Cucumber Onion Salad

Cucumber onion salad is one of those dishes you have seen all summer in the South. I remember my grandma and parents making it when cucumbers were in season. The nostalgia of this side dish brings a smile to my face, but nostalgia isn’t the only reason it’s stuck around – it’s just undeniably good! Fresh, seasonal, and delicious.

This Cucumber Onion Salad pairs perfectly with southern meals that tend to be a bit heavy with meat and potatoes. If you’re looking to make a cucumber salad to pair with another cuisine, you could leave it as is or simply add a few of your favorite spices. For example, if I make this with shwarma, I’d just add some sumac and parsley. It’s a versatile side dish, so feel inspired to make it your own! If you’re not sure if you’ll like the end product, just add a little of your chosen spice to a bite and try it before mixing it into the dish.

How to Make Cucumber Onion Salad

This won’t take long! All you need to do is slice up the veggies and add the salt, pepper, and vinegar. That’s usually all we add, but if you’re feeling spicy, add some garlic, cayenne pepper, or whatever strikes your fancy. This recipe is more like a guideline for ratio of vinegar to vegetables; feel empowered to make it your own with other vegetables, vinegars, and spices. Some people add a pinch of sugar to help balance the acidity of the vinegar, so if you like it a little less tart that’s a good option.

Quick Pickles

Quick pickles are such an easy way to use fresh produce and add a fresh zing to your plate. Since it’s a “quick pickle”, the veggies maintain that fresh crunch followed by a nice tangy bite from the vinegar. After a few days in the fridge, the cucumbers will get a little softer and a bit more “pickly”.

Besides eating your veggies raw with a little salt, this is hands down one of the most convenient ways to use your garden produce. Other veggies that are great for quick pickles include:

• Tomatoes
• Squash
• Carrots
• Green Beans
• Cabbage
• Fennel

Fermenting Instead of Using Vinegar:

If you’re looking for a way to heal or improve your gut health, a quick fermented pickle is the way to go. All you’ll need is your vegetable(s) of choice, water, and salt. Mother nature will do the rest. The most important part is making sure you get the right amount of salt that can help break down the vegetables and create the right environment for good microorganisms to grow. Since the point of fermenting is basically to grow a culture of good bacteria, you’ll want to make sure you keep your salt level to 2-3%.

The easiest way to do this is by:

1. Adding your veggies to a jar (most veggies are great for fermenting, but just keep in mind some veggies like potatoes can’t be consumed raw).
2. Set your jar on a scale and tare.
3. Keeping the jar on the scale, fill to 1/4-1/2 inch head space with distilled or filtered water (I use well water, but if you’re on city water, you’ll want to pick up a jug of distilled water).
4. Once you have your jar filled, multiply the weight in grams (tared after veggies are added, so just the weight of the water) by 0.025 to get the amount of salt(g) you need.
5. Then add that amount of salt to the jar and let it sit on the counter away from sunlight for 3-5 days, depending on how sour you like your pickles. I normally go for 4 days; if you like them more sour, go for 5 or 6. Be sure to release pressure every day by opening the lid if you’re using an air tight jar/container.
6. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a few months, some people keep them even longer. Like with peppers, I’ll just keep those in the fridge year-round until a new harvest comes. You can use both the peppers and the juice in your cooking for a nice spicy zing.

Turn this Cucumber Onion Salad into a ferment:

That said, you could make this Cucumber Onion Salad a ferment by omitting the vinegar and putting the veggies in a 2.5% salt brine for 3-4 days (will take less time since the cucumbers and onions are sliced). In that case, I would add them to a quart jar, fill in with water, add salt, and let them sit for 3 days before I start tasting. That’s the easiest way to know if they’re done fermenting, just taste them every day until you find the sour level you like.

More Summer Recipes:

Chicken Capricciosa (Chicken with Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella Salad)

Prosciutto & Breadcrumb Stuffed Eggplant in Tomato Sauce

Savory Zucchini and Potato Tortino

Rigatoni di Spago with Tomato, Spinach, and Mozzarella

Air Fryer Black Pepper and Turmeric Okra

Print Recipe

Cucumber Onion Salad

Side dish, Dinner, Lunch, Pickle – American

By Katelyn Bailey – Serves: 3-4

Prep Time: 10 minutes – Cooking Time: 0 minutes – Total Time: 10 minutes

The perfect summer side dish to add a little fresh zing to a meal. Takes less than 5-10 minutes to make and lasts for about a week in the fridge. Great for meal prep!

Ingredients

• 1 large cucumber or 4 pickling cucumbers, thinly sliced into rounds
• 1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup vinegar (red or white wine, apple cider, etc.; I like white wine vinegar for this)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• pinch of sugar *optional, helps balance acidity
• dash of cayenne pepper *optional

Instructions

1

Combine the cucumbers and onion in a bowl.

2

Mix together all other ingredients and mix into the cucumber and onions.

3

And that's it!

Nutrition

• 30 Calories
• 7.1g Carbohydrates
• .3g Fat
• 2.2g Fiber
• 1.2g Protein
• .1g Saturated fat
• 5mg Sodium
• 1.4g Sugar

Notes

Store in the fridge for up to a week. It will last longer, but for best flavor, try to eat within the first 4-5 days.