This simple marinated cucumber vinegar salad with dill is fresh, crunchy, sweet, tangy, and versatile! With just 10 minutes of prep and some marinating time, this healthy cucumber dill salad is ready to serve at potlucks, BBQs, dinner parties, and more!
Whether you’ve grown up enjoying some version of cucumber salad or they are new to you, this marinated cucumber vinegar salad embodies everything summer. It’s healthy, vibrant, fresh, and a perfect combination of sweet, salty, and tangy. And all with just a handful of inexpensive pantry staples and some cucumbers!
Unlike most salads that we chuck chopped cucumber into, this one has a delicious twist. This cucumber dill salad marinates cucumbers in a vinegar sugar mixture for a healthy, low calorie, yet vibrant and flavorful summery side dish.
Minimal effort (no peeling or de-seeding!), quick to prepare, flavorful, and low budget—what’s not to love? Simply slice and sweat the cucumbers, prepare the marinade, combine the two, and marinate to perfection! Cut the prep time further by using a mandoline or food processor disk for the slicing.
It’s also fairly versatile, whether you want a creamy cucumber salad recipe, spicy cucumber salad, a cucumber radish salad, cucumber onion salad, or more! Keep reading for our top recommendations. Once assembled, the longer the marinated cucumber salad sits, the better it tastes. Enjoy it at BBQs/ cookouts, potlucks, dinners, picnics, and more.
Looking for more simple vegetable side salads? You might also like this vegan calabacitas, bean salad, vegan coleslaw, or mango cucumber salsa.
All you need are five inexpensive ingredients (plus salt and pepper) for this easy cucumber salad.
Lemon or lime juice would work in place of the white vinegar. You could also experiment with rice vinegar or red wine vinegar in place of either vinegar.
This easy recipe can be adapted and boosted in several ways. This includes the addition of:
There are just a handful of low-fuss steps required to prepare this cucumber vinegar salad, including:
For a crisper salad, combine the vinegar and sugar only, and then add ice cubes to the salad while it marinates. This helps it chill faster, marinate quicker, and keeps the cucumbers crisp.
This salad requires two hours of marinating time, so factor that in when you plan to serve it. Otherwise, this marinated cucumber dill salad doesn’t store particularly well before becoming soggy. We recommend eating it within 1-2 days, though it should be okay for 4-5 days.
Before serving, add some extra cucumber slices to add extra ‘freshness’ back to the dish.
We don’t recommend freezing the marinated cucumbers, either, as cucumbers don’t freeze well. You can, however, prepare the vinegar marinade up to a week in advance and store it in the fridge.
I like to keep the cucumber peel as it adds extra crunch. However, peel the cucumbers if preferred.
It’s best to use either English or Persian cucumbers. These contain fewer seeds, and both have a thin peel, so they don’t require de-seeding or peeling. Depending on where you live, there are small Asian cucumbers that work very well, too.
There are several reasons this could be. First, if you haven’t allowed the cucumber to sweat (or sweat them for long enough). Second, even after sweating, the cucumbers will continue to release liquid, so it will become watery if you leave it too long.
You can also reduce or eliminate the added water in this cucumber dill salad recipe.
We know it seems a little odd to drain the excess liquid from the cucumbers and then add separate water to the marinade. But it just works.
However, feel free to experiment with omitting the water and increasing the vinegar and sugar instead, though more tweaks may be needed. If doing so, the marinated cucumbers will only require 30 minutes of marinating time.
This versatile marinated cucumber vinegar salad will pair with all sorts of meals. It’s probably easier to ask what it doesn’t go with. Here are just a few optional pairings.
Or browse through our entire list of budget-friendly vegan salad recipes)!
Disclaimer: Although plantbasedonabudget.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Plantbasedonabudget.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Janaye says
I love cucumber salads with vinegar & salt.
Teodora says
Perfect summer salad! It is one of my favorites!
Michelle says
OMG I needed this, just got two huge cucumbers and am totally going to give this a try!
Andrea White says
perfect timing! enjoy 🙂
Gina H. says
One of my favorite Plant-Based on a Budget recipes! Easy, quick, light and just so satisfying. Perfect to pair with a dense meal or as a refreshing snack in the middle of the day. You've got to try it!
Andrea White says
yess! the perfect light dish to compliment any meal!
Nora says
Such a wonderful salad! I could eat it every single day! Thank you for sharing!
Andrea White says
It's so refreshing!
Tina says
Yum! Can't wait to make these cucumbers!
Andrea White says
So flavorful!
Jacqui says
Absolutely delicious!!
MyYellowApron says
Would love to try the recipe. Thanks for sharing ❤️
Andrea White says
Hope you enjoy it!
Oscar says
I love this marinated cucumber salad. Super fresh and perfect for this time of year.
Andrea White says
Refreshing and delicious!
nancy says
i could eat this all day long
Kayla DiMaggio says
This cucumber salad was so delicious! I loved how easy it was and it was so refreshing!
Keri says
My mom used to make a salad just like for dinner. I think it was a Lithuanian recipe from her family. I was looking for something similiar, and found it! Perfect nostalgia for me.
Andrea White says
Oh wow! Very very cool. I love it when recipes bring back those fun childhood feelings! 🙂
Andrea White says
Love a good cucumber marinade!
Amanda says
Yum! So tasty and great on sandwiches.
Andrea White says
Definitely such a great topper!
kaitlin says
This recipe is soooooooo delicious. I can eat this as a snack and a side.
Andrea White says
Right?! So tasty!
Genevieve says
I love cucumbers and I love that these are marinated. This recipe is perfect for Spring and summer gatherings!
Andrea White says
Definitely perfect for summer!
Megan says
A delicious and easy salad to make. Thanks so much for another great recipe.
Andrea White says
Loveee the easy ones!