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Here’s an ultra refreshing side dish: creamy cucumber salad with sour cream! The silky sauce with dill and shallots brings an irresistible flavor.
I grew up eating cucumber salad with vinegar: a tangy, savory sweet salad of thin crunchy cucumbers. The moment that summer hit, this salad was on the menu for Sunday dinners and potlucks. It’s so refreshing: in fact, it’s hard to stop eating! Alex and I have found a new variation that we’re big fans of: this creamy cucumber salad with sour cream! Adding a bit of sour cream makes an irresistibly creamy sauce. While it has a summery vibe, this delicious salad works any time of the year.
What’s in this creamy cucumber salad?
There are just a few ingredients you’ll need for this cucumber salad with sour cream. Here’s the breakdown:
- English cucumbers: English cucumbers have a mild-flavored skin that you don’t need to peel. They have a more delicate flavor than standard cucumbers and a prettier green flavor. If all you can find is standard, peel them.
- Shallots: Shallots have a milder flavor than red onion, making them the perfect delicate onion for this dish.
- Sour cream: All you need is ½ cup, and it makes a quick sauce!
- Fresh garlic: This brings big flavor to the sauce.
- Dried dill: Dried dill brings big flavor, and lets this salad be made year round.
Love sour cream? Try these Top Sour Cream Recipes.
How to make creamy cucumber salad with sour cream
Step 1: Make and refrigerate the sauce.
The sour cream sauce in this cucumber salad needs some time to refrigerate so that the flavors can meld. Throw together the sour cream with the flavorings (shallot, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper), then pop it in the fridge while you drain the cucumbers.
Step 2: Salt and drain the cucumbers.
Cucumbers are made of mostly water. So in this creamy cucumber salad, it’s important to let some of that moisture drain off before you add it to the creamy sour cream. To do so, you’ll cut the cucumber into paper thin slices. Then place them all in a colander and add some generous pinches of salt. This draws out the moisture in this veggies! It will drain out of the colander, and you can pat the slices dry with a towel before using them.
Step 3: Mix and enjoy!
And that’s all! Just mix together the two components and you’ve got one very delicious cucumber salad with sour cream.
Make ahead instructions
One thing to note about this creamy cucumber salad. Because cucumbers are made of water, they become more watery as they sit. This cucumber salad becomes watery after 2 hours of sitting. So if you want to make it ahead, there’s a simple fix: make the cucumbers and sour cream sauce in advance and store them in separate containers in the refrigerator. Then mix the salad together directly prior to serving!
Another name for it? Mizeria.
Mizeria is another name for this salad. Mizeria is a Polish creamy cucumber salad that’s made with cucumbers, sour cream, lemon juice or vinegar, sugar, and dill. Usually fresh dill is used in the salad, but otherwise it’s very similar. It’s one of the most popular salads in Poland. Tell us: did you grow up eating this salad?
More cucumber salad recipes
Cucumber salads are quite common in different cuisines around the world! Here are our favorites:
- German cucumber salad features thinly sliced cucumbers and onions marinated in vinegar.
- Shepherd salad from Turkey features tomatoes, cucumbers, feta and olives, covered in a lemony vinaigrette.
- Greek salad uses much of the same ingredients, but arranged in a flat layer on a plate.
- Thai cucumber salad features red pepper, cashews and cilantro, covered in a vinaigrette made with Thai red curry paste.
This creamy cucumber salad with sour cream recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten-free.
Creamy Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream
Here’s an ultra refreshing side dish: creamy cucumber salad with sour cream! The silky sauce with dill and shallots brings an irresistible flavor.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: Salad
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 2 medium shallots
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried dill (or 3 tablespoons chopped fresh)
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 2 large English cucumbers (2 pounds), or peeled standard cucumbers
Instructions
- Thinly slice the shallots (separate them into rings with your fingers). In a small container, stir together the shallots with the sour cream, white vinegar, dried dill, grated garlic clove, kosher salt, and black pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, thinly slice cucumbers and place them in a colander (if using standard cucumber, peel them first; English cucumbers don’t need to be peeled). Toss the slices with several larger pinches of kosher salt and rest 45 minutes. Remove them from the colander and pat them dry.
- When ready to serve, gently stir together the cucumbers and dressing (don’t stir too vigorously or it will cause bubbles). Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 2 hours; it gets watery if you refrigerate for too long with the sauce. If you’d like to prepare it in advance, refrigerate the components separately until serving.
More summer sides and salads
Want more salads? Here are some of our best salads and summer sides:
- Grilled Caesar Salad Grilled Caesar Salad is the best summer salad EVER! Grilling romaine lettuce infuses a smoky flavor.
- Blueberry Salad with Balsamic Dressing Go sweet & savory with this fresh salad that pairs the berries with a tangy vinaigrette.
- Watermelon Salad with Feta & Cucumber This refreshing salad features salty feta, cucumber, fresh basil, and lemon zest.
- Balsamic Tomato Salad The best way to use juicy ripe tomatoes? This flavor-popping marinated balsamic tomato salad with fresh herbs.
Great!!!!good taste,!!!
We have this dish (with small adjustments) every Christmas for my last 37 years on earth! It’s by far my favorite dish of any holiday! During the quarantine I’ve been making this almost weekly!!! Delish!!!
My friend is from Saipan and this salad was one of her favorites growing up.
This recipe just made my day. My grandmother would make this for all of our big celebrations or holiday meals. I would always make sure my seat was right by the serving dish. My absolute favorite. Now as an adult I make this dish and always think of her. I’ve never seen it out in restaurants or eateries so when I came across it on your site…all of the memories came back. I hope through your fabulous recipe ideas, more people try it. You made me smile today. Thank you. Keep doing your thing, I love your ideas.
Thank you! This recipe is reminiscient of our childhood as well :)