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I don’t know if there’s any salad that says “Summer” more than a simple creamy cucumber salad. This salad is so light and fresh, and it only takes minutes to make, so it’s the perfect side dish for all of your summer meals.
“Love this recipe! Reminds me of the one my grandmother made when I was a kid. Thank you.”
Carla H.
Easy Recipe for Creamy Cucumber Salad
There’s nothing fancy about this creamy cucumber salad, and that’s exactly why I love it. It’s just crisp cucumbers, a little red onion, and a creamy homemade dressing made with sour cream, lemon juice, dill, and a touch of sugar to balance the tang. I always let it sit for just a few minutes so the dill can soften and the dressing tastes more rounded, but not so long that the cucumbers lose their crunch. I’ll make a batch to go with dinner and end up eating half of it straight from the bowl before it even hits the table!
Recipe Success Tips
- Keep the dressing creamy, not watery! The dressing contains salt, which can draw moisture from the cucumbers, so I like to serve this salad immediately for the best texture. If you’re using a regular cucumber, scrape out the seedy center first because it holds extra water; it won’t change the flavor a ton, but it can thin the dressing and make the salad feel watery. English cucumbers usually have smaller, tender seeds, so I don’t bother removing them.
- Swap out the sour cream. Sour cream is my first choice for this dressing because it adds tang, richness (while still feeling light), and enough body to coat the cucumbers, but you’ve got options. Plain Greek yogurt also works and gives the salad a sharper flavor with a little extra protein. Mayo will make the dressing richer, creamier, and heavier, so I’d stir 2-4 Tbsp into the sour cream instead of replacing it completely.
- Dried dill keeps it easy and budget-friendly. Creamy cucumber salads are often made with fresh dill, but since fresh dill can sometimes be hard to find or more expensive, I made the version below with dried dill. You can certainly use fresh dill if you have access to it. I’d use about 2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill in place of the dried dill listed below.
- Use this salad to balance richer meals. The cool cucumbers, tangy sour cream dressing, and sharp red onion make this salad a great contrast for grilled, smoky, spicy, or heavier mains. Since it’s ready in about 15 minutes with no cooking, I love it as an easy side when the rest of dinner already has enough going on!
Creamy Cucumber Salad
Cost $1.58 recipe / $0.39 serving
Ingredients
- ½ cup (120 g) sour cream ($0.49*)
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice ($0.08)
- 1 tsp granulated sugar ($0.02**)
- ½ tsp dried dill ($0.05)
- ½ tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 large cucumber ($0.67***)
- ¼ red onion ($0.25)
Video
Instructions
- To make the dressing, combine the sour cream, lemon juice, sugar, dill, and salt in a bowl. Set the dressing aside.
- Peel the cucumbers, if desired. Slice the cucumbers and thinly slice the red onions.
- Combine the cucumber, red onion, and dressing in a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Let the salad sit for 5-10 minutes, give it another stir, then serve.
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Notes
Nutrition Information
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Make the dressing: Stir together ½ cup sour cream, ½ tsp dried dill, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp sugar, and ½ tsp salt until smooth and creamy. The sugar helps soften the sharpness of the lemon juice and balances the tangy sour cream, while the dill gives the dressing a classic herby flavor.
Prep the veggies: Peel the cucumber, if desired, then slice 1 large cucumber and thinly slice ¼ of a red onion. I aim for about ⅛ to ¼ inch thick cucumber slices because they are thin enough to eat easily with a fork, but not so thin that they lose their crisp texture after a short rest. Thinly slicing the red onion also keeps its sharp flavor from overpowering the creamy salad dressing.
Assemble the salad: Add the cucumber, red onion, and dressing to a large bowl. If you’re adding any extra veggies (see my suggestions below), add them here too.
Rest and serve: Stir gently until the cucumbers are evenly coated in the creamy dill dressing. I like to let the salad sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. This gives the dill, lemon, sour cream, and red onion a little time to mingle, so the dressing tastes more balanced, and the flavors have time to blend. Give it one more stir before serving so every cucumber slice is coated.
Enjoy this super fresh summer salad immediately!
Variations & Ingredient Swaps
I love this creamy cucumber salad exactly as written, but it’s also one of those simple summer sides that’s easy to tweak based on what’s in your fridge. Here are a few kitchen-tested (and reader-tested!) ways to change it up:
- Use vinegar instead of lemon juice. White vinegar gives the dressing a sharper, more classic deli-style tang, while lemon juice keeps it a little brighter and fresher. Start with a little less vinegar (about ½ Tbsp), then add more to taste.
- Try pickle juice! One reader used 1 Tbsp lemon juice and a little pickle juice, and said it adds tang and more dill flavor to the dressing. Again, start with about ½ Tbsp and add more as needed if you try this variation.
- Add more crunch and color. Thinly sliced radishes are great if you want a peppery crunch, and halved grape tomatoes add juicy sweetness and color. Just keep in mind that tomatoes release moisture as they sit, so I add them right before serving to keep the dressing thick and creamy.
- Switch up the onion. Red onion adds color and a sharp, slightly sweet bite, but white onion works if you want a stronger onion flavor. If raw onion usually tastes too harsh to you, slice it thin and let it sit in a bowl of cold water for 5-10 minutes so it mellows a little, then drain and pat dry before mixing with the dressing. I also love using pickled red onions for a tangier onion flavor!
