Summers in the south are hotter than Satan’s armpit. So, for me, that means adding some cool and refreshing sides to summer mainstays like ribs and pulled pork. Cole slaw, corn salad, and other things like this AMAZING Creamy Cucumber Salad are just the ticket. The cool and creamy flavors pair well with bbq and help to keep you cool, too! And this dish gets extra pints because it’s crazy easy!
I’m really a big fan of using these Kirby cucumbers for this dish. They’re also called pickling cucumbers. I just prefer the flavor and texture of them for this recipe.
If you can’t put your hands on some, don’t worry. Two or three of the larger slicing or English cucumbers will work just fine.
One thing of note here on the prep: To remove some of the moisture in the cucumbers, you’ll need salt them. That salt draws the excess moisture out. This is an important step if you want to ensure you don’t end up with runny dressing.
BUT, if it’s something you’re going to eat immediately and probably won’t have any leftovers, you can skip this step if you wish. This short video gives you a little more detail. Just note that in this recipe, there’s no need to rinse the excess salt away after the cucumbers drain.
Recipe Card
Creamy Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 Kirby pickling cucumbers
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt divided
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 small clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- Peel and thinly slice cucumbers. Sprinkle them with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and place them in a colander in the sink. Allow the salt to draw out the excess moisture for about 30 minutes.
- Make the dressing by combining, the sour cream, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, vinegar, sugar, garlic, and fresh dill and mix well.
- Once the cucumbers have drained, shake off the excess moisture and combine them with the dressing in a large bowl. Refrigerate until serving.
Notes
Please note:
If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
Great way to make but we add onions to our creamy way too. We also add the green lid Rice vinegar instead of white vinegar and use mayonnaise instead of sour cream.
On the regular way not creamy I just add zesty Italian dressings to mine and they stay fresh in the fridge for a long time unless they get eaten faster.
Yum! Sounds great!
I grew up with this type of Cucumber Salad in Germany. It’s a standard where I come from. We actually let it sit and thin out the solid sour cream a little. Other than that, it’s exactly the same and yes lots of pepper and dill! I’m still in search of the elusive Japanese Cucumber Salad, the slightly sweet one.
ooooo! That sounds good!
Easy, great tasting side – for dinner of a potluck. I used the Kirbys but didn’t really see a difference in them. I did drain the cukes, first time trying that. Tasty
Thank you so much Carrie! So glad you liked it!
AWESOME SALAD FOR HOT DAYS HERE IN MICHIGAN, TOO!!!
Such a good, simple recipe!
How bout onion, can we add sweet onion also?
Absolutely!
I love this as a side dish, except SUGAR. Don’t we eat enough of this as it is?
I find this a great dish without the sugar. And as a couple of people
stated , lots of black pepper.
I guess it’s all a matter of opinion, Rick. But I definitely agree with the black pepper on this one.
want recipe for creamy-cucumber-salad?
Are you asking for a recipe or are you asking me if I want a recipe?
One of my favorite meals was to put this cucumber salad over warm mashed potatoes! My mom could stretch the $ using veggies from our garden. Try it!
Super interesting, Dayna. I’m not sure I’ve heard of that. 🙂
Hubby is on a salt-restricted diet. I’ll skip having the salt draw the moisture. But, the rest is good.
It’ll be just as delicious!
I am not a big lover of dill, any suggestions ?
I think it’ll be just fine to leave it out.
This looks great! Our cakes are not ready to pick yet but I will make this when they are. I LOVE your Amish Pyrex bowl. My mom had the same exact set when I was growing up. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! It seemed like the perfect bowl for this recipe. 🙂
Thanks for the video and showing the results after salting. I was impressed and never realized that much moisture was in the vegetable, such as eggplant.
It’s pretty neat. Glad it was helpful.
This is my recipe too. I do add a good bit of black pepper to mine when I make these for just my family. Sometimes will use 1/2 mayo and 1/2 sour cream. Always a winner when I take these for potluck. I also use the same recipe but adding a bit more vinegar for my my coleslaw dressing. So versatile.
Thanks for sharing
Sounds great! I do love them with pepper too.