German Cucumber Salad

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 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!

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.

Table of Contents

Jump to:

• Table of Contents
• Why You'll Love German Cucumber Salad
• What is German Cucumber Salad?
• Video
• Ingredients
• Shop here
• Substitutions
• How to make German Cucumber Salad
• Recipe Pro Tips:
• Variations
• Storage Directions 
• Dietary adaptations
• Recipe FAQ
• Tools needed to make the recipe
• More Summer Salads & Grilling Recipes
• 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, a barbeque, a potluck, or a holiday celebration! Bonus points because it's low carb, budget-friendly, can be made ahead of time and it goes with any and everything!

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 that there are two common variations of traditional German salad, also known as Gurkensalat in German.

The variation I'm about to share is 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

Ingredients

Cucumbers - as far as I can remember we pretty much always ate only one variety of cucumbers growing up and my parents called them "burpless". I actually think there are several named varieties that qualify as burpless but the most important characteristic is that they thin, non-bitter skin. I like to use baby cucumbers because they have such a nice, tender crunch and very little seed area.

English cucumbers are also really popular for this recipe but growing up in rural Mississippi and even now, I'm not sure I've ever seen them available in a local grocery store.

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

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

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Mandoline

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Knife

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Substitutions

Sour Cream: If you don't have sour cream on hand, plain Greek yogurt is a fantastic substitution for sour cream. 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 cucumbers to about ⅛ inch thick discs (or thinner*). 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 and served them immediately with no complaints.

Recipe Pro Tips:

• The traditional recipe for German Cucumber Salad actually requires that you slice the cucumbers much thinner than I do. 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.
• 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 pepper to your personal taste. Tweak it until you have a salad you love!

Variations

I've already mentioned several substitutions for this recipe, but if you'd like to mix things up, try adding other garden fresh vegetables such as onions (red, yellow or white) 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!)

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