Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Salad
This sweet and spicy cucumber salad has quite the kick, but it’s delicious and packed with flavor. This vinegar based cucumber salad is perfect for a summer side dish, and something you could easily bring to a barbecue or potluck. Makes 8 servings.
I grew up eating creamy, sour cream based cucumber salad. It was always a favorite of mine, and, if I’m being honest, it still is, but sour cream is off the table now.
Since I always to use natural dairy free alternatives when possible, I wanted to make this cucumber salad vinegar based.
What I love about this cucumber salad is that it’s so refreshing. The spiciness balances out the sweetness and the vinegar dressing pulls everything together.
More dairy free salad recipes: Mediterranean chickpea salad / apple fennel salad / za’atar cucumber salad
Here’s what you’ll need to make this cucumber salad recipe
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How to make cucumber salad
Drain your cucumbers
For this recipe, you’ll want to drain the water from your cucumbers by salting them liberally and letting them sit for an hour in a colander or strainer in your sink. It’s not a hard process, but it does take a little bit of planning.
If you skip this step, you’ll end up with a really watery cucumber salad, that might be okay right away, but if it sits for any length of time the water will come out of the cucumbers and create a really watery, bland salad.
Make your cucumber salad vinegar dressing
While the cucumbers are draining, I like to make my dressing. Combine the remaining ingredients in a saucepan and heat over medium.
Allow the liquid to reduce to about 2/3 cup. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool until the cucumbers are ready.
Marinate the cucumbers.
Mix everything together in a large bowl and cover. Refrigerate your cucumber salad for at least 30 minutes before serving.
This recipe would be a great side for:
More summer salad recipes:
- Strawberry poppyseed salad
- Tomato salad recipe
- Farro salad recipe
- Easy macaroni salad
- Grilled peach salad
- Mexican street corn salad
- BLT pasta salad
Ingredients
- 3 English cucumbers halved and sliced
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 cup rice vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
Instructions
- In a large colander, sprinkle the cucumbers with salt.
- Allow the cucumbers to sit with the salt so that the juices drain.
- Meanwhile, simmer the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Reduce the liquid to 2/3 cup and remove from heat.
- Toss the cucumbers with the cooled dressing and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Recipe adapted from Our Best Bites.
Do you have to use splenda?
Please do not use Splenda. It is awful for you, and contains no natural substances. Regular sugar would be better.
No you don’t have to use Splenda, you would just need to use the equivalent of the 4 packets which is 8 teaspoons of sugar (you could also use other sugar substitutes as well). Sorry for the delayed response!
This was the best cucumber salad I’ve ever had! Thank you!
This was so awful tasting. The recipe didn’t call for rinsing off the salt so the salt took away from the sweet and spicy. I had to make a new dressing with more sugar and vinegar to cover it up
OMG Tara, you saved my salad! I read this right before I poured the dressing on. Tasted a cucumber and almost spit it out, it was so salty. I rinse them off and saved my salad. THANK YOU!!!!
This looks SO good. I’m adding it to a post I’m doing this week for cucumber sandwiches! Be on the look out for it 🙂
Perfect. Cucumber sandwiches sound great. I will definitely have to check it out!
Not to tread on Melissa’s recipe. I’ve actually not tried it yet, though I’ve got some cukes ready and waiting for something new, and this sounds like it fits the bill perfectly. Just wanted to add…..if you’re in a hurry for that occasion that suddenly popped up, or suddenly realized you totally forgot you’re supposed to take a “side” for that picnic tomorrow…..this recipe would be perfect. AND…..to make it even quicker and easier, you can just toss in a bottle of HENDRICKSON’S ORIGINAL SWEET OIL AND VINEGAR DRESSING….(found in the salad dressing aisle of most grocery stores. It also makes a great WILTED LETTUCE!!!! Thanks a bunch for the recipe Melissa. HUGS!!!!
Do you rinse the cucumbers after they have drained?
No I don’t, but you can if you want!
Do you mix all the ingredients together before refrigerating? Or do you refrigerate the dressing separately before serving?
You mix it. I explained it in my post but missed the step in the recipe card. I updated the recipe to reflect that. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
You simmer the red onion with the dressing?? (The recipe says simmer remaining ingredients) do I have that right? Thank you
Yes!
I never tried a spicy version of the cucumber salad. I have one in the fridge. I’ll have to give this a try.
Can the salt be rinsed off before tossing with the rest of the ingredients?
If you rinse the cucumbers you will defeat the purpose of salting them. By salting them, it draws the moisture out of the cucumbers which then allows them to soak up dressing liquids.
If I don’t have rice vinegar can I use white or cider vinegar instead?
Yes. You can substitute another vinegar. The only one I wouldn’t recommend is balsamic.
I’m not sure how you can list 0 sodium as you have salt on the cucumbers. Alot of salt for people on low sodium diets………….Looks very refreshing though.
Oh yes, it definitely has some sodium in it. I’ve updated the nutrition facts. Thanks for pointing out the error!