17 Cucumber Salads That Go With Whatever You're Cooking Up

Whether you learned how to grow cucumbers in your garden at home or buy whatever is in season when you visit the local farmers market, you’ll find no shortage of this refreshing green fruit come summer. And, while you can certainly slice them up for leafy green salads or turn them into homemade pickles, it just wouldn’t be summer until you’ve made at least one cucumber salad. There are lots of ways to make this classic dish but, when many people think of cucumber salad, they’re probably thinking of this recipe. It’s a great place to start for a proper Eastern and Central European-style cucumber salad. Cucumbers and sweet onions glazed with a tart sour cream and dill dressing make for a refreshing accompaniment to any main.

This simple side salad is a favorite to serve alongside some of the Philippine’s most popular grilled and fried foods. Crunchy cucumbers, sweet tomatoes and a tangy spiced dressing are a perfect cool, crisp complement to richer Filipino dishes like Lechon Kawali (crispy pork belly), Pork Tocino (sweet cured pork) and anything barbecued. Persian cucumbers and cherry tomatoes are used in this version, but feel free to use the varieties you have on hand or what looks best at the market.

We took classic bagel toppings and combined them with sliced cucumber for a dish inspired by Logan Moffitt’s TikTok-famous shaken salads. Our everything-except-the-bagel version is vegetarian as well as gluten-free and gets loaded into a 2-quart container so it’s a generous amount for 2 to 4 people. Tomatoes and red onion add color, capers and everything-bagel seasoning add classic flavor while avocado and whipped cream cheese turn into a creamy dressing that coats the cucumbers deliciously. We recommend shaking the mix just before eating to keep the salad crisp and the dressing thick, not watery.

If you can’t decide between sour cream or yogurt in your cucumber salad, Ina Garten is here to ask, “Why not both?” This simple yet luscious cucumber salad includes both yogurt and sour cream with a hint of champagne vinegar for extra tartness. Fresh dill keeps things traditional with its lemony aroma.

Ellie Krieger’s simple cucumber salad features a lot of the familiar elements, like dill and onions. However, it skips the sour cream, making this a much lighter take on a classic. As well, it makes a perfect side to rich and creamy dishes.

Chef Symon is practically a hometown hero in Cleveland, Ohio, where the local food scene is heavily influenced by its many Eastern European immigrants. As such, cucumber salads like this one are a mainstay on many Cleveland tables. This recipe keeps things simple with the trifecta of dill, onions and vinegar to enhance the combination of cucumbers and sour cream.

This salad is like a sunny Mediterranean day on a plate. Molly Yeh’s recipe combines adorable Persian cucumbers with fresh lemon juice and mint for a classic flavor profile. The flavors are perked up even more with a sprinkle of za’atar, a Middle Eastern mix of intensely aromatic dried wild thyme and sesame.

You read right, but don’t dismiss this recipe as gimmicky. And don’t think it’s only good for Kentucky Derby parties. Honey, bourbon and mint leaves really play well together in a vinaigrette with firm, crisp Kirby cucumbers. It will definitely be a conversation piece for how innovative and tasty it is.

This refreshing, flavorful salad stars Chinese black vinegar with light soy sauce as its milder sidekick. Smashed cucumber salad (pai huang gua in Mandarin) is a staple side dish in many Chinese restaurants. Chinese black vinegar has a deep and slightly smoky flavor, mild acidity and faint sweetness. The salad usually includes garlic and sesame seeds or sesame oil, and some variations add chiles or Sichuan peppercorn; this version uses gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes) for a touch of heat, which isn’t traditional but gives the salad a nice red hue and balanced spiciness. Smashing the cucumber helps to create jagged edges so there is more surface area to absorb the dressing, while salting the cucumber softens the skin, firms up the flesh and releases some water, concentrating the cucumber’s flavor.

This cucumber salad is packed full of Eastern Mediterranean flavors and is reminiscent of Greek tzatziki. Except that instead of being a sauce to drizzle on gyros and souvlaki, it’s a nice, hearty salad. Plain yogurt provides a lighter richness than sour cream, while a combination of dill and mint provide a balance of lemony and tingly flavors.

Smashed cucumber salad (or pai huang gua) is a staple side dish in many Chinese restaurants and usually consists of cucumbers tossed with black vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and sesame seeds (or oil). In other variations, chiles and sometimes Sichuan peppercorn are added. We started with the technique of smashing the cucumbers, which creates jagged edges and more surface area for the dressing to get absorbed, and salting them, which softens the skin, firms up the flesh and releases some water to concentrate the flavor, then added a twist. This version combines the freshness of sweet watermelon and an abundance of herbs with a little heat from chiles and ginger. It's a bright summer salad that hits all the flavor receptors.

This recipe from Alex Guarnaschelli ingeniously combines cucumbers in two forms. Fresh cucumbers are, of course, expected in a cucumber salad. Pickled cucumbers, however, are an unexpected addition. The briny pickles are just one of three layers of tartness in this recipe that includes a garlicky vinaigrette and homemade pickled red onions.

This light cucumber salad recipe calls for Persian cucumbers, which are small, almost like baby English cucumbers. They’re also incredibly juicy, and their flavor mingles with the tart vinaigrette to make a cool palate cleanser at any meal. Fresh parsley adds an herbaceous perfume, while walnuts lend this salad some crunch and richness.

Valerie Bertinelli’s recipe for cucumber salad combines elements from different Asian cuisines for a boldly flavored yet refreshing accompaniment to a meal. Ponzu, a citrusy soy dressing from Japan, meets sambal oelek, a fiery chile sauce from Indonesia, to form the flavor base of this salad. Ginger, garlic, scallions and cilantro round contribute to this salad’s nuanced flavors.

This recipe from Rachael Ray is a riff on choban salad, a refreshing chopped salad from Turkey that is also popular throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. You only need a handful of ingredients to make this easy side, which you may already have in your kitchen. A fistful of Italian parsley gives this salad a fresh, green perfume that reminds us of summer.

We can’t create a roundup of the best cucumber salad recipes without including a raita. Raitas are cooling yogurt-dressed salads from India that can include almost any type of fruit or vegetable. However, one of the most popular types of raita is made with cucumber. Aarti Sequeira gives us her recipe for cucumber raita flavored with mint and studded with golden raisins, which give this salad little bursts of sweetness.