Eating this cool and crunchy cucumber salad always reminds me of Germany. It’s commonly included as part of any Salatteller (salad plate) in German restaurants. A Salatteller will often feature a serving of carrot salad, radish salad, lettuce greens, potato salad and this cucumber salad. They’re the best salads ever!
While creamy cucumber salads are also popular in Germany, this oil- and vinegar-based version tends to be served more frequently in restaurants, at least where I’m from in southern Germany.
In Germany you can buy dry dill dressing mixes that come in small envelopes, often the Knorr brand. You add oil and vinegar and add it to your cucumber salad or leafy greens. Here’s a from-scratch version that takes just a couple of extra minutes to assemble and tastes even better.
Let’s get started!
Peel the cucumbers and slice them the same width and place them in a medium-sized non-reactive bowl. I like to use my German mandolin for jobs like this to get uniform slices. Plus it goes a lot faster.
Place the cucumbers in a medium-sized bowl.
To make the dressing, combine all the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and stir to combine.
Pour the dressing over the sliced cucumbers and stir to combine. Cover and chill for at least two hours before serving, stirring a couple of times. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Can be served cold or at room temperature.
Enjoy!
Be sure to also try our
Creamy German Cucumber Salad!
German Cucumber Salad (Gurkensalat)
Ingredients
- 3 medium cucumbers peeled and thinly sliced into rounds (if the cucumbers aren't waxed you can leave the peels on for more color)
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives optional - I don't always include these
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onion more concentrated flavor than fresh onion
- 3 tablespoons neutral-tasting oil
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the sliced cucumbers in a medium-sized bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Pour over the cucumbers and stir to combine. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours before serving, stirring it a couple of times. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Nutrition
SHAWNA WILSON says
Hi ! Can I use fresh onion or onion powerinstead? What would you recommend if I need to substitute?
Thanks :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Shawna, I’d probably use a little of both – a little finely chopped fresh onion and a little less than 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder.
Kiran jafri says
Love this site.I found my favourite salad dressings after a long time.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much, Kiran!
Alan Trumbly says
Good Stuff!
beth says
Yum! This looks so delicious and tasty! I can’t wait to make this! Putting the ingredients on the list right now.
Dottie says
Love getting your recipes. I’m from München and we also slice our cucumbers very thin with mandoline, sprinkle salt. let sit 15 minutes, squeeze out water (usually in clean cotton kitchen towel), then a few very thinly sliced onions and then the oil & vinegar sugar (but less than your recipe) a bit of salt & pepper, refrigerate for 1 hour. The salt makes the cucumbers weep but will still exude water but not nearly as much after adding dressing Re-toss & serve. Think I’m going to make some for dinner.
Reinhold says
You can use the vinegar, oil, onions, salt and sugar approach for other salads too. I am from Franken (north Bavaria).
We used it for yellow potato salad, tomatoes or wurst salad. For the wurst you can use any leftover lunch meats or even head cheese.
Anonymous says
Almost exactly how my mother taught me. She also added some whipping cream and a splash of Maggi seasoning. My sister uses sour cream instead. I pinned several of your recipes including your bratwurst recipe . It’s difficult to find authentic recipes over here. Can’t wait to try it.
BTW I am from Bayern.
Andrea Kyle says
I am so happy I found this site!
My mom was from Fussen, Bavaria Germany.
As a child we always had cucumber salad and Bavarian potato salad with schnitzel. I do remember that when she made cucumber salad, she used a lot of salt on the cucumber slices and set it aside. then I remember her squeezing out the sliced cucumbers and a lot of water came out of them I remember she said the reason for the salt was to take the bitterness out of the cucumbers. I can’t wait to try your schnitzel cucumber salad and Bavarian potato salad.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Andrea, I’m so glad you found us too – welcome! I hope you enjoy these recipes and look forward to hearing what you think.