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Pickled Cucumber Salad
Pickled cucumber salad is a crunchy, fresh, and flavorful salad with sliced cucumbers and red onions marinated in a simple brine.
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Light and refreshing, this pickled cucumber salad is marinated in vinegar and spices and packs a flavor punch. This easy salad is a perfect way to enjoy fresh cucumbers.
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Every crunch bite of this quick pickled cucumber salad is fresh and flavorful. Sliced cucumbers and red onion, marinated in a simple brine, will give you an unbeatable tangy flavor and a deliciously refreshing side dish.
A great side dish for barbecues, picnics, or potlucks, pickled cucumber salad will wow everyone who takes a bite. Such an easy salad, you can serve it alongside your favorite grilling and barbecue recipes like simple grilled chicken or beef kabobs.
A yummy way to enjoy all those fresh cucumbers, you can add regular or cherry tomatoes to make your cucumber salad even more colorful. With its tangy flavor, once you taste this pickled cucumber salad you’ll never go back to regular old cucumber salad again.
Pickled Cucumber Salad Ingredients
- Vinegar - white vinegar
- Sugar - granulated sugar
- Salt - kosher salt
- Celery seed
- Red pepper flakes
- Cucumbers - large thinly sliced fresh cucumbers
- Onion - thinly sliced red onion
- Dill - sprigs of fresh dill, I chose to trim the stalks off and left only the dill fronds
You can use a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to remove alternate strips of the cucumber skin. The color on the skin of the cucumber, just like the red of the red onion, will bleed and slightly change the color of the salad marinade. You can also substitute sweet yellow onion for the red onion in this simple recipe, depending on your personal preference.
Do you prefer your pickles spicy? You can add more red pepper flakes if you enjoy a spicier salad. You can also substitute dried dill for the fresh dill sprigs, or if you do not care for dill, you can remove it from the ingredients.
Pickled cucumber salad will keep for up to a month in the jar. You can make this salad ahead of time and allow it to marinate in the fridge until you are ready to serve. You can also easily double or triple your recipe to use up all the cucumbers from your garden.
How to Make Pickled Cucumber Salad
FIRST STEP: Add the vinegar, sugar, salt, celery seed, and red pepper flakes to a 2 to 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir the vinegar mixture constantly until the sugar completely dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat. Allow the vinegar mixture to rest for 10 to 15 minutes, until completely cooled.
SECOND STEP: Alternate layers of the sliced cucumber, onion, and fresh dill in the quart canning jar.
THIRD STEP: Once the vinegar mixture is cooled, slowly pour over the cucumber and onion. Allow the salad to marinate for 15 minutes before serving.
Should I peel the cucumber for this salad?
If you are using English cucumbers, it probably isn’t necessary as they have fairly thin skins. If you are using a different kind of cucumber, you may want to remove the skin. It is entirely up to you if you want to peel the cucumbers before adding them to the salad!
Do I have to use white vinegar?
You can substitute apple cider vinegar for white vinegar, but it will change the marinade color slightly.
How long will this cucumber salad keep in the fridge?
These quick pickled cucumbers will keep in the fridge in the marinade for up to a month.
How to Store Pickled Cucumber Salad
IN THE FRIDGE: Store any leftover pickled cucumber and onion salad in the quart jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Note that the red from the onion will bleed and change the color of the salad marinade.
IN THE FREEZER: We do not recommend freezing this marinated cucumber salad as the vegetables will become soggy.
Pickled Cucumber Salad
Pickled cucumber salad is a crunchy, fresh, and flavorful salad with sliced cucumbers and red onions marinated in a simple brine.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 1 quart jar
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups white vinegar
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 fresh cucumbers large thinly sliced
- 1 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 4 sprigs of fresh dill I chose to trim the stalks off and left only the dill fronds
Instructions
- Add the vinegar, sugar, salt, celery seed, and red pepper flakes to a 2 to 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir the vinegar mixture constantly until the sugar completely dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat. Allow the vinegar mixture to rest for 10 to 15 minutes, until completely cooled.
- Alternate layers of the sliced cucumber, onion, and fresh dill in the quart canning jar.
- Once the vinegar mixture is cooled, slowly pour over the cucumber and onion. Allow the salad to marinate for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
This will keep for up to a month in the jar. Double or triple your recipe to use up all the cucumbers from your garden.
You can use a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to remove alternate strips of the cucumber skin. The color on the skin of the cucumber, just like the red of the red onion, will bleed and slightly change the color of the salad marinade.
You can also make this salad ahead of time and allow it to marinate in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 644kcal | Carbohydrates: 149g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Sodium: 2351mg | Potassium: 281mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 140g | Vitamin A: 152IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 96mg | Iron: 2mg
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