grandma’s cucumber salad
“He had been eight years upon a project for extracting sun beams out of cucumbers which were to be put into vials hermetically sealed, and let out to warm the air in raw, inclement summers.” ~Jonathan Swift Gulliver’s Travels
My grandma has been making this awesome summer salad for as long as I can remember. It’s always present at family picnics, and is especially good with fried chicken and potato salad. It would seem everyone has a version of cucumber salad that they make and love, but nobody makes it like my grandma.
*Note: If you decide to make this salad with mayonnaise, add the 1/4 cup sugar. If you use Miracle Whip, omit the sugar, or use less. Miracle Whip is much sweeter than regular mayonnaise.
~ serves 8 ~
5 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced very thin
1 large onion, peeled, sliced very thin, and separated into rings
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup mayonnaise OR Miracle Whip
1/4 cup sugar (*omit if using Miracle Whip)
1/4 cup fresh, chopped dill OR 2 Tablespoons dry dill
salt and pepper, to taste
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until evenly combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours or until very cold. This salad will keep, covered in your refrigerator, for 5 days.
Enjoy!
~Melissa
cant wait to receive your recipes!
I use sour cream instead of mayonnaise if I dont have it.
how does the sour cream taste in place of the mayonnaise?
I’ve always used mayonnaise. 🙂 I prefer it. Sour cream is okay, mayonnaise/milk is better. Just a personal preference.
I use mayo also but I add just about 3 tablespoons of buttermilk ranch and a tomato
Great idea, Pat. 🙂
Perfect.
I have been making it with sour cream for years.
I use sour cream and white balsamic vinegar. Sweet enough. Susan
Yum! 🙂
My family always makes it with sour cream, onions and dill, salt & pepper to taste. Love it!! Easy and delicious.
want to print and use your recipies
Pls send me the cucumber salad recope
Can’t wait to try this when friends come over…
enjoy! 🙂
Almost like mine.
I am trying this today
Enjoy, Debbie 🙂
J need a. Chicken salad recipe..help!!
What sort of chicken salad are you looking for, Dee? 🙂
I’m going to try this
Enjoy, Jan! 🙂
I’m NOT a cook my any stretch of the imagination, but I went to WalMart for “dill” they had dill seed and dill weed, which one do I need for this?
Hi Mary! 🙂
You want dill weed. Fresh, if you can find it. (Usually available in the produce section.) If you can’t find fresh dill weed, dry will work.
I use fresh dill, myself. Learned this recipe from my German mother in law!
Yeah that’s how we Germans do it. Lol. Yummy. Enjoy.
Yes – that’s almost like my mother’s, except she didn’t use Salad dressing or mayonnaise — only sour cream.
I worked in a German restaurant and the German couple made cucumbers like this, but they soaked the cukes in vinegar and salt and pepper for about an hour first, then drained the vinegar then proceed like this recipe. So good!
My mom was German also and she soaked her cukes in salt over night to draw most of the liquid out of them. Maybe I put too much salt on or something because I always have a hard time rinsing all the salt off
Just like my moms…she was German also!
I use sour cream instead of mayo and sometimes plain yogurt instead of sour cream and omit the sugar.
I make this with sour cream also except I add some fresh dill to it. Delicious. I make this all the time. Also I like cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion and Italian dressing. This one you can add cooked Spaghetti. You can eat it warm or cold. Great for picnics. They also have in the herb section a bottle that states cold spaghetti herbs.
Dill weed!
Do you sweat the cukes I’ve got them in a bowl with the onion and they are very wet..also do you need all the milk?
You don’t have to sweat the cukes… and that’s the amount of milk I use, but you could certainly cut that back if you don’t want as much creamy sauce. Adjust according to your tastes. This is one of our favorites! 🙂 Enjoy, Brenda.
I soak my cubes in salt water first then rinse then blott dry them
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
5 Generations making this check cucumber salad it consists of vinegar Miracle Whip sugar salt and pepper pretty explanatory you drain salt on the cucumber and squeeze it out and then you go ahead and make sure mixture of a little vinegar and Miracle Whip and you added together and add salt and pepper to taste and that’s my great-great grandmother’s recipe that has been handed down
Can you use an artificial sweetener. I am a diabeti
sure! 🙂
been making my German grandmother’s dirty 30’s version for 60+ years… Love it.. will try yours… Bast served over NEW potatoes…. yummmmmm
Oh I just made this. this morning. I only used 2 cucumbers because it is just 2 of us that will eat it. and I used cilantro.
Delicious
So happy you like it, Andrea! Thanks for stopping by to let me know! 🙂
Put the rest of it in the fridge and it will be more delicious for the next day or two
yes! I agree. 🙂
Czech version: cucumbers, salt, sugar, black pepper, vinegar, sour cream. Very popular!
