Cucumber Salad with Balsamic Dressing
This low-carb Cucumber Salad with Balsamic Dressing just might become the cucumber salad recipe you make all summer long! And this balsamic cucumber salad is so easy and delicious, and when you have fresh garden cucumbers, that will only make it better!
PIN the balsamic cucumber salad to try it later.
I found this easy, easy, easy but amazing cucumber salad years ago on a big recipe site that’s no longer online, and I’ve been making the salad every summer since I first tried it! And cucumber salad weather is finally here in Utah, and recently I made this Cucumber Salad with Balsamic Dressing again and remembered how much I love it.
I first made the salad when I was growing cucumbers in my garden, and oh my, if you have fresh garden cucumbers that will make this amazing salad even better! And I’m always searching for new ways to use up garden veggies like cucumbers, squash, and tomatoes, so when I make a cucumber salad over and over you know it’s really a winner.
I’ll be honest, it’s partly the mayonnaise in the slightly sweet and sour tasting but creamy dressing that makes me like this salad so much! I hope you’ll remember it when cucumbers are so abundant later this summer.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe:
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- mini cucumbers or garden cucumbers
- mayo
- best quality balsamic vinegar
- Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) or other sweetener of your choice
- fresh-squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
- Minced Garlic (affiliate link) or garlic puree
- sea salt to taste
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
Should you use White Balsamic Vinegar for this salad?
I don’t mind the slightly brown color from the balsamic vinegar, but I would probably use white balsamic vinegar (affiliate link) for the balsamic cucumber salad if you have some.
What gives the balsamic cucumber salad the sweet and sour flavor notes?
Of course balsamic vinegar has both sweet and sour flavors, but there are other ingredients that add to the easy dressing for this salad. I sweetened the dressing with Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link), and used my fresh-frozen lemon juice.
Want more refreshing cucumber salad ideas?
You can use Low-Carb Cucumber Salads to Keep You Cool to see more of my many favorite salads with cucumbers!
How to make Cucumber Salad with Balsamic Dressing:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- I used small Persian cucumbers which don’t need to be peeled. Cut the Cucumbers into same-size slices.
- Whisk together balsamic vinegar, mayo, sweetener, lemon juice, and garlic to make the dressing.
- Mix the desired amount of dressing on to the cucumbers, season with salt and fresh ground black pepper, and serve!
- It really doesn’t get much easier than this for a salad with cucumbers! Hope all the cucumber fans enjoy the recipe.
More Swoon-Worthy Salads with Cucumbers:
- Al’s Famous Hungarian Cucumber Salad
- Cucumber and Radish Salad with Feta Dressing
- Thai Cucumber Salad
- Cucumber Salad with Parsley and Feta
- Tomato Cucumber Avocado Salad
Cucumber Salad with Balsamic Dressing
This Cucumber Salad with Balsamic Dressing just might become a favorite you make all summer long.
Ingredients
- 8 mini cucumbers
- 1/4 cup mayo (see notes)
- 1 T best quality balsamic vinegar (see notes)
- 2 T Monkfruit Sweetener or other sweetener of your choice (see notes)
- 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp. garlic puree (also called ground garlic)
- sea salt to taste
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Trim ends off the cucumbers, and cut into slices about 3/8 inch thick. (I didn’t peel the Persian cucumbers I used. If you have garden cucumbers you could cut some of the peel off to make strips, which would look nice. If you have waxed cucumbers from the grocery store, I would peel them completely.)
- In small bowl or measuring cup, use whisk to combine mayo, white balsamic vinegar (affiliate link), Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) or sweetener of your choice, lemon juice, and garlic.
- I would start with the smaller amount of sweetener and taste to see if you want to add more sweetener.
- Place the cucumbers in serving bowl.
- Combine cucumbers with dressing, season with sea salt and pepper, and serve.
- The salad can also be chilled for an hour or two before serving.
Notes
Use regular or light mayo, whichever you prefer. You can use white balsamic vinegar if you prefer a whiter dressing. Use more or less sweetener, depending on the quality of your vinegar; I would add one tablespoon and taste and keep adding more until it seems right to you. I love Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) but use any sweetener you prefer.
