This cool and Creamy Cucumber Salad is made with a tangy and creamy white sauce, crisp cucumbers, sliced red onion and fresh dill for a delicious summer side dish!
With just a few minutes of prep, this refreshing cucumber salad is perfect to go long with a sizzling grilled steak, juicy baked chicken, or flakey grilled salmon.
There’s nothing like a chilled creamy summer salad on a warm day. This is a FANTASTIC side dish for any casual gathering or meal, but elegant enough for a more formal celebration.
What Makes this cucumber salad the best?
This delicious summer cucumber salad has a sauce similar to my Creamy Tzatziki Sauce; simple and so easy to make! The creamy saucy base is a little tangy thanks to the sour cream, and full of flavor, mixed with crisp cucumbers and purple onions for a pop of flavor and color. It’s a simple summer salad recipe that uses some of my favorite in-season produce and fresh herbs.
Ingredients for Creamy Cucumber Salad Recipe
Here’s the basic list of ingredients you’ll need in order to make cucumber salad with a creamy sauce. As always, you can find the full list of ingredients located in the printable recipe card below.
- Purple Onion – sliced thin
- English Cucumbers – this variety has a thinner skin that doesn’t require peeling before use.
- Sour Cream – light or regular is fine.
- Mayonnaise – regular is best.
- White Vinegar – distilled
- Sugar – white granulated
- Fresh Dill – use half if dried
- Salt
- Pepper – fresh ground is amazing!
How To Make Creamy Cucumber Salad
The BEST thing about cucumber salad is that it comes together in minutes. We start with the vegetable prep and then move on to whisking together the creamy dressing.
Prepare Veggies
Combine the thinly sliced cucumbers and thinly sliced purple onion in a large bowl and set aside.
Make Dressing
In another bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayo, vinegar, sugar, dill, salt, and black pepper. Pour over cucumbers and toss to combine.
Cover and chill cucumber salad in the fridge for two hours to let flavors blend. Toss before serving and garnish with extra dill and pepper. Enjoy!
PRO TIP: You don’t have to chill the salad for a full two hours, but it is definitely recommended to help those flavors blend and pop!
Tips, Variations & FAQ
We’re using my favorite cucumber for this recipe – the English cucumber! The peel on the English cucumber is very thin and doesn’t require removing it before slicing and enjoying. It also has smaller seeds inside that are easier to eat. If you’re wanting to use a regular cucumber, give it a few strokes around the outside edge with a vegetable peeler to remove the tough coating.
Substitute sour cream with plain greek yogurt for a higher protein salad.
Don’t skip the mayo, as this will help to give the dressing it’s creamy texture.
Not a fan of dill? You can try basil or thyme instead.
Yes! Add a bit of lemon zest and juice to the salad for a lemony pop of flavor!
Make Ahead and Storage
Make Ahead: You can make this 1-2 days ahead of time and refrigerate, fresh is best for the texture.
Refrigerate: You can store this salad covered for up to 3 days, after that the texture can become mushy.
Freezing: Freezing cucumbers is not recommended as they will lose their “crisp factor.”
More Cucumber Salad Recipes
You can never have enough cucumber salad recipes for summer! Here are a few of my favorites. Make sure to try at least one!
- Pineapple Cucumber Salad – with Chili Lime Broiled Chicken Thighs
- Classic Cucumber & Tomato Salad – fresh, easy and a fan favorite.
- Cucumber, Avocado and Tomato Salad – creamy and crunchy and so delicious.
- Crunchy Thai Cucumber Salad – sweet and spicy with a bit of crushed peanuts
I know you’ll love this nostalgic creamy summer salad as much as we do. It tastes just like my childhood!
Creamy Cucumber Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large English Cucumbers, thinly sliced
- ½ cup purple onion, thinly sliced
For The Dressing
- ½ cup sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup mayo
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¼ cup fresh dill, chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Combine the cucumbers and purple onion in a large bowl and set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayo, vinegar, sugar, dill, salt and black pepper. Pour over cucumbers and toss to combine.
- Cover and chill cucumber salad in fridge for two hours* to let flavors blend. Toss before serving and garnish with extra dill and pepper. Enjoy!
This was my grandmothers recipe no sour cream or dill…. All my life we had this with roast beef steak mostly with beef! Delicious!!
Sounded so good had to try it. Was wonderful, thank you
Looks amazing!
I have made this before! Great recipe Shawn!
My mother used to make a version of this when we were young. This is a perfect summertime salad that I made as a side dish for a cookout.