Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad is a classic salad made with cucumbers and fresh dill, and it’s refreshing and perfect for summer. And this is a MUST MAKE salad when you have fresh garden cucumbers!

PIN the sweet and sour cucumbers to try it later!

Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad shown in serving bowl with dill

As soon as I start getting lots of garden cucumbers this Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad is the type of salad I love for a summer side dish. It’s a simple recipe that includes cucumbers, salt, white wine vinegar, sweetener of your choice, and black pepper, and then what bumps this up into the category of memorable cucumber salads is the addition of lots of fresh dill.

I love dill, so I used even more than the recipe called for, but even if you think you’re not that crazy about dill I’m begging you to try some in this salad. Another thing that makes the sweet and sour cucumbers such a great summer salad is that it’s made in advance, and then chilled in the fridge for an hour (or longer) before serving.

I like this delicious and refreshing cucumber salad with dill so much that I’m reminding you about it for my Friday Favorites pick this week! What are you waiting for? Get some cucumbers wherever you can, and make this salad!

What ingredients do you need for this salad?

(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.)

  • cucumbers
  • coarse grind kosher salt (or coarse grind sea salt)
  • White Wine Vinegar (affiliate link)
  • Granulated Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) or other sweetener of your choice
  • fresh ground black pepper
  • chopped fresh dill 

What if you don’t have fresh dill?

I haven’t tried making the salad with dried dill weed (affiliate link), but I am guessing it would still be pretty good! I’d use just a tablespoon or so of dried dill, and if anyone tries that I’d love to hear how it works!

What sweetener did I use for the Sweet and Sour Cucumbers?

I’m a fan of Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) and that’s what I’d use for this salad. But any sweetener you prefer will work, even sugar if you don’t care about the carbs.

Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad process shots collage

How to make Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad:

(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.)

  1. I’d love to make this with garden cucumbers, but these European cucumbers from Costco were also great in the salad.
  2. I sliced the cucumbers with a Mandoline Slicer (affiliate link). (I got mine as a gift from a student about years ago!) You can also slice with a knife but the mandoline is faster and makes nice even slices.
  3. Put sliced cucumbers into a colander placed in the sink and sprinkle over 1 T coarse-ground salt, mixing it a bit with your fingers. Let sit 15 minutes.
  4. While cucumber drain, wash the fresh dill, spin dry or dry with paper towels, then chop.
  5. Mix together white wine vinegar, Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) or sweetener of your choice, and black pepper and then stir in the chopped dill. (I confess, I added a bit more dill after I took this photo!)
  6. After 15 minutes, pat cucumbers dry with a paper towel. (The water that’s released will wash off most of the salt.)
  7. Mix cucumbers with the dressing in a plastic bowl that has a tight-fitting lid (or use a Ziploc bag.)
  8. Refrigerate cucumbers with dressing for an hour or longer, turning the bowl over a few times if you’re around.
  9. Serve cold.

Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad cropped image shown in serving bowl

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

When it’s hot outside, I’d eat this with something like Marinated Flank Steak, Rosemary Mustard Grilled Chicken, Grilled Chicken with Balsamic Vinegar, Chicken Souvlaki, or Grilled Shrimp Skewers for a tasty low-carb dinner!

More Cucumber Salads For Summer:

Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad with Fresh Dill from KalynsKitchen.com
Yield: 6 servings

Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad

Prep Time 20 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

This Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad is delicious with fresh garden cucumbers and fresh dill.

Ingredients

  • 2 European cucumbers, thinly sliced (see notes)
  • 1 T coarse grind kosher salt (or coarse grind sea salt)
  • 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
  • 3 T Monkfruit Sweetener
  • 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill (or more)

Instructions

  1. Cut ends of cucumbers, but do not peel.
  2. Slice into thin slices. I used a 3mm blade in the Mandoline Slicer (affiliate link), but you can also thinly slice the cucumbers by hand.)
  3. Put cucumbers in a colander placed in the sink and sprinkle with 1 T coarsely ground kosher salt.
  4. Mix it around a bit with your fingers so all the cucumbers have some salt on them.
  5. Let cucumbers sit and release water for 15 minutes.
  6. While cucumbers drain, wash dill, spin dry or dry with paper towels, then finely chop.
  7. Combine white wine vinegar, Monkfruit Sweetener or sweetener of your choice, and fresh ground black pepper, then stir in the chopped dill.
  8. After 15 minutes, pat cucumbers dry with paper towel. (Most of the salt should have been washed off by the water that was released.)
  9. Put cucumbers into a plastic bowl with a tight-fitting lid (or use a Ziploc bag.)
  10. Pour dressing over cucumbers and stir to combine.
  11. Refrigerate cucumbers with dressing for an hour or longer, turning the bowl over a few times if you’re around.
  12. Serve cold.
  13. This will keep in the fridge for a day or so, although I liked it best after just an hour in the fridge.

Notes

If you don't have European Cucumbers, use 4 medium garden cucumbers. I'm a fan of Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) but use any sweetener of your choice.

This recipe adapted slightly from Bon Appetit, July 2004.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 17Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1165mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 0g

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.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Cucumbers are a wonderfully low-carb food, and made with an approved sweetener this Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad would be a perfect side dish for low-carb, Keto, and low-glycemic diets and any phase of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Cucumbers 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 recipe was first posted in 2010. It was last updated with more information in 2023.

Pinterest image of Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad

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