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German Cucumber Salad is a refreshing summer salad made with simple ingredients that are a staple in most kitchens! This recipe is easy to make, budget-friendly, and perfect for a potluck, family dinner, or summer cookout.
German Cucumber Salad is light, refreshing, and so easy to make! A perfect salad to bring to a party or potluck. My family especially loves this salad in the summer months because it is so light and tastes super fresh. This recipe is similar to how my German Grandmothers make their cucumber salad. I say similar because none of them can ever tell how much of each ingredient they use. But it tastes like Oma made it!
Cucumber Salad is called Gurkensalat in German and is made with sour cream, vinegar, and fresh dill. Like most German salads, this one tastes best after it has chilled for a few hours in the fridge. You can make it up to one day in advance! Perfect for a big party or barbecue.
This easy salad tastes great with fish or meat. In Germany, cucumber salad is often served with Schnitzel.
Julia’s Tips and Tricks for making this German Cucumber Salad Recipe
- This salad needs to rest in the fridge for 4 hours or longer to fully develop its flavor. It tastes great when you just made it but it tastes even better after a few hours. The dressing will get a bit watery but that’s totally normal. If you want you can season the sliced cucumbers with salt before adding the dressing and squeeze out the moisture after a few minutes then toss them with the dressing.
- The secret to a perfect German Cucumber Salad is to slice the cucumbers super thin! The thinner the better! The slices should be almost translucent. The mandoline slicer I use and love is linked below.
- You can add thinly sliced onion or a minced clove of garlic to this salad. I grew up without garlic or onions in my sour cream cucumber salad because garlic is not really common in the German cuisine and I’m not a big fan of raw onions.
- English cucumbers work best for this recipe. They often are wrapped in plastic and are unwaxed. You don’t need to peel these cucumbers. But you can also use regular cucumbers.
- There are two versions of cucumber salad in Germany. This sour cream cucumber salad and a vinegar and oil version. To make a vinegar and oil dressing for the cucumber salad use 1/2 cup canola oil and 1/4 cup white vinegar instead of the sour cream and vinegar the recipe below calls for. The other ingredients are the same.
Looking for more summer sides & salads?
- Authentic German Potato Salad
- Roasted Corn Zucchini Salad
- Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing
- Balsamic Chickpea Feta Greek Salad
- Bavarian Wurst Salad with Cheese
Tools used in the making of this German Cucumber Salad
Mandoline Slicer: This slicer is the BEST! It’s super sharp, made in Germany, and you can slice different thicknesses, julienne, and shred. Perfect for super thin cucumber slices, coleslaw, and making homemade fries! I bought this for my husband’s birthday last year and he loves it.
Cut Resistant Gloves: Better also get a pair of these with the slicer! Trust me this thing is extremely sharp. Luckily we haven’t had any accidents since we bought these but I wish we had these a few years ago when my husband tried to make coleslaw.
Vinegar: I like to use this German seasoned vinegar for salads but you can also use distilled white vinegar, white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. But do NOT use balsamic vinegar!
German Cucumber Salad Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 English cucumbers, or 4 medium cucumbers
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp dill, fresh or frozen
- 1/2 tsp salt
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Peel the cucumbers if desired and thinly slice them with a mandoline slicer. The thinner the better! Put them in a large salad bowl.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the sour cream, vinegar, sugar, and dill. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour dressing over cucumber slices and toss until combined. Cover and let chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Serve with a slotted spoon.
Video
Nutrition
I made this today and it was very good. Will make it more often. I used the sour cream method. I added a tablespoon of garlic juice. I didn’t have a ultra thin slicer so my onion and cucumber was thicker. It tasted really good anyway. Definite keeper.
If you don’t want the salad to get watery, let the salted sliced cucumbers drain in a colander for at least an hour before putting in the dressing. The salad stays creamy and delicious for a couple days!
How long will this cucumber salad remain edible in the refrigerator?
( 3 days?)
My husband is German and I’m making this for the first time. It is so delicious!!! I can’t believe my 1st German dish is super tasty and easy to make. My family can’t stop eating this. I’m thrilled to find out about your website <3
Great! I don’t see a link for the mandolin slicer.
Sorry, just added it to the recipe card.
This salad reminds me of my German mother and aunt. My mother and aunt came to Australia at the end of 1955 and this salad was one they made regularly throughout my childhood. Mum died when I was 18 but I still made this salad for my Aussie dad and later for my husband, and to this day