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Creamy Dill Cucumber Salad

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on September 14, 2011

Time

20 minutes, plus 1 hour draining

Yield

Serves 4 as a side dish

Creamy Dill Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

3 medium cucumbers ½ medium red onion, sliced thinSalt and ground black pepper 1 cup sour cream 3 tablespoons cider vinegar 1 teaspoon granulated sugar ¼ cup minced fresh dill

Before You Begin

Salting and draining the onion along with the cucumbers in this recipe removes the sharp sting of raw onions.

Instructions

  1. To prepare the cucumbers: Peel, halve lengthwise, and scoop seeds from cucumbers. Stack halves flat side down; slice diagonally 1/4-inch thick. Toss cucumber slices and onion with 1 tablespoon salt in strainer or colander set over bowl; weight with water-filled, one-gallon-sized zipper-lock freezer bag, sealed tight. Drain for at least 1 hour, and up to 3 hours. Transfer to medium bowl; reserve for further use.
  2. Whisk sour cream, vinegar, sugar, and dill together in medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Add cucumbers and onion; toss to coat. Serve chilled, adjusting seasonings if necessary.

Creamy Dill Cucumber Salad

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Time

20 minutes, plus 1 hour draining

Yield

Serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

3 medium cucumbers
½ medium red onion, sliced thin
Salt and ground black pepper
1 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
¼ cup minced fresh dill

Ingredients

3 medium cucumbers
½ medium red onion, sliced thin
Salt and ground black pepper
1 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
¼ cup minced fresh dill

Ingredients

3 medium cucumbers
½ medium red onion, sliced thin
Salt and ground black pepper
1 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
¼ cup minced fresh dill

Why This Recipe Works

For a cucumber salad recipe with good crunch, we found that weighting salted cucumbers forced more water from them than salting alone. After many tests, we determined that one to three hours worked best for our cucumber salad recipe: Even at 12 hours, the cucumbers gave up no more water than they had after three hours.

Before You Begin

Salting and draining the onion along with the cucumbers in this recipe removes the sharp sting of raw onions.

Instructions

  1. To prepare the cucumbers: Peel, halve lengthwise, and scoop seeds from cucumbers. Stack halves flat side down; slice diagonally 1/4-inch thick. Toss cucumber slices and onion with 1 tablespoon salt in strainer or colander set over bowl; weight with water-filled, one-gallon-sized zipper-lock freezer bag, sealed tight. Drain for at least 1 hour, and up to 3 hours. Transfer to medium bowl; reserve for further use.
  2. Whisk sour cream, vinegar, sugar, and dill together in medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Add cucumbers and onion; toss to coat. Serve chilled, adjusting seasonings if necessary.

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Creamy Dill Cucumber Salad | America's Test Kitchen