Thanks, Astheart! Sounds very good! 🙂
This is how I learned to make it too! & My granny was 100 percent German!
My grandmother made this with sour cream and apple cider vinegar, sugar dill and onions and of course salt and oepper.
Thanks for reminding me of some thing from my childhood.
I’m going to make this today
My pleasure, Patti 🙂 Your grandmother’s version sounds good! Thanks so much for stopping by and for leaving a comment.
White vinegar?
I make this at least once a week in summer. It totally is a memory from growing up and my mom making it. I have used the whites of green onions also.
Awesome, Barbara! 🙂 I love it when people share their food memories with me. Thanks so much for stopping by! ~M
This can also be made using tomatoes and omit the dill.
Thanks for the inspiration, Charlene! I’ll have to try that! XO ~M 🙂
This is really good with sour cream instead of the mayo
Would love a vegan version of this. I will need to try it by replacing with non-dairy milk and use Just Mayo. Thanks for the inspiration.
I’ve made it with Vegenaise before. Very good 🙂
Great with plain yogurt, and tomatoes.????
Red or white onions ?
either will work 🙂
My grandmother always wilted the cucumbers first (soaked in salt water). Love this recipe! My Dad called them cooked cucumbers! They never got near the stove . Lol
Hee hee! Love it 🙂 Thanks for visiting, Sharon! XO ~M
i tried with yogurt and little garlic !!
Now you’re talkin’ 😀
I guess many years ago it was different…my Mom just use to use sliced cucumbers, finely sliced onions, salt and pepper, vinegar and water…..we I guess werent’ exposed to other kinds of cucumber salad….she would also maked pickeled beets the same way! I survived and liked them and have made them the same way as Mom did…..still make the cucumbers and the beets just like Mom 😉
I totally get it! We tend to love what we grew up eating 🙂
My Grandma use to use vinegar and oil mixture as I think back with salt and pepper. I have made it myself with sour cream, but never added anything else to it. I will definitely have to try it a few different ways. They sound so yummy!
Me too never had cucumbers and beets any other way. Going to try this.
Enjoy!
That is the way my mom made them Elaine, but my mother-in-law made the creamy version. I like them both ways.
That’s how we always had it and left the bowl empty.
Yum! 🙂
I was introduced to these 50 yrs ago by my mother-in-law. She used half ‘n half instead of milk. I was pregnant, and could NOT stop eating them!! Haven’t made them for a long time…thanks for putting it back onto my table!! 🙂
Oohhhh! I bet the half and half makes the salad extra rich and delicious. 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Nina.
My family’s version was : salt the cucumbers after slicing really thin, let sit a little, then squeeze them to get alot of “juice”,add finely diced garlic,sour cream,til it’s the consistency you like!! So refreshing..And yes we are German!!
Great tips! I’ll try the salt treatment sometime! Thanks, Christine 🙂
My grand mother use sour cream and no milk or sugar in it . Great for summer time when it’s too hot to cook .
Sounds fabulous! Thanks, Leslie! 🙂
English cukes or regular cukes. Sounds wonderful. Tks.
either 🙂 enjoy!
Did not have dill, used basil instead. Haven’t tasted it yet. We’ll see!
Enjoy! 🙂
This looks delicious but I’m allergic to dill. Is there a substitute I can use?
Use your favorite herb then. 🙂 Possibly basil or thyme? 🙂
Love this recipe! I use cucumbers, red onion, vinegar, salt and pepper! Always an empty plate!
Do you have a good shrimp and pasta salad (chilled)
Simple like above, but good!
Hi Joyce! So glad you enjoyed the cucumber salad! Here’s my favorite recipe for shrimp salad, as requested. XOXO ~M
http://chindeep.com/2016/04/20/creamy-shrimp-seashell-pasta-salad/
Can not wait to try this. recipe
That’s the way I make mine and my mother did too.
I love your recipes, want more.
Love it.
I’m lactose intalerant is there a good substitute for the milk? Like almond milk or goats milk?
I think any unsweetened non-dairy milk would work in this. Go with something creamy like almond. I believe goat’s milk still contains lactose… so be careful 🙂 Hope that helps! ~M
Mary, I use lactose free milk. It tastes just like milk just without the lactose, you can find it at your supermarket. Seriously changed eating for me.
We made this the other day but we didn’t do the creamy version we did cucumber tomatoes red onion black olives hard boiled eggs 4x white cheddar salt pepper dill chives and Italian dressing it was delicious
Can you use apple cider vinegar or which would be best choice I see a lot of ppl using white vinegar
Sure, apple cider vinegar will work fine 🙂
Your recipes look easy and quick. Thank you for sharing.
I love all of the recipes posted for me and my family and friends to. Delicious too and yummy.