In this post I’m sharing a classic brined Cucumber Salad Recipe.

We are in the midst of the growing season in the South so the cucumbers are plentiful. What do you do with all those cucumbers? Top salads, make pickles, slice them and sprinkle with a touch of salt for snacks.

Yes to all of those, and of course, make the classic old fashioned Cucumber Salad. It’s likely you remember your grandmother making this cool summer side dish. When it’s hot, cool refreshing side dishes are always welcome.

There are team sweet, team salty and team tangy people who enjoy this dish. I prefer a nice balance of the sweet and salt so it doesn’t overwhelm the salad but still has that nice tang from the vinegar.

If you’ve been following Julia’s Simply Southern for a while, you’ve heard me say this before, recipes always vary according to who’s making it. Give the recipe a try and you can always adjust if needed to better suit your taste.

Easy Summer Side

Like many others, I don’t especially care for really heavy meals on the hottest days of summer. Light and fresh are always perfect, easier to digest and doesn’t make you feel weighted down.

It’s humid and we can barely breathe down here in the South! WHEW! Heavy meals can make you just drag along. No thank you. Sometimes just a cool vegetable plate is perfection. Plus there is minimal effort to prepare the meal.

Tangy Cucumber and Onion Salad with Vinegar

Ingredients

1/2 c White Vinegar
1/2 c Hot Water (from the faucet)
2 tbs Granulated Sugar
1 tbs Kosher Salt
2 Large Cucumbers
1/2 Vidalia Onion, thinly sliced
Cracked Black Pepper, to taste (optional)
1 tsp Chopped Fresh Dill (optional)

To begin, we are going to make the brine or dressing if you prefer. Add the white vinegar (you can also use apple cider if that’s your preference) and hot water to a mixing bowl.

Add the sugar and kosher salt to the mixing bowl and whisk until completely dissolved. The liquid will be clear when everything is dissolved well.

Allow the brine mixture to cool for half and hour.

After the brine has cooled, peel the cucumbers. If desired, use the tines of a fork to score the sides of the cucumber. Scoring the cucumber makes a nicer presentation for me but it’s completely optional.

Cucumber Salad Recipe with fresh cucumbers

Slice the cucumber and add the slices to the brine. I slice the cucumbers about 1/4″ or less while some prefer very thin slices, such as those you’ll get from using a mandolin.

Add the thinly sliced Vidalia onions to the brine with the cucumbers. Stir to combine everything together.

Can You Make This Salad Ahead of Time?

Add cracked black pepper and fresh dill if desired.

Cover and refrigerate one to three hours.

Use a slotted spoon to remove salad from brine mixture before serving.

Dill Cucumber and Vidalia Salad

Old Fashioned Southern Sweet and Tangy Cucumber Salad with Onion

Let’s make this Cucumber Salad Recipe!

Yield: 1 Side Dish

Cucumber Salad

Name: Cucumber Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: Southern United States
Ingredients: 1/2 c White Vinegar; 1/2 c Hot Water (from the faucet); 2 tbs Granulated Sugar; 1 tbs Kosher Salt; 2 Large Cucumbers; 1/2 Vidalia Onion, thinly sliced; Cracked Black Pepper, to taste (optional); 1 tsp Chopped Fresh Dill (optional)

Classic Southern cucumber and Vidalia onion salad in a sweet and tangy vinegar dressing

Prep Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 c White Vinegar
1/2 c Hot Water (from the faucet)
2 tbs Granulated Sugar
1 tbs Kosher Salt
2 Large Cucumbers
1/2 Vidalia Onion, thinly sliced
Cracked Black Pepper, to taste (optional)
1 tsp Chopped Fresh Dill (optional)

Instructions

To begin, we are going to make the brine or dressing if you prefer. Add the white vinegar (you can also use apple cider if that's your preference) and hot water to a mixing bowl.
Add the sugar and kosher salt to the mixing bowl and whisk until completely dissolved. The liquid will be clear when everything is dissolved well.
Allow the brine mixture to cool for half and hour.
After the brine has cooled, peel the cucumbers. If desired, use the tines of a fork to score the sides of the cucumber. Scoring the cucumber makes a nicer presentation for me but it's completely optional.
Slice the cucumber and add the slices to the brine. I slice the cucumbers about 1/4" or less while some prefer very thin slices, such as those you'll get from using a mandolin.
Add the thinly sliced Vidalia onions to the brine with the cucumbers. Stir to combine everything together.
Add cracked black pepper and fresh dill if desired.
Cover and refrigerate one to three hours.
Use a slotted spoon to remove salad from brine mixture before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 44Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 163mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 1gSugar: 7gProtein: 1g

You may also be interested in:
Old School Pineapple Salad
Sautéed Kale Salad

See it at:
The Weekend Potluck
Meal Plan Monday

Meet Julia

Author of Julia's Simply Southern

About Julia

Hey Y'all! I'm Julia, the cook and writer behind the recipes here at Julia's Simply Southern. I began my website so that I could share easy to follow recipes that anyone can use to put a home cooked meal on the dinner table. Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Elise

Thursday 1st of September 2022

Do you think parsley would work in place of dill? I bought that on accident :)

Julia Jordan

Sunday 4th of September 2022

Hi Elise, Sorry for my delayed response. Dill has dill flavor while parsley doesn't really have any. You could certainly use the parsley though and skip the dill. ~Julia

Sue Lau

Friday 1st of February 2019

This is one of my favorites in the summer!

Anonymous

Monday 24th of July 2017

We love cucumber salads in the summer. I exchange STEVIA for the sugar ... that reduces the calories and it tastes great .... if you're diabetic or watching your weight ... this makes this dish a good one for you.

Gwen

Saturday 22nd of July 2017

I JUST picked 6 cukes last night. Thanks for the recipe :)

Julia

You're welcome Gwen! I hope you enjoy the salad. :)

marye

Friday 21st of July 2017

There's nothing more refreshing than a good cucumber salad! I love the way you made the edges a little extra fancy - pretty food just tastes better.

It really does Marye! Thank you.