- Try cottage cheese. A reader mentioned swapping the sour cream for cottage cheese, and I can see why it works here! It adds a creamy, tangy base with extra protein, but the texture will be thicker and more curdy than sour cream. For a smoother dressing, I’d blend the cottage cheese first, then season with lemon juice, dill, sugar, and salt to taste.
- Make it dairy-free. Another reader used plain, unsweetened dairy-free yogurt to make this creamy cucumber salad, and LOVED it! Since dairy-free yogurts vary by brand, I’d taste the dressing before adding the cucumbers and adjust the other ingredients as needed.
- Make it lighter and brighter. If you love cucumber salads but want something without the creamy dressing, try my Thai cucumber salad next. This creamy cucumber salad is cool, tangy, and rich from the sour cream, while the Thai cucumber salad has more of a vinaigrette-style dressing with rice vinegar, sesame oil, peanuts, and a sweet-tangy crunch.
Serving Suggestions
When I make this creamy cucumber salad, I usually build the rest of the meal around it. It’s so refreshing next to anything grilled! I love it with grilled shrimp, but any grilled meat, seafood, or veggies would be great. If we’re having something spicy like Nashville hot chicken, I’ll bring out this salad to balance the heat. Or for a light summer dinner, I’ll pair it with our ditalini pesto pasta salad and call it done.
And if you love a creamy dip moment, make a little extra dressing! It’s cool, tangy, and dilly, so it’s especially good with crispy, savory foods like our crab cakes or zucchini fritters. I’d also set it out with a tray of crudités (carrots, celery, bell peppers, radishes, or snap peas) for an easy snacky side.
Storage & Meal Prep Instructions
This salad is best when freshly made because the salt in the dressing will draw moisture out of the cucumbers and cause the salad to get watery if refrigerated for a day or more. Luckily, this salad is really easy to scale down! If you don’t mind the dressing thinning a little, you can store leftovers in the fridge for about 3-4 days, depending on the freshness of your ingredients. Give it a good stir before serving again.
However, if you’re planning to eat the leftovers for a few days, you can salt the cucumbers ahead of time to draw out the excess water. Just note that salting the cucumbers will make them softer (which isn’t my personal preference because I like them crunchy).
To pre-salt the cucumbers, place the sliced cucumbers in a large colander and toss with ½ tsp salt. Let the cucumbers drain for about half an hour, then pat dry with a paper towel. Since the cucumbers will already have some salt on them, skip adding salt to the sour cream dressing and just add salt to taste once the salad is assembled.
Try These Creamy Salad Recipes Next:
- This Creamy Coleslaw is ready in 10 minutes, making it such an easy side for sandwiches, burgers, or BBQ plates!
- I make this Tomato Cracker Salad when summer tomatoes are at their best, and I want something creamy, crunchy, and easy.
- This Easy Egg Salad is budget-friendly, filling, and perfect for a quick sandwich!
More Easy Cucumber Salad Recipes
Our Creamy Cucumber Salad recipe was originally published 6/6/22. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 7/21/25.
loved the recipe i just added a bit of pickle juice because i only had 1 tbs of lemon juice and it added some tang and more of the dill flavor.
This was fantastic! I served it with baked cod in a creamy sauce with mashed potatoes.
We made this and loved it. Light,delicious, and refreshing. A most excellent side dish.
This was a delicious side to my quiche lorraine. The dill flavor really gave it a summery taste. It was sooo eazy to make.
I am lactose intolerant, so I made this recipe with cashew/coconut, plain, unsweetened yogurt. It was so good that my husband (who is picky about his food) enjoyed it and said he’d definitely have it again. Great for our diets and super easy for novice chefs like me!
I made this tonight and used Greek yogurt and a little mayo. Everyone loved it and it was wonderful to have something different. It paired well with the ham, jasmine rice and some mango.
I made this and while it is good I found the quantity of lemon juice called for overpowering. Next time I will decrease that a lot.
Great recipe! Just found my mini cucumbers were about to go bad and this was the perfect recipe for them. I used cottage cheese. Yummyyy 🤗🥒
Reminds me of a cucumber salad my mom used to make when we had fresh dill in the garden. Delicious, simple, and highly customizable. I added some sliced red pepper just to get some more veggies in, but it does work best with cucumbers.
Loved it. Made with home grown cucumbers a friend gave me
Thank you for this excellent recipe. It turned out well. I did modify it by using yogurt and mayonnaise instead of sour cream, chiefly because I did not have any sour cream. It was still lovely.
I appreciate that this recipe called for things (other than sour cream) which were economical and likely to be in most American cupboards. That was a huge bonus.
I’ve printed out this recipe to keep. We’ll have it again, and again, an…
You get the point. It’s a rainy August in the deep South. The cucumber vines are spewing out cucumbers at the cyclic rate. We’re trying desperately to keep up!
Great fresh delicious idea for summer! Great recipes!
I just made this tonight and it came out GREAT! I used an English cucumber, homemade mayo and I forgot the sugar and lemon but it still tastes great 😊 I’m excited to munch on it for the next day or so
I’ve got some extra pickled red onions on hand, I’m thinking those would work nicely in this but what do you think?
Made it last week and loved it! Making it again for lunch. Thank you for sharing.