Fresh, zingy and refreshing, this Southern cucumber salad comes together quickly and easily with a few simple ingredients. Tossed in a red wine vinaigrette, this healthy and light salad is perfect for the summertime.

Southern cucumber salad with red onion in a bowl with wooden salad spoons.

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If you've got some fresh cucumbers to use up, this salad is a must make! So easy to make and super tangy and refreshing, this Southern cucumber salad is perfect for those summer cookouts.

Made from scratch and low in fat, calories and carbs, this is a great accompaniment to your BBQ feast, or, serve it alongside your favorite weeknight dinners.

Thinly sliced cucumber and red onion is tossed in a simple red wine dressing for a bold and delicious bite.

Be sure to try my Sweet Chili Thai Cucumber Salad and Cucumber Ginger Juice too!

How to make Southern cucumber salad

Place sliced cucumbers in a colander that has been placed over a bowl or dish. Sprinkle kosher salt over sliced cucumbers. Stir to ensure salt gets over all the cucumbers. Let sit for about 15-30 minutes. The liquid will drip from the cucumbers.

Using a paper towel or clean kitchen towel, remove excess moisture from the cucumber slices and place the slices in a large bowl.
Add red onion, red wine vinegar, sugar, black pepper, and crushed red pepper (if using) to the bowl and stir till combined. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve and enjoy.

Sliced red onion and cucumbers in a bowl.

Do you have to salt the cucumbers?

Salting the cucumbers removes excess water so that your salad is nice and crunchy and water doesn't pool in the bottom. If you are serving this straight away, then you can skip this step, but the flavors are best when the salad is chilled for at least an hour before serving.

What else can you add to this salad?

This Southern cucumber salad is super delicious just as it is, but you can easily adapt it to suit your own tastes. For a creamy salad, stir in a little sour cream, or try adding fresh herbs like dill, cilantro or basil for a different flavor. You can also add in other thinly sliced crunchy veggies like carrot or radish too.

What do you serve it with?

This refreshing salad is a great addition to a cookout, potluck or BBQ and it's great to take on picnics. It works great with all kinds of chicken, fish and meat dishes, try it with some of these favorites:

Southern cucumber salad served in a white bowl.

Recipe Notes and Tips

Salting the cucumber will allow the dressing to stick to the cucumbers and keep them crunchy.
Any kind of cucumbers will work in this recipe. If your cucumber has a waxy exterior, consider peeling it before making this recipe.
Make it your own by adding fresh herbs like dill or basil.

More Salad Recipes

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5 from 6 votes

Southern Cucumber Salad

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword cucumber red onion salad, easy cucumber salad, vegan cucumber salad

Prep Time 20

Chill Time 1

Total Time 1 20

Servings servings

Calories 39kcal

Author Tanya

Ingredients

2 medium-sized cucumbers thinly sliced (about 1 lb)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ red onion sliced
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons white granulated sugar
⅛ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional

Instructions

Place sliced cucumbers in a colander that has been placed over a bowl or dish. Sprinkle kosher salt over sliced cucumbers. Stir to ensure salt gets over all the cucumbers. Let sit for about 15-30 minutes. The liquid will drip from the cucumbers.
Using a paper towel or clean kitchen towel, remove excess moisture from the cucumber slices and place the slices in a large bowl.
Add red onion, red wine vinegar, sugar, black pepper, and crushed red pepper (if using) to the bowl and stir till combined. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve and enjoy.

Notes

Salting the cucumber will allow the dressing to stick to the cucumbers and keep them crunchy.
Any kind of cucumbers will work in this recipe. If your cucumber has a waxy exterior, consider peeling it before making this recipe.
Make it your own by adding fresh herbs like dill or basil.

Nutrition

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Although myforkinglife.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Under no circumstances will myforkinglife.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information.