This Creamy Cucumber Salad with fresh dill features a healthy dressing made with Greek Yogurt, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and a touch of honey. You’re going to love how light and refreshing this easy summertime side dish recipe is, and it only takes 10 minutes to throw together and has about 50 calories per serving!
I don’t know about you, but I love a lettuce-free salad. Nothing against lettuce, but sometimes you just want to switch things up! This creamy cucumber salad is such a great alternative to more traditional salads. It is a super healthy, low calorie side dish you’ll want to eat all summer long. It’s inspired by Greek Tzatziki Sauce, but much faster and easier to make and you eat it with a fork rather than use it as a dip or spread.
The creamy dressing is made healthier than other creamy salad dressings. The base is Greek yogurt and extra-virgin olive oil. It has a touch of honey (instead of sugar) for a hint of sweetness, and apple cider vinegar to add a bit of zing without being overpowering. It’s finished off simply with salt and pepper and plenty of fresh dill.
The salad base is nothing more than sliced cucumbers (I recommend English), as well as some very thinly sliced red onion (which you can leave out if you prefer). Toss everything together and you’ve got yourself a real treat the whole family will devour!
Seriously – my kiddos could not get enough of it. And the recipe is so easy my littlest, Eleanor (3) even helped me out.
How to make creamy cucumber salad
Just whisk together the dressing in a large bowl, add sliced cucumbers and onion, and mix together! For full ingredient amounts and instructions, scroll down for the full recipe.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Feel free to use sour cream instead of Greek yogurt. If you use regular yogurt (non-Greek) you may find the results too thin/watery.
- Onions may be omitted if you like, or subbed with green onions for a more mild flavor.
- Lemon juice may be substituted for the apple cider vinegar.
- Honey may be omitted or subbed with another sweetener like agave or regular sugar.
Why English cucumbers are best
English cucumbers are those really long, skinny cucumbers with the wrinkled skin you see at your grocery store usually wrapped in plastic.
I love using English cucumbers for cucumber salads because their taste is a bit sweeter, their skin more delicate and less bitter, and they have fewer seeds and less water content.
Sure! I recommend cutting them in half lengthwise and using a spoon to scoop out the seeds from the center before slicing them. You may also want to peel them, or peel half of the peels by forming stripes with the slicer.
Cucumber salad is best served immediately.
Salt draws moisture out of fruits and vegetables, so the longer the sliced cucumbers sit in the dressing (which contains salt), the more moisture will be drawn out of them. This results in a watery dressing and mushy cucumbers.
Don’t worry – you can still prep everything ahead of time! Just mix up the dressing and store in a separate container, and cut up the cucumber and onion and store separately. When you are ready to serve, toss everything together and you’re good to go.
Other lettuce-free salad recipes
- Cucumber Tomato Salad with Feta
- Zucchini Ribbon Salad
- Beet and Cucumber Salad with Feta
- Broccoli Salad with Apples
- Tangy Cucumber Radish Salad
I recommend serving this cucumber salad with bbq chicken or fried halloumi.
Did you know commenting and rating recipes is one of the best ways you can support your favorite food bloggers? If you made this recipe or have a question, please click the stars below to comment and Rate this Recipe and/or share photos on social media using the hashtag #bowlofdelicious or tagging @bowlofdelicious!
Creamy Cucumber Salad with Yogurt and Dill
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 English cucumbers sliced thinly (see notes)
- 1/4 cup very thinly sliced red onion
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the Greek yogurt (1/3 cup), extra-virgin olive oil (2 tablespoons), apple cider vinegar (1 tablespoon), chopped fresh dill (2 tablespoons), kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon), black pepper (1/4 teaspoon), and honey (1 teaspoon).
- Add sliced English cucumbers (2) and thinly sliced red onion (1/4 cup) to the bowl. Toss together to coat.
- Serve immediately (see notes on making ahead).
Notes
- If prepping ahead of time, mix the dressing and store in a separate container from the sliced cucumbers and onions. Just before serving, toss everything together. Otherwise, the cucumbers will get mushy and the dressing quite watery if it sits too long already dressed.
- If using regular cucumbers instead of English, I recommend slicing lengthwise and scooping out the seeds and peeling them (fully or partially). This will help decrease the water content of the cucumbers and also help take away some of the bitter flavor and tougher texture of the peel.
- Ingredient substitutions: lemon juice may be used instead of apple cider vinegar, sugar or agave used instead of honey, sour cream instead of Greek yogurt. Onions may be omitted or substituted with green onions for a more mild taste.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Leslie G
Best creamy cucumber recipe that I have had! I love the addition of honey. The only mod that I made was salting the cucumbers to drain in a colander for about 25 minutes to pull some extra moisture from the cucumbers. Thank you for sharing!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Great idea to allow the liquid to drain from the cucumbers beforehand. Thanks for sharing that tip!
Pete
Thank you, Elizabeth. Love it, very refreshing!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Cristin Bishara
Very good! Served with Greek pita “pizzas” topped with tomatoes, feta, and Kalamata olives. The cucumbers were a nice, healthy side. As mentioned in recipe, they do get runny if they sit too long. Will make again.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Pat
This was very good and easy to prepare. Thank you!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Timothy
I made it for dinner tonight.As a matter of fact it was my dinner but I forgot the onions.It was good any ways.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!