onions is not just for summer salad sides. Delicious and healthy, this light side dish recipe pairs well with just about every menu you have planned this year.

Why you will love making this salad

If you adore the taste of tang in your cucumber dill salad, look no further. A simple base of quick-pickled cucumbers and a spattering of pretty diced red onion packs a punch. Prepped in minutes and ready in an hour, this is a can’t go wrong way to use up the rest of the fresh garden produce to create the perfect side dish.

Ingredients for Pickled Cucumber Salad

• 3 cucumbers, sliced 1/8″ thick (or if you want to get creative, create spiral cucumbers)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2-1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• pinch of salt and black pepper

Tip: To keep cucumber slices uniform, I recommend using a mandolin slicer (carefully).

How to make Pickled Cucumber Salad

Add slices of cucumbers to a bowl and set aside.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sugar, dill and red onions. Whisk well. Pour on top of cucumbers and mix well. Season with salt and pepper and mix.

Cover and refrigerate for one hour or overnight until ready to serve. Mix well before serving and serve with additional salt and pepper if desired. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

• Make sure to try this onion salad recipe too! I really cannot get enough of it!

Variations

Simple ingredients like this really have a lot of room for variations. Switching up the cucumber types (English, Persian, Japanese) and adding diced traditional pickle pieces mixed with the diced red onion are all good choices. You can easily add other raw vegetables – if you want some color and crunch, try bell peppers (we do this in the cucumber bell pepper salad and its so good).

I also love adding the tiniest bit of minced garlic and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes as well. Another simple change is to cut the cucumbers like the spiral cucumber salad – that’s a fun way to eat and looks beautiful.

Can other vinegar flavors be used in this recipe?

I am a big fan of getting to know flavors you love and using what is in the pantry, so try this quick pickled method with other vinegar mixtures like white wine vinegar or rice vinegar.