Adapted slightly from a recipe I found online in 2006, on a big recipe site that’s no longer online.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 118Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 6mgSodium 236mgCarbohydrates 6gFiber 1gSugar 3gProtein 1g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Cucumber Salad with Balsamic Dressing is a perfect side dish for low-carb or Keto diets or any phase of the original South Beach Diet. Use the type of mayo that fits your diet plan.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Cucumber Recipes or Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This balsamic cucumber salad recipe was first posted in 2006, and I’ve made it every year since then! The recipe was updated with new photos in 2017 and last updated with more information in 2023.
25 Comments on “Cucumber Salad with Balsamic Dressing”
OMG, this dressing is AMAZING!!! I made the dressing several days ahead (I kept forgetting to buy cucumbers), and it kept beautifully. Although everyone scarfed this (my mom kept saying she just wanted to drink the dressing, lol), next time I make it, I think I’ll salt the cucumbers first to draw out the water. The dressing got a little watery, even though I used English cucumbers which aren’t usually very wet. But this is definitely a winner, and my family is already asking for it again. Thank you for a brilliant and easy recipe!!!
So glad you enjoyed it! Salting the cucumbers certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Great tasting side dish. I used one packet of Stevia and it was sweet enough for me. Also used my garlic press and used 2 garlic cloves. (We love garlic). Made ahead and refrigerated before dinner. Thanks for the tasty recipe!
The packets of sweetener are much more concentrated than the granular sweetener I use, so that makes sense. So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I love this recipe! Although I omit the lemon juice and sugar.
So glad you are enjoying it!
I checked on Yummly for carb count. It's something like 19 net carbs? I don't understand what drives the carbs up in this recipe. Could you shed any light on this for me. It looks like a delicious recipe I'd like to try. Thank you!
This illustrates perfectly why I don't want to try to calculate carbs! I checked the ingredients separately and there is nothing here with many carbs. There are some carbs in balsamic vinegar, but the amount per serving when it's divided into four servings is minimal. I would definitely not hesitate to eat it; sorry I don't have any idea why the carb count is showing up as so high though.
We are getting our garden spot ready to plant. Just had snow this past week. I'm so excited to plant cucumbers! I haven't had a garden for almost 10 years, not since I moved to Colorado from Missouri. Sliced cucumbers with purple onions in a balsamic dressing is what we used to have. Love that stuff! Thanks for sharing!
Garden cucumbers are so amazing! Hope you enjoy the salad.
This looks so yummy! Now I wish I would have planted some cucumbers! I guess I'll just have to make a vendor at the farmer's market happy 🙂
Thanks for the nice feedback everyone.
Kelly, glad you're enjoying the recipes.
I have used a few of your recipes now and I just love them all!!!
Wow! The dressing is very intriguing-sounding.
This sounds delicious. I am growing cucumbers so hopefully I will be able to try this soon!
Great timing! I just bought a large package of the small Persian cucumbers at the market yesterday. Not quite as good as garden-fresh, but still pretty tasty.
Hello Kalyn,
I am so happy to discover your wonderful blog.
I have tried some of the recipes and love how easy they are to make thanks to your instructions.
Sending you beautiful thoughts and + vibes from Paris, France.
Brigitte
http://www.myspace.com/brigittebeling
Stephanie, thanks so much for the feedback, it means a lot to me. I did love this salad, especially for so few ingredients. Good luck on South Beach.
Yesterday was my first day on SBD and I decided to add this to my dinner. It was SOOOO tasty! I love my cukes, but my DH always turns them down. However, he ate these and asked if he could take the leftovers to work for lunch today.
Thanks for this recipe and so far I’ve found your site so useful.
Mimi, I like the idea of red onions in this a lot.
Sher, it was a keeper for sure.
That looks delicious! I always look for new ways to fix cucumbers. Great picture too!
I make a very similar salad, using pear-infused balasamic vinegar and red onions. But I will try yours — a little variation is good!
Christine, thanks. It was really quite yummy.
Linda meant to leave that comment on the recipe for Sun Dried Tomato Pesto, but no worries. I guess I’m not sold on the idea of pine nuts in pesto. The nuts are ok, but not totally necessary in my humble opinion.
kaylyn–I can’t wait to try this pesto recipe. I am surprised there were no pine nuts in the mixture!? Lt
I wouldn’t have thought of combining balsamic vinegar with mayonnaise Kalyn. Now I will! Nice recipe.