German Cucumber Salad is a low carb, healthy 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.
Growing up, my mama would always slice up cucumbers to go along with summer dinners.
I’d turn my nose up at them, because ew, green things. Kids don’t eat green things, Mom. Why do you even try? 😉
I was actually in my 30s before I started enjoying cucumbers that were not pickled.
Makes me sad to think of all the time I missed chowing down on these crunchy, refreshing, low carb vegetables! Cucumbers are life, man.
I still peel and slice cucumbers and serve them with a sprinkling of salt for a simple summer side dish, but you’ll more often find my cucumbers in this German cucumber salad recipe.
It’s creamy, it’s refreshing, and it goes great with just about anything. Plus, it’s an easy way to actually get my kids to eat something green without complaint! 😉
Our Greek Cucumber Salad and Cucumber Salmon Bites are a couple of other favorites around here.
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.
FAQ:
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
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.
LORI A BRADFORD says
MAY 4TH 2019,I JUST MADE COLESLAW TODAY
TOMORROW I’M GOING TO BUY THE INGREDIENTS TO MAKE THIS CUCUMBER SALAD
I WILL SERVE BOTH WITH SOME FRIED CHICKEN
MY MOUTH IS WATERING JUST THINKING ABOUT THIS!!!!!
Jen says
As a german I’d say no garlic, no red onions. Other than that…yup, it’s german 😉
Carol Thiessen says
Straining it works, too
ERICA E HARRIS says
My new favorite salad, I used vegan mayo and added some extra seasonings, delicious
Jeffrie says
I wish my print version had a small picture of it…
Karly Campbell says
Sorry, most people complain that it wastes ink. 🙂
Anita says
Can you use regular fresh garden cucumbers instead of English cucumbers?
Karly Campbell says
Yes, but you might peel them first. 🙂
Karen Crayk says
I don’t use sweetener in anything, can you use sugar in the raw?
Karly Campbell says
Yes, any type of granulated sweetener/sugar is fine.
teresa says
Would white vingar work? Outta apple cider.
Karly Campbell says
Yes, for sure!
April Kitchen says
Added more dill and salt and used rice vinegar instead of apple cider. This stuff is really delicious!
Karly Campbell says
You can’t go wrong with extra dill! Glad you enjoyed!
Cari says
Loved it
Kristin says
Looks so delicious!! I’m gonna make this for the first time soon! Have you ever tried it with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream? Thinking about trying that.
Karly Campbell says
It works great with Greek yogurt! 🙂
Rae says
I make this often but use half sour cream and half mayo. Usually, do not add dill just a little salt and pepper.
phyllis.hein says
Looks very good I have German in me
Wanda says
I was brought up on cucumbers, sour cream, dill salad. My mother had plenty of cucumbers in her garden. Didn’t know it was a German salad, we’re Polish. I still love this cucumbers this way.
Cheryl L Nilsson says
I use a coleslaw dressing instead of the sourcream vinegar, very good also
Karly Campbell says
Oh, I bet!
Claudette ames says
really need a low carb diet and this looks perfect I would love to learn how to
Deborah says
Thank you. Delicious.
Carol Maddox says
Long ago a local restaurant served cucumbers and sour cream. Loved it, no dill, no garlic, but the rest of the recipe is the same. Make it alot!!
Jan says
If you deseed the cucumbers first it will prevent them becoming too watery.
Helen says
Can you use some thing else besides sour cream I cannot have dairy
Karly Campbell says
Mayo works just as well. 🙂