Cucumber Salad with red onions and dill in a quick slightly sweetened vinegar dressing with no added fat is the perfect side dish to your meal you can make ahead and even pack for easy lunches.
Perfect served with Lemon Greek Chicken Skewers or Lemon Dill Salmon this salad is great cold or at room temperature and perfect made ahead for parties.
 Dill Cucumber Salad
Salads are a big draw for Weight Watchers followers, with high fiber, low fat (if you’re careful with your dressings) and all the filling beans and chicken you can really help fill out your day with salads like this one or Pico de Gallo Salad.
The dressing in this recipe is sometimes referred to as a sweet and sour cucumber salad since it is just made of vinegar and sugar along with a few spices.
What are the best kind of cucumbers for cucumber salad? English Hothouse Cucumbers have the best edible skin along with the perfect soft but firm texture after scraping out the centers. If you use the smaller Persian Cucumber variety you won’t be able to scrape out the centers and it won’t be able to be prepped ahead as long.
Why do you scrape out cucumber seeds before adding to salad?
The middle of the cucumber which contains the seeds is full of liquid which would naturally be released from the cucumber making the dish soggy. By removing the center and salting the cucumber it preserves it for meal prepping and refrigerating before eating.
What to serve with Dill Cucumber Salad?
This cucumber salad is perfect served alongside other main courses that are able to be enjoyed at room temperature like grilled meats, grilled fish or even vegetarian options like falafel.
How to make Dill Cucumber Salad:
The most important part of the dish and preparing it ahead is to take the time to remove the liquid from the cucumbers by salting them and removing the centers. Mixing the sugar with the vinegar until it is fully dissolved also helps from making the salad taste gritty.
More Easy Salad Recipes:
Ingredients
- 2 English hothouse cucumbers
- 1/2 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 red onion
Instructions
- Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard the seeds.
- Slice the cucumbers at an angle and sprinkle the cucumbers with salt in a large bowl.
- Let sit for 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl add the vinegar, dill, sugar and black pepper and stir well.
- Cut the red onion into thin slices and add it to the bowl with the dressing.
- Drain the cucumbers, pat them dry and add them into the bowl with the onions and dressing.
- Toss the salad and let it refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Can you clarify “drain the cucumbers and pat dry”? In the first step they are put in a bowl with salt but no liquid? What are we draining? Thanks!
The salt draws liquid out of the cucumbers so you will definitely have to pat them dry after 15 minutes!
This might be my new favorite way to eat cucumbers… which I love 🙂
Fantastic! Hope you enjoy it!
I have been planning my garden this week. I can’t wait to make this with fresh cucumbers!
What a great use for fresh cucumbers!
My mom used to serve this for every family reunion. It’s so good!!
OMG! This salad looks perfect for my quick lunch!
Looks so healthy and yummy!
This salad sounds perfect for Spring brunch! Cucumbers with dill are so delicious!
Thanks, Anna!