German cucumber salad is a low carb, healthy side dish that takes only a few minutes to make. Gurkensalat is basically just thinly sliced cucumbers and onions with fresh dill in a simple oil and vinegar mix. Make this German cucumber salad recipe and use up cucumbers quickly!
Table of Contents
What is Gurkensalat?
Gurkensalat is a German Cucumber Salad that usually uses a creamy dressing, however, oil and vinegar based ones are also common.
My husband has a very strong German heritage so this weekend, we had friends and neighbors over for an Oktoberfest party. This German cucumber salad recipe was the perfect side dish to go with our grilled Bratwurst and all the delicious side dishes provided by our guests.
Like this German cucumber salad recipe? Try these healthy salad recipes, too:
Healthy Quinoa Salad Recipe with Spinach and Apricots
Watermelon Salad Recipe with Basil and Feta
Healthy Fruit Salad Recipe with Easy Yogurt Glaze
How do you make this easy cucumber salad recipe?
All you need to do is slice up cucumbers and onions, add a simple oil and vinegar mix and stir in a ton of chopped, fresh dill. The resulting Gurkensalat is full of flavor, nice and crunchy, and absolutely delicious! If you are looking for more Oktoberfest recipes, you should definitely check out my homemade pretzels with beer cheese!
How do you prepare cucumbers for this Gurkensalat recipe?
The key to making this German Cucumber Salad Recipe is toslice your cucumbers very, VERY thin. Some recipes I saw called for using a mandolin but I don’t own one so had to make due with a sharp knife.
Should this German cucumber salad use yogurt?
There are several variations of this recipe online and some of them add sour cream or yogurt to the dressing recipe to make it creamy. We chose to leave that out to give it a slightly lighter texture and it turned out delicious.
Both gurkensalat recipes seem to be popular. If you prefer a creamy cucumber salad, add about 1/2 cup of sour cream or Greek yogurt to your dressing before pouring over the cucumbers.
How long can you store cucumber salad with dill?
How longdoescucumber salad last? Well, not really all that long. For the freshest flavor and texture, eat this up the day you serve it. This cucumber salad has a shelf life of about three to four days in a sealed container in the refrigerator. It will, however, get a bit watery.
This cucumber salad recipe is unbelievably simple to prepare so if you can, make it up fresh when you want to eat it, rather than planning on leftovers. Check out Germanfoods.org for more authentic German recipes.
German Cucumber Salad Recipe
What is Gurkensalat? It is a simple cucumber salad recipe with fresh dill on slivered onions. Perfect summer salad recipe or healthy side dish for the family. Healthy salads are great for backyard BBQs, too. If you are looking for easy cucumber recipes, try this one!
Yield: 8 servings
German Cucumber Salad Recipe - Gurkensalat
This German cucumber salad recipe is easy to make and the perfect German recipe for Oktoberfest. A fresh cucumber recipe with loads of crunch!
Prep Time15 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Ingredients
2 to 3 large cucumbers ( I used English cucumbers), thinly sliced
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup finely chopped dill
4 TBSP white vinegar
4 TBSP olive oil
1 tablespoons white sugar
1 tsp Kosher salt
Instructions
Combine thinly sliced cucumbers, sliced onions, and chopped dill in a bowl. Toss gently.
In a small bowl, combine oil, vinegar, sugar and salt. Whisk thoroughly.
Drizzle oil and vinegar mix over cucumber mixture and toss to mix completely
Chill for an hour to blend flavors before serving.
Notes
Does not keep long. Best if made right before eating.
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Have too many cucumbers?
Did you know you can add them to your next detox water recipe?
Diane Hoffmaster
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician atGood Pill Pharmacy. She earned her BS in Microbiology at theUniversity of New Hampshire and has worked in cancer research, academics, and biotechnology. Concern over the growing incidence of human disease and the birth of her children led her to begin living a more natural life. She quickly realized that the information she was learning along the way could be beneficial to many others and started blogging and freelance writing to share this knowledge with others. Learn more about her HERE.
Salt the slices first. No matter the salad recipe you're making, salt the cut-up cucumber beforehand. The extra step allows them to release some of their water — keeping them extra crisp even when they get tossed with the dressing.
The solution: The standard recommendation for ridding watery vegetable such as cucumbers of unwanted moisture is to salt them. The salt draws out the liquid from the vegetable because of the natural tendency of salt water solutions to equalize when mixed together.
The secret to making sure the cucumber stays nice and crunchy is to draw out the excess water. Some people like only to use salt, but I find using half salt and half sugar help flavor the cucumber while ensuring that the cucumber stays nice and crunchy! Add 1 Tbsp of sugar and 1 tsp of salt to the cut-up cucumber.
This salt treatment draws water out of the cucumbers and flavors them, so it's critically important. After layering or mixing in plenty of sea salt, I cover the salted cukes with ice cubes and a tea towel and forget about them for a few hours.
A cucumber's bitterness is caused by cucurbitacin, a bitter chemical that protects the plant from predators. Usually, cucurbitacin stays in the stem and leaves, but it can work its way into the fruit. A cucumber's bitterness is caused by cucurbitacin, a bitter chemical that protects the plant from predators.
When you salt cucumber pieces or slices and let them sit for 30 minutes in a colander, the salt draws out excess moisture which then drains away. This means that the cucumber will release less water into whatever dish you're adding it to, such as tzatziki, tabbouleh, Greek salad, or potato salad.
Environmental factors have an impact on the levels of cucurbitacin. High heat and constant temperature swings, for example, can affect an entire garden's worth of vegetables. The watering process has a major impact as well. Too little water followed by dry spells will often cause higher levels of this bitter compound.
Russian salad was originally called Oliver salad based on the Moscow-based Belgian chef who invented it. During the 20th century, the dish spread throughout Europe and adopted the name Russian salad.
Under this name about 850 species of plants are included, mostly all herbaceous, climbing or creeping, which produce very large fruits protected by a firm peel. Fruits such as watermelon and melon belong to this family, along with common vegetables such as zucchini or pumpkin.
Cucumbers with chili, or pepinos con chile in Spanish, are a popular Mexican snack. What is this? It is typically made with cucumbers, chili, and lime.
Once you've washed and wrapped them, the best way to store cucumbers is in the crisper drawer (a.k.a. produce drawer) of your fridge, set on high humidity with the fan closed. High humidity helps the ethylene-sensitive fruit retain moisture and keeps it from wilting.
About this method: To keep cucumbers extra crunchy, Epicurious touts this method: Wash them, thoroughly dry them, wrap them in a dish towel or paper towel, place them in an unsealed plastic bag to allow some airflow, and place them in the crisper drawer.
If you're not canning your cucumbers immediately, leave them in an ice bath or in your refrigerator overnight to maintain firmness. Doing this before you start canning them will give you the crunchiest pickles you've ever had!
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