Cucumber Onion Salad

Ingredients & Substitutions

Here I explain the best ingredients for my cucumber onion salad, what each one does in my recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.

• Cucumbers – Fresh cucumbers from the farmers’ market are my favorite — they remind me of my grandma’s garden — but store-bought work, too. I ‘recommend Persian cucumbers because they’re sweeter, crisp, and their small size means less slicing. English cucumbers are the next-best and I cut those into half moons. Avoid American cucumbers if you can — they have a thicker skin, big seeds, and not much flavor.
• Onion – I prefer Vidalia onion here because it’s mild and sweet, but any sweet onion works well. You can use red (for a cucumber red onion salad) or white onions if you like more bite. On the other hand, if you want less bite, soak the onions in cold water for 15 minutes first, then pat dry and use in the salad.
• Fresh Herbs – Fresh dill is my favorite here (might be my Eastern European roots?), but fresh chives are nice, too.
• Olive Oil – The dressing base. Avocado oil works, too.
• Lemon Juice – Most cucumber salad recipes use a dressing with oil and vinegar, but I make mine with fresh lemon juice. If you want to use bottled for convenience, I highly recommend getting a quality one that’s pure lemon juice without fillers. You can definitely swap in vinegars, like white vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar if that’s what you’ve got.
• Honey – I use my Wholesome Yum Zero Sugar Honey, which is 100% natural. Any kind you like is fine.
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper

How To Make Cucumber Onion Salad

I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.

1. Mix the veggies. Cut and toss the cucumbers, onions, and dill into a big bowl.
2. Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper.
3. Combine it all. Pour the dressing over the cucumber onion salad and give it a good mix to coat.

Serving Ideas

I’ve served this cucumber onion salad with so many of my healthy dinner recipes! Here are my favorites in the warm months in particular:

• Grilled mains – This crisp salad is a wonderful fresh contrast to hearty grilled chicken thighs, grilled steak, or grilled salmon.
• Burgers – I make my classic hamburgers most often, but this cucumber and onion salad is also amazing with crispy smash burgers. You can even mix it up with my salmon burgers, turkey burgers, or lamb burgers.
• Light, fast meals – Since this salad comes together so fast, I like to pair it with other light meals I can throw together quickly, like air fryer chicken tenders (I use very similar ingredients in the marinade!), chicken paillard, or salmon patties.