This tasty dill cucumber salad probably uses ingredients you already have on hand! Say hello to fresh, dill flavor that will brighten up any dish you pair it with.
THE INGREDIENTS:
Cucumber: Yeah, you know why this ingredient is here. Cucumbers are the ultimate cool and fresh vegetable. Want to add more vegetables and make this a medley? We recommend tomatoes, shaved carrots, and/or shaved radishes. Use what you have, any of these vegetables will make a craveable salad creation! You know best if you like your cucumbers peeled or not. Although we peel them, feel free to leave the peel on if you like!
Green Onion: What doesn’t taste better with onion? Besides dessert, of course. Green onions add that flavor without the harshness that red or white onions tend to bring. You can still use other onions or shallots as a substitute in this recipe, just be prepared for a stronger flavor. For each green onion, we would add around 1 tablespoon of chopped onion. You could even substitute less, if you wanted! More green onion or diced onion and this might be an onion salad, not a cucumber salad. If you are using onion powder as a swap, shoot for about ¾ teaspoon.
Pickle Juice: We know, you probably eat all of the pickles and then throw that jar in the trash! However, why use even more vinegar and other ingredients to add flavor to this salad when you are throwing out an easier, tastier solution? Stop yourself right there and cook your pantry out! (in this case, your fridge…). Regardless of what kind of pickles you bought, you can use the brine. It doesn’t have to be the dill pickles since we add dill ourself in this recipe!
Salt: Even though the pickle juice is salted, we find adding extra salt helps ensure the flavor is there by the time dinner is ready! If you are making this salad a couple days in advance, you could reduce or omit this salt as the vegetables will have more time for the pickle juice to soak in and bring that briney, salty flavor with it.
Dill: To get that fresh flavor, we really need to bring in some extra dill! Even if you are using dill pickle brine, we don’t recommend skipping this spice. However, you can also do what you want, we won’t stop you. If you have fresh dill on hand to use up, we recommend using about 1 tablespoon of minced dill.
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper: Depending on how you want your dill cucumber salad, feel free to not put this in! Freshly cracked black pepper brings some of a kick and a unique flavor that often doesn’t come with the pre-ground black pepper we are used to buying. If you want this salad entirely cool and refreshing, then skipping it may be your best choice.
KEY INFORMATION:
How Long Does Cucumber Salad Last in the Fridge? Assuming the cucumbers are fully submerged in the liquid (this may require adding extra pickle juice), they should last about 1 week! We would say you could reuse the juice mixture on a second batch of cucumber salad, for a total of 2 weeks, before it is time for the juice to go. If they aren’t fully submerged, we’d try to eat them within 3 days. After a few days, the thinly sliced vegetables should be at their most flavorful because we are essentially making a “quick pickle” but not sealing them tightly. So, you can definitely make this side dish in advance-it gets better the next day. Don’t worry, we also eat it immediately after making it and it still tastes great, too.
What Goes with Cucumber Salad? A simple pan-fried fish fillet, some rice, and a dill cucumber salad makes a nice, basic meal. In fact, cucumber salad pairs incredibly well with other fish dishes. It adds lightness to heavy dishes such as fish and chips! Not going the pescatarian route? It works with fried chicken and fries, too. Add it to your BBQ line up as one of the vegetable options. You know how ranch is a sauce that cools you down? Cucumber salad is great at reducing the heat when you have eaten something a bit too spicy! Finally, serve it with a deli sandwich to add crunch to any soft meal.
Dill Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 2 Cucumbers we peel them!
- 4 Green Onions
- 1 cup Pickle Juice
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Dill
- As desired Freshly Cracked Black Pepper optional
Instructions
- If desired, peel the cucumbers.
- Slice the cucumbers and the green onions.
- In a bowl, add the cucumbers, green onion, pickle juice, and spices.
- Toss the salad and store it in the fridge until it is time to serve.
- Enjoy!
