German Cucumber Salad is a low carb, easy side dish that comes together easily with just a handful of ingredients. Made with fresh cucumbers, red onion, sour cream, vinegar, and dill it’s a refreshing side dish for a hot summer night.
You guys, I have a confession.
I spent way too many years missing out on one of the most refreshing, easiest side dishes ever because I was convinced that anything green couldn’t possibly taste good.
Picture this: It’s a sweltering summer evening, and my mama would slice up fresh cucumbers to go alongside dinner. I’d turn my nose up at them every single time because, obviously, kids don’t eat green things. Why do you even try, Mom? 😉
Fast forward to my 30s when I finally discovered what I’d been missing – and now this German cucumber salad is practically a weekly staple in our house.
Cucumbers are life, man. I’m even growing them in my garden out back!
This German cucumber salad recipe is everything I love about summer – cool and refreshing, creamy and flavorful, filled with fresh ingredients and vibrant colors.
Our Greek Cucumber Salad and Cucumber Salmon Bites are a couple of other favorites around here, if you’re also cucumber obsessed these days.
3 Reasons You’ll Love This German Cucumber Salad
It gets better with time. Unlike most salads that get soggy, this German cucumber salad actually improves as the flavors meld together, making it perfect for meal prep.
It’s incredibly refreshing. That cool, crisp crunch paired with creamy dill dressing is exactly what you need when it’s hot outside – plus at just 4 net carbs per serving, it fits perfectly into your low carb lifestyle.
Zero cooking required. Just slice, salt, and mix – perfect for busy weeknights when you don’t want to turn on the oven or when you’re bringing a side dish to a BBQ.
Ingredients:
Cucumbers – We prefer to use English cucumbers for this recipe, due to the sweeter flavor, lack of seeds, and thinner skin. These are also often called burpless cucumbers – that thinner skin makes them a little less gassy.
Sour Cream – While you can use either mayo or sour cream in this cucumber salad, we opted for sour cream. You can also equal parts mayo and sour cream…give both options a try and see what you prefer!
Red Onion – You’ll want to slice this thin for the best texture and flavor. If you soak your red onion in water, it will take away some of the bite. We don’t do this as we like the flavor, but it’s an option if you’re sensitive to onion.
Apple Cider Vinegar – Just a touch to help balance the richness of the sour cream.
Sweetener – This ingredient is entirely optional. We like a hint of sweetness and add in just a teaspoon to balance the flavors. Skip this entirely, use real sugar if that’s all you have, or use our favorite monkfruit sweetener.
Fresh Dill – An absolute must for adding loads of fresh flavor.
How To Make Keto Cucumber Salad:
Slice & Salt: Slice two English cucumbers nice and thin using either a sharp knife or a mandoline.
Line a baking sheet with a tea towel and lay the cucumber slices out on the towel. Sprinkle them with salt and let them sit for 30 minutes.
This will help the cucumbers to release some of their water so that your salad doesn’t end up too runny.
Pat the cucumbers dry, wiping away any excess salt, and toss them in a big bowl.
Slice up some red onion, mince some garlic, and chop some dill.
Combine: Add the cucumbers, onion, garlic, and dill to a large bowl along with some sour cream and apple cider vinegar. I put in about a teaspoon of sugar substitute for just a hint of sweetness, but you can skip this entirely if you prefer.
Serve: Stir everything together to get it nice and combined, taste and adjust the seasonings (more dill? more garlic? more pepper?) and serve!
It doesn’t get much easier than this German cucumber salad recipe, right?
Serving Suggestions:
This German cucumber salad is the perfect summer side dish, going great with just about any protein you can grill. We like to make a big bowl and pull it out at dinner time all week long.
Here are a few dishes that this goes great with:
Asparagus Stuffed Chicken: Chicken breast stuffed with cheese and asparagus and wrapped in bacon.
Steak Bites: Always a hit in my house!
Lemon Baked Cod: Such a simple dinner, but packed with flavor.
Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast: The easiest way to get greens in my kiddos! 😉
Crockpot Pork Tenderloin: This turns out so tender and juicy in the slow cooker!
Blackened Mahi Mahi: This fish is ready in about 10 minutes and is packed with flavor from our homemade seasoning.
Recipe FAQs:
English cucumbers tend to be much longer and thinner, with a delicate, thin skin, and less seeds than a traditional cucumber. The flavor is a bit more mild and less bitter due to the smaller seeds.
We salt our cucumbers to release extra moisture from them before adding them to this salad. Before serving, pat them dry and wipe up any excess salt. This helps to keep them crisp and flavors them nicely as well.
Cucumber salad is generally a mixture of fresh cucumbers, thinly sliced onion, and a creamy dressing. Some cucumber salads use a vinaigrette rather than a creamy dressing.
Give this German cucumber salad recipe a try and let me know what you think! For more recipes, be sure to follow me on Facebook!
German Cucumber Salad
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Ingredients
- 2 English cucumbers
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/2 red onion sliced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon sugar substitute
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with a tea towel.
- Thinly slice the cucumbers and lay on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with the salt.
- Let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature to allow the cucumbers to release their water.
- Pat cucumbers dry, wiping away an excess salt, and add to a large mixing bowl with the red onion and garlic.
- Whisk together the sour cream, vinegar, dill, sugar substitute, and pepper in a small bowl.
- Pour the dressing mixture over the cucumbers and toss to coat.
- Serve immediately.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and calculated automatically – it’s an estimate, not a guarantee. Values can vary depending on the brands and ingredients you use, so if you’re tracking closely, I’d recommend calculating with your own preferred tool. Net carbs are total carbs minus fiber and any sugar alcohols.
Isabella says
Subbed greek yogurt for sour cream and dried dill for fresh. very good recipe, thank you.
Karly Campbell says
Sounds delicious! Thanks for the review, Isabella!