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SWEET AND TANGY CUCUMBER SALAD

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RECIPE PRINT PIN

Sweet and tangy Cucumber Salad is perfect for your summer BBQ or potluck. Thinly sliced cucumbers and red onion marinated in vinegar with a touch of sweetness creates an intense delicious side dish.

A bowl of cucumber salad in a white bowl.

Kudos to my brother Eric, for introducing me to this cucumber salad. He bought some at the local BBQ joint for lunch and offered me a bite. I’ve never had it before and found it was refreshing and delicious.

I needed to recreate this dish and that’s exactly what I did.

What are the ingredients?

Cucumbers - either your basic garden cucumber or English cucumbers (my preference), thinly sliced red onion, dill - either fresh or dried, sugar, kosher salt, and crushed red pepper.

I prefer to use the English cucumbers because they’re thin skinned and pretty much seedless. 

  • Thinly sliced cucumbers on a cutting board.
  • Thinly sliced red onions on a cutting board.

This recipe couldn’t be simpler. If you have a mandoline, this would be the time to use it to thinly and evenly slice the cucumbers and onion. Otherwise, use a sharp knife and thinly slice the cucumbers and red onion.

  • Fresh dill and crushed red pepper on a cutting board.
  • Sliced cumbers and red onions marinating in a zip top bag.

Place the cukes and onions in a zip top bag along with the other ingredients. Remove all the air from bag, seal, and squish it around with your hand to mix it all up.

MORE DELICIOUS SALAD OPTIONS:

Lay it flat to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 - 60 minutes to allow the flavors to marry, flipping it over once or twice to make sure everything gets covered.

You can marinate overnight and it does keep up to a week in the fridge. The cucumbers will lose their crispness but it's still all good.

I prefer to use red wine vinegar, but you can use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. I’ve used all three and they’re all good. Choose what you have available.

A bowl of cucumber salad in a white bowl.

Quick, simple, and delicious with little effort. Seriously, anyone can make this cucumber salad.

TRY MORE DELICIOUS SALADS:

@thegeneticchef

Here’s a super easy, sweet and tangy, cucumber salad that will rock your cookouts or summer gatherings. All you do is slice the cucumbers and red onion and throw them into a ziptop bag along with the spices and some red wine vinegar and squish it to mix. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes and you have yourself a delicious salad or side. Go over to the site and grab this recipe. You won’t regret it. SWEET AND TANGY CUCUMBER SALAD on https://www.thegeneticchef.com/ Follow for more delicious recipes! #cucumbersalad #cucumber #cucumbers #easyrecipe #salads #saladlover #summersalad #saladideas #saladrecipe #saladoftheday #healthysalad #healthyfood #vegetarian #gardentotable #summerfood #recipesforyou #recipeoftheday

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A bowl of cucumber salad in a white bowl.

SWEET AND TANGY CUCUMBER SALAD

PRINT PIN SAVE
Sweet and tangy Cucumber Salad is perfect for your summer BBQ or potluck. Thinly sliced cucumbers and red onion marinated in vinegar with a touch of sweetness creates an intense delicious side dish. Best of all, it’s prepared in minutes.
Recipe can easily be halved or doubled.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 6 Servings
Author: Natalie Gregory

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds garden or English cucumbers
  • ½ medium sized red onion
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill or 2 teaspoons dried
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

  • Thinly and evenly slice the cucumbers ¼” thick. Transfer the cucumbers into a large zip top bag.
  • Thinly and evenly slice the red onion. You want these as thin as possible. Transfer the onions with the cucumbers.
  • Add remaining ingredients into the bag, squeeze out the air, seal it, then squish it around to get it all mixed together. Lay it flat to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 - 60 minutes to allow the flavors to marry. Flip it over once or twice to make sure everything gets covered. You can marinate it overnight allowing you to make it ahead. Although the cucumbers will lose their crispness, the flavor will intensify.

Notes

A note about the vinegar - if you don't mind tart, then prepare this recipe as is. If it seems too tart for your taste, refrain from adding more sugar. Instead, add two tablespoons of water to mellow the tartness of the vinegar. The salt and marinade will draw out the moisture from the cucumbers creating more liquid which will also mellow it out.
Did you make this recipe? Tag @thegeneticchef and use #thegeneticchef and tell me all about it!

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Comments

  1. Christine Kane

    I really love this salad, I did use yellow onions one time and Vidalia another, and cut down on them a bit for my taste.
    I have also added tomato.
    My new go to Summertime side.

    Reply

    • Natalie

      I'm glad you love it. I do too!

      Reply

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