Creamy German Cucumber Salad Recipe (Gurkensalat)

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German Cucumber Salad is a creamy, refreshing summer salad made with simple ingredients! It’s the perfect side dish for almost any main course – especially when you can use fresh sliced cucumbers in the summertime! With only cucumbers plus a few staple ingredients for the German salad dressing, it’s easy, budget-friendly, low-carb, and delicious!

Originally published May 2023, updated March 2026

Creamy German Cucumber Salad

Cucumbers are one of my most favorite fresh-out-of-the-garden foods! If you’re a gardener who always harvests an abundance of cucumbers, keep this recipe in your back pocket!

Let me add – I am not an expert on German food. However, one of my closest college friends had German heritage and her mom made a few German recipes on a regular basis. And I loved them! 

So with summer just around the corner and gardens already starting to produce loads of fresh cucumbers, I thought it would be great to share this German Cucumber Salad recipe.

Why You’ll Love German Cucumber Salad

This recipe is so simple and versatile. You can make it for any summer get-together including a weekday meal at home, summer bbqs, potlucks, family gatherings, or holiday celebrations! 

Bonus points because it’s low carb, budget-friendly, can be made ahead of time, and it goes with anything and everything! Its also a great way to use up those summer cucumbers if you already have your pantry full of pickles!

We love to have this cool cucumber salad with a grilled protein like burgers, brats, or BBQ chicken!

What is German Cucumber Salad?

As I previously stated, I’m not a German food expert. But from my research, I’ve found two common variations of traditional German salad, also known as Gurkensalat in German. 

The variation I’m about to share is a creamy version – a German Cucumber Salad with sour cream, vinegar, and fresh dill. It’s creamy and as with many cucumber salads, requires a few hours of refrigeration before serving. 

There is also a variation that only has vinegar and oil, but that’s a story for another day.

Video

Tools Needed

• Plastic wrap or airtight container for chillingIngredients
• Sharp knife or mandolin slicer
• Cutting board
• Baking sheet
• Paper towels or a thin kitchen towel (such as a flour sack towel)
• Small bowl (for the dressing)
• Whisk or fork
• Large mixing or serving bowl
• Measuring cups and measuring spoons
• Spoon or spatula for mixing

Cucumber Salad Ingredients

You only need handful of basic ingredients for this delicious cucumber salad.

Cucumbers – Growing up, the cucumbers we used for this salad were what my parents called “burpless” cucumbers – what I consider just “regular cucumbers”.

As far as I know, several varieties fall into that category, but what makes them great for cucumber salad is their thinner skin that isn’t bitter. I especially like using baby cucumbers because they have a tender crunch and very little seed area, which means they release less excess liquid into the salad.

English cucumbers are also commonly used for this recipe because they have thin skins and small seeds, which helps keep the salad from getting too watery. But growing up in rural Mississippi, and honestly even now, I don’t remember seeing English cucumbers very often at our local grocery stores.

Sour Cream – I much prefer full-fat sour cream for this recipe, but a low fat version works as well.

Dill Weed – fresh dill is best, but if you’re using dried dill weed, only use about half as much.

Fresh garlic cloves

White vinegar 

Granulated Sugar – I love to add sugar to balance the tanginess of the sour cream and vinegar, but you can omit it if you’d like this recipe to be more low-carb or keto.

Salt & Pepper

Find the complete recipe with ingredient measurements in the recipe card below.

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Substitutions

Sour Cream:  If you don’t have sour cream on hand, plain Greek yogurt is a fantastic substitute. It’s a 1:1 switch and it is a healthier option. You can also substitute mayonnaise in a pinch, but I prefer the tanginess of sour cream or Greek yogurt.

Vinegar: white vinegar is a common ingredient in German recipes but if you don’t have any, you could swap it out with apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (fresh or bottled) for a similar tangy flavor.

