I love this creamy cucumber salad made with fresh dill, our simple yogurt dressing, and onions! This tzatziki-inspired summer salad is super simple to make and tastes incredible.
This creamy cucumber salad recipe, inspired by our tzatziki sauce, has been on repeat lately. It’s super simple to make, goes with almost anything, and, thanks to the Greek yogurt, is healthy!
See this easy cucumber salad recipe for a vinegar-based salad, or try our chopped cucumber tomato salad!
Key Ingredients
How to Make Creamy Cucumber Salad
When making cucumber salads, I always salt my cucumbers. Think of it as a quick marinade for the cucumbers. Salting makes cucumbers taste better! We do the same thing with tomatoes (see our bruschetta recipe or this cherry tomato salad).
To do it, toss your cucumber slices with salt in a colander. After 30 minutes, rinse the cucumbers and shake them mostly dry. While you wait for the cucumbers, make the dressing, which also benefits from some extra time.
For the tzatziki yogurt dressing, combine Greek yogurt with garlic, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, dill, and lots of black pepper. Season with a pinch of salt, then set it aside while the cucumbers sit. Since the dressing contains garlic, the extra 30 minutes give the garlic a chance to flavor the dressing.
Since we love cucumber and onion salads, we throw in sliced red onion. Like garlic, onion adds flavor, so we add the sliced onions straight to the dressing. This way, while the cucumbers are salting, we take full advantage of the time to infuse as much flavor into the dressing as possible.
When the cucumbers are ready, toss them with the dressing and onions. You can serve the salad immediately or let it sit in the refrigerator for a day. As the salad sits, it becomes more flavorful, but the cucumbers soften. We’re not too worried about that, but it is something to remember.
Easy Creamy Cucumber Salad
Creamy cucumber salad tossed with a tzatziki-inspired yogurt dressing. Salting the cucumbers for 30 minutes before making the salad helps to draw excess water out and makes the cucumbers taste even more cucumbery. As this salad sits, the flavor gets better and better. Keep in mind; however, the cucumbers will continue to release water, thinning the dressing out a bit. We’re okay with this, though, since the cucumber “water” adds even more flavor to the dressing. If the dressing gets too thin, add another spoonful of yogurt.
Makes about 6 cups
You Will Need 1 1/4 pounds cucumber, sliced (2 medium)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more as needed
3 tablespoons thick plain Greek yogurt, we use Fage whole milk
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Juice from 1 lemon wedge
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic (1 small clove)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
Fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup sliced red onion (1 small onion)
More fresh dill and or mint leaves, optional
Directions
1Add the sliced cucumbers to a colander and toss with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Set aside for 30 minutes, either in the sink or placed over a bowl to drain.
2Meanwhile, make the cucumber salad dressing. In a large bowl, stir the yogurt, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, and chopped dill together. Season with a pinch of salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Mix the onions around in the yogurt dressing then set aside until the cucumbers are ready.
3After 30 minutes of salting the cucumbers, rinse them with cold water. Shake off excess water then add to the dressing. Toss the cucumbers until coated. Taste then season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Serve with more fresh herbs scattered on top. Serve or keep refrigerated up to 2 days.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
Use thinner skinned Persian cucumbers (smaller) or English cucumbers (often wrapped in plastic) for this. They are a bit more crisp with fewer seeds than regular cucumbers.
Swap Greek yogurt for sour cream.
Mint is excellent in this salad. We especially love adding torn or whole mint leaves to the salad before serving.
The combination of red wine vinegar and fresh lemon makes the salad more interesting, but you can use one or the other if that is all you have.
Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1 cup
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Calories
28
/
Total Fat
0.6g
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Saturated Fat
0.3g
/
Cholesterol
1.2mg
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Sodium
200.1mg
/
Total Carbohydrate
5g
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Dietary Fiber
0.7g
/
Total Sugars
2.4g
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Protein
1.6g
AUTHOR:
Adam and Joanne Gallagher