Hits All The Right Notes
This vintage creamy cucumber onion salad is made with just a few ingredients. But don’t be fooled, you can’t just willy-nilly toss in sliced veggies, throw the sauce together, and call it day. The secret is in super thin slicing the sweet onions and cucumbers.
Thin slicing transforms crunchy to a unique, almost velvety mouthfeel (yup, that’s a real word). While cucumber and onions provide a soft bite, the sauce hits all the notes! Tangy, sweet, and refreshing. Serve this simple side at your next picnic!
What You Need to Make Creamy Cucumber Onion Salad
Normally, I would provide some details about the key ingredients, but the list for this dish is short and sweet (literally). Salt, pepper, granulated sugar, apple cider vinegar, sour cream, a cucumber, and a sweet onion. Done.
What might be more important is having a good knife. I like my chef’s knife, but you could also use the slicing blade option on a food processor or…. the option I am most afraid of for fear of cutting more than a cucumber, is a mandolin slicer. If using a knife, make sure it is shape to cut through the cucumber skin, do be careful and take your time slicing. If the skin is a problem, use a vegetable peeler to remove a strip of skin the length of the cucumber that will allow the knife to gain traction.
How To Make Creamy Cucumber Onion Salad
The sequence of slicing or sauce doesn’t really matter unless you want to reduce the number of dishes you clean. I prefer to make the sauce by mixing the salt, pepper, sugar, apple cider vinegar, and sour cream in one bowl, then slice my cucumbers and sweet onions. In this order, you can just place the veggies in the sauce, stir to coat and you’re done!
Summer In A Bowl
So that’s it. This post is pretty short. I’ll just say that this dish is one that feels like summer in a bowl. I don’t usually crave vintage creamy cucumber onion salad salad in the middle of the winter, but if I need a taste of the sunny season, this would be a great go-to any time of year.
Tips, Tricks, & FAQs
- How to Store Leftover Salad. Store leftover cucumber and onion salad in a well-sealed container; refrigerate for 2-3 days.
- Variations. Options: peel the cucumbers before slicing. Try different onions for more bite or color. Use white pepper in place of black ground pepper to create a white sauce without the speckles.ย
- Note: the longer the cucumbers sit, the more liquid will be released into the sauce. Just mix it back up.
Creamy Cucumber Onion Salad
Equipment
- chef's knife
- cutting board
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- mixing bowl
- whisk
Ingredients
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 large sweet onion (4 ounces)
- 1 large cucumber (12 ounces)
Instructions
- Sauce. Measure and add to a bowl sour cream, sugar, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, and ground black pepper.1 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- Mix. Combine well.
- Onion. Peel and cut the sweet onion in half. Slice one half very thin, almost shaved. Super thin sliced onion is important. Add shaved onions to the sour cream mix.1/2 large sweet onion (4 ounces)
- Cucumber. Wash and very thinly slice the cucumber. Place the thin sliced cucumber in the mixing bowl with the sauce and onions.1 large cucumber (12 ounces)
- Combine. Mix to coat the onions and cucumber.
- Enjoy! Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.
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