Fresh Dill & Garlic: fresh herbs are best, but you can use dried dill – just cut the amount in half. You could also use jarred minced garlic if you don’t have a fresh garlic clove. We love garlic and always keep these in our fridge.

Sugar: you can skip the sugar altogether if you want, but if you want a Keto-friendly recipe and like the sweet and tangy combo, use a Keto-friendly sugar substitute such as Swerve.

How to make German Cucumber Salad

1. Slice cucumber to about ⅛ inch thick discs (or thinner slices*). See pro tips below.
2. Line a baking sheet with paper towels or a thin cloth (like a flour sack kitchen towel) and spread out the cucumbers. Sprinkle salt over them and let them sit for 30 minutes to draw out some of the moisture. This prevents them from getting soggy!
3. Pat them dry then place them in a serving bowl.

2. Whisk the remaining ingredients together into a smooth, creamy dressing.

3. Pour the sour cream mixture over the cucumbers and mix well. 

4. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, at least 2 hours. Stir again just before serving. 

Note: for the best flavors, marinating for 2-4 hours is preferred. However, we love crunchy cucumbers and have mixed it up, serving this Creamy Cucumber Salad immediately with no complaints. We also really love this salad cold, very room temperature.

Pro Tips:

• The traditional recipe for German Cucumber Salad calls for cucumber slices much thinner than I make them. If you want to do the more traditional version, I highly recommend using a mandoline to get paper-thin slices. We like thicker slices so the cucumbers retain some of their crunch and we seem to have less excess water.
• If you use cucumbers with thicker, waxier, and/or more bitter skin, I recommend peeling them first! However, if you’re using burpless cucumbers or any thin-skinned, non-bitter variety, save yourself some work and leave the skin on!
• This is definitely a make-ahead recipe. The recipe needs to chill for at least 2 hours (up to 4 hours for the best flavor) before serving (but not as long as overnight). It’s also best served on the same day. The thinner the cucumbers are sliced, the soggier they will get if they rest too long. If you prefer that they stay crunchier, slice them thicker like I do!
• You can easily adjust the amount of dill, garlic, salt, and black pepper to your personal taste. Tweak it until you have a salad you love!
• Cucumbers release a lot of water after slicing. Salting them (about a teaspoon of salt is good) for about 30 minutes draws out excess moisture so the dressing doesn’t get watery. Pat them dry before mixing with the dressing.

Variations

I’ve already mentioned several substitutions for this tasty salad, but if you’d like to mix things up, try adding other garden fresh vegetables. Red onion ( or yellow or white onion) is a great addition or fresh tomatoes. 

I am not a fan of raw onions, but my husband loves raw red onions. If I want to make him happy, I add some thinly sliced red onions to give the recipe a little extra kick!

We also often end up with an abundance of tomatoes and they are delicious chopped up in this salad (but not traditional) for a Cucumber Tomato Salad.

Storage Directions 

• This recipe is best made ahead to chill, but served within 2-4 hours. It should be chilled in a bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap or an airtight lid.
• If kept overnight, the cucumbers will get soggy and the dressing will become more watery. 

Dietary adaptations

This recipe is low-carb, gluten-free, and vegetarian. It can also be keto-friendly if you omit the sugar or use a Keto sugar substitute.

Recipe FAQ

Tools needed to make the recipe

• Sharp knife and cutting board
• OR a mandoline – I purchased an older style of this mandoline around 10 years ago and it’s one of our favorite kitchen tools. 
• Serving bowl
• Baking Sheet

More Summer Salads & Grilling Recipes

• Crunchy Broccoli Salad with Homemade Sweet & Sour Dressing
• Our Favorite {No Onion} Baked Potato Salad
• Grilled Brats with 7UP BBQ Sauce
• 5 Hacks for a Perfectly Grilled Burger
• Cheesy Green Bean Casserole (Keto!)
• 5 Ingredient BLT Salad (Breadless!)
• Strawberry Feta Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

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