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Published: . Last Updated: by: Ginny McMeans
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Cucumber Vinegar Salad has thinly sliced cukes, red onions, seasonings, and a sweet vinegar dressing. This healthy cucumber salad is easy, crisp, and refreshing.
Cucumber salads should be a staple at picnics and get-togethers on lazy summer days. You know, like a tradition.
I'll admit I never had a cucumber salad until I was in my 20s, but as soon as I took my first bite, I was hooked.
I bet you love them, too. Not especially the mayonnaise kind but the fresh and light marinated kind. Marinated with distilled white or apple cider vinegar that has been sweetened with sugar and spices.
Salads are such a welcoming treat, too. Whether leaf salads or made from other vegetables, they always seem like a great addition.
And pasta salads can become a complete lunch! I have about 15 salads on this blog, and each one is very different from the other.
And this healthy cucumber salad is right in keeping with my theme of beautiful, tasty, and unique salads. Cucumbers and red onions are the stars.
Table of Contents
What is an English cucumber?
An English Cucumber has a thinner skin than a regular cucumber, and its seeds are smaller.
They are mild in taste with no bitter taste.
English Cucumbers do not cause you to burp, so their other handle is burpless cucumbers. I've seen them as hothouse cucumbers, too.
Sometimes, each cucumber comes in its own tight, clear wrapper. Just look at those smooth, long, and thin English cucumbers in the photo below.
Ingredients
- English or young regular cucumbers are this salad's main crispy flavored vegetables.
- Red onion - gives a flavor contrast in a milder way than other onions.
- Celery seeds - are surprisingly flavorful and are often used in brines.
- Salt - a little bit goes a long way for this seasoning.
- Vinegar - is acidic and helps the flavors become infused into the vegetables.
- Water - helps dissolve the sugar when it is heated.
- Sugar - counterbalances the acidic flavor of vinegar and makes the best dressing when combined.
Instructions
- Bring vinegar, water, and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
- Take off the heat and let it cool while preparing the vegetables.
- Slice cucumbers and onions and place in a large bowl.
- Sprinkle on celery seed and salt.
- Pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumbers and mix well. You can enjoy the recipe right now, but it gets even better after it has rested and marinated in the dressing overnight.
- Place in an airtight container, cover, and seal.
- Place in refrigerator. to meld.
Cucumber salad variations
- Even though I consider this cucumber vinegar salad recipe perfect there are additions and changes that you can make.
- I quickly mentioned this above but you can use apple cider vinegar instead of white distilled vinegar. It is slightly less acidic.
- You can substitute coconut sugar for the granulated sugar. It is a wonderful flavor and that is what I did for this Mildly Marinated Cauliflower recipe.
- You can switch out the celery seed for fresh dill or dill seed.
- Sprinkle in a little black pepper.
- There are many more things that can be done including adding more seasonings and maybe even chopped tomatoes but then you'd have to change the salad name.
More great raw salads
- Apple Pecan Salad with Raisins
- Superfood Salad with Maple Vinaigrette
📋 Recipe
Cucumber Vinegar Salad
Ginny McMeans
Cucumber Vinegar Salad has thinly sliced cukes, red onions, seasonings, and a sweet vinegar dressing.
4.23 from 70 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 5 minutes mins
Total Time 20 minutes mins
Servings 4 Servings
Calories 174 kcal
Ingredients
- 3 cups English cucumbers or regular cucumbers - thinly sliced and this is an estimate on the number of cups. It may be four cups.
- 1 ½ cups red onion - sliced
- 1 tablespoon celery seed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar
- ½ cup water
- ¾ cup organic granulated sugar
Instructions
In a small saucepan, bring vinegar, water and sugar to boil and stir until sugar is dissolved.
Take off the heat and let it cool while you're preparing the vegetables.
Slice cucumbers and onions and place in large bowl.
Sprinkle on celery seed and salt.
Pour the vinegar mixture over cucumbers and mix well.
Place in an airtight container, cover and seal. Place in refrigerator to meld. It will keep nice for three to four days.
Notes
Each serving is about 1 to 1 ½ cups.
Can be made up to 3 to 4 days before serving
Nutrition
Serving: 1ServingCalories: 174kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 593mgPotassium: 136mgFiber: 1gSugar: 39gVitamin A: 82IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 45mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
More Salads
- Vegan Macaroni Salad Recipe
- Apple Pecan Salad with Raisins
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- Vegan Broccoli Salad
Reader Interactions
Comments
Debra
Pour the sauce over the cucumber and onion while it’s hot?!
Ginny McMeans
It has to cool. I thought I had that in there Debra. Thanks for the heads up.
Kaelin
This was delicious! It reminded me of the cucumber salad I had years ago and then I forgot about it. So glad to have this back in my life. Thank you for the easy recipe too.Ann Marie
My dad use to make cucumbers and apple cider vinegar…loved it. Was looking for something a little more. Made this tonight and it was AMAZING! My husband is away, but I can’t wait to make it for him! I’m going to make this every chance I get! Thank you!!!
Janice
Great flavor. I used white wine vinegar, dill weed and muck fruit in place of the sugar. This will cut back in the carbs. Love this recipe.
