Cucumber Salad with Creamy Vidalia Onion Dressing

This cucumber salad is a tasty refreshing summer side dish that goes so nicely with grilled foods. You can prepare the three components – the cucumber, the onion and the dressing – a day ahead of time and then combine everything just before you are ready to serve.

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Cucumber Salad with Creamy Vidalia Onion Dressing

  • Prep Time: 30 m
  • Total Time: 30 m
  • Servings:
    6

Ingredients

  • 3 English cucumbers peeled and thinly sliced
  • ½ red onion thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Creamy Vidalia Dressing:
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • 3 tablespoons grated Vidalia onion
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 scallions minced
  • freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Start by placing the sliced cucumbers in a colander over a bowl or in the sink. Sprinkle generously with salt and toss to coat evenly. Let the cucumbers sit in the colander for 30 minutes. They will leak out liquid and consequently stay crispy in your salad later on. Rinse the cucumbers with cold water and dry well with a kitchen towel.
  2. While the cucumbers are salting, let the sliced red onion soak in a bowl of cold water. Rinse, drain and dry the onion with a clean kitchen towel.
  3. Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, grated Vidalia onion, white wine vinegar, sugar, salt, and scallions in a separate bowl. Whisk the ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Season with freshly ground black pepper and keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to dress the salad.
  4. Place the cucumbers and red onions in a large bowl. Add ¾ cup of the creamy Vidalia onion dressing and toss to coat all the vegetables. Stir in the chopped parsley and season with fresh ground black pepper.
  5. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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Comments (27)Post a Reply

  1. 5 stars
    Other than the minced onion in the dressing, this is just like our family recipe. Delicious and even better after it sits for a couple of hours!

  2. 5 stars
    The recipe says to add 3/4 cup of the dressing. What do I do with the remaining 1/2 cup of creamy Vidalia dressing? If it’s not used, can the ingredients be scaled back so all the dressing can be used? Thank you.

    1. Hi Beverley,
      Yes, you could scale back the dressing ingredients if you like, or increase the cucumber and onion to suit it. The quantities for the dressing are easier to measure as written, rather than scaling them down, which is the only reason it was written that way. Another option is to use the remaining dressing another day or use it over roasted potatoes for a different dish. Lots of options. 🙂

  3. Your cucumbers sound delicious I’ve been making cucumbers and onion but I use just sour cream Thats how my mom use to make them’Im 71 so they’ve been around for a long time
    Season with salt pepper garlic powder and parsley

  4. 5 stars
    I made the cucumbers & dressing for dinner and we couldn’t stop eating them, they are that good. Helps when you have your own fresh cukes, parsley, scallions. I added a bit of fresh dill weed from my herb garden, didn’t hurt a bit. Thank you, love these, and it looks eye-appealing as well, definitely a keeper recipe.

  5. 5 stars
    Great change from sour cream my Mom used to make. Will use again. Love that it can be made ahead and it’s even better.

  6. your recipe is way better than mine bu I add dill weed.
    I also bought your new cookbook and can’t wait to get it. The next time you are on the Q can you take your dogs so we can see them?

  7. So easy to assemble. The favors of the onions with the cucumber is amazing. I served the salad with a hamburger patty. The salad was tasty on the patty too.

  8. 1 star
    I’m giving 1 Star not for the dressing, which was good, but for the method. I did the step with the salt and no matter how much I rinsed and dried the cucumbers, they were so salty they made this dish inedible. I guess “generously” means different things to different people. The cucumbers never got crisp, either. I tried adding 1/2 cup sugar and still couldn’t save this dish. I wanted it so badly, too. So, I will try this again but with ONLY a PINCH of salt in the leaching process. And to anyone who is about to try this recipe—DON’T forget to drain the cucumbers again after they’ve been in the fridge BEFORE you add the dressing.

    1. Sorry you had an issue with salting your cucumbers. You only need to sprinkle about 1 to 2 teaspoons of salt over the cucumbers and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Most of the salt should drain away when you rinse the cucumbers under the cold water.

  9. I made this today and it’s so very good on a hot July day, or anytime! Thanks so much for the recipe.

  10. I cut the cucumbers the long way and scoop out the pulpy/seedy center with the tip of a teaspoon. A good deal of the water is in that center. It’s also great for people who can’t digest the seeds, e.g., people with Crohn’s.

  11. 4 stars
    Check your condiments aisle at supermarket. There is a really great vidala onion salad dressing that I’ve used fir a while for my cucumber/onion salad. Also good on baked potatoes.

  12. 4 stars
    Loved this recipe and will make again. The excess sauce is a great vegetable dip or a baked potato topper.

  13. I am on a very restricted low sodium diet and was hesitant on salting the cucumbers to wick out the water. I rinsed the bejebus out of them and patted them dry and was still more than I could handle. I did like the dressing. Next time maybe just go strait to putting the dressing on raw cucumbers & onions.

    1. You can omit the salting of the cucumbers if you like. It is just to help keep the cucumbers crispier.

  14. 4 stars
    I really wish you had put the salt amount in the recipe. I salted “generously” and same thing other people said. But otherwise delicious. Next time I will use just 1/2 t.

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