Fresh, zingy, and refreshing, this Southern cucumber salad comes together quickly and easily with a few simple ingredients. Tossed in red wine vinegar, this healthy and light salad is perfect for the summertime.

Southern cucumber salad with red onion in a bowl with wooden salad spoons.

If you've got some fresh cucumbers to use up, this salad is a must-make! So easy to make and super tangy and refreshing, this Southern cucumber salad is perfect for those summer cookouts.

Made from scratch and low in fat, calories, and carbs, this is an excellent accompaniment to your BBQ feast or to serve alongside your favorite weeknight dinners.

Thinly sliced cucumber and red onion are tossed in a simple red wine dressing for a bold and delicious bite.

Be sure to try my Sweet Chili Thai Cucumber Salad and Cucumber Ginger Juice too!

A Quick Look at The Ingredients

Vegetables: Cucumbers and red onion. I tend to pick either English or Kirby cucumbers for this recipe.
Salt - Kosher salt for drawing out the liquid in the cucumber. You can also use sea salt or table salt. If using table salt, half the amount.
Other ingredients: red wine vinegar, white granulated sugar, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.

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How to make Southern cucumber salad

Step 1: Place sliced cucumbers in a colander set over a bowl or dish. Sprinkle kosher salt over sliced cucumbers. Stir to ensure the salt covers all the cucumbers. Let it sit for about 15-30 minutes. The liquid will drip from the cucumbers.

Using a paper towel or a clean kitchen towel, gently remove excess moisture and salt from the cucumber slices and place them in a large bowl.

Step 2: Add red onion, red wine vinegar, sugar, black pepper, and crushed red pepper (if using) to the bowl and stir till combined. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve and enjoy.

Sliced red onion and cucumbers in a bowl.

Do you have to salt the cucumbers?

Salting the cucumbers removes excess water, making your salad nice and crunchy, and preventing water from pooling at the bottom. If you are serving this immediately, you can skip this step. However, the flavors are best when the salad is chilled for at least an hour before serving.

What else can you add to this salad?

This Southern cucumber salad is super delicious just as it is, but you can easily adapt it to suit your own tastes. For a creamy salad, stir in a little sour cream, or try adding fresh herbs like dill, cilantro or basil for a different flavor. You can also add in other thinly sliced crunchy veggies like carrot or radish too.

What do you serve it with?

This refreshing salad is a great addition to a cookout, potluck or BBQ and it's great to take on picnics. It works great with all kinds of chicken, fish and meat dishes, try it with some of these favorites:

Southern cucumber salad served in a white bowl.

Tanya's Recipe Notes and Tips

Salting the cucumber will allow the dressing to stick to the cucumbers and keep them crunchy.
Any type of cucumber can be used in this recipe. If your cucumber has a waxy exterior, consider peeling it before using it in this recipe.
Make it your own by adding fresh herbs like dill or basil.

More Salad Recipes

Tanya

Southern Cucumber Salad

5 from 6 votes

Fresh, zingy and refreshing, this Southern cucumber salad comes together quickly and easily with a few simple ingredients. Tossed in a red wine vinaigrette, this healthy and light salad is perfect for the summertime.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20

Chill Time 1

Total Time 1 20

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Calories: 39

Ingredients

2 medium-sized cucumbers thinly sliced (about 1 lb)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ red onion sliced
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons white granulated sugar
⅛ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional

Equipment

Colander

handheld mandolin

Large bowl

Instructions

Place sliced cucumbers in a colander that has been placed over a bowl or dish. Sprinkle kosher salt over sliced cucumbers. Stir to ensure salt gets over all the cucumbers. Let sit for about 15-30 minutes. The liquid will drip from the cucumbers.
Using a paper towel or clean kitchen towel, remove excess moisture and salt from the cucumber slices and place the slices in a large bowl.
Add red onion, red wine vinegar, sugar, black pepper, and crushed red pepper (if using) to the bowl and stir till combined. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve and enjoy.

Nutrition

Calories: 39kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 1169mgPotassium: 249mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 177IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 29mgIron: 1mg

Video

Notes

Salting the cucumber will allow the dressing to stick to the cucumbers and keep them crunchy. When drying the cucumbers, remove any excess salt that you don't want on the cucumbers. I like to leave a bit of salt on the cucumbers so the salad is perfectly seasoned.
Any type of cucumber will work in this recipe. If your cucumber has a waxy exterior, consider peeling it before using it in this recipe.
Make it your own by adding fresh herbs like dill or basil.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

Comments

5 from 6 votes (2 ratings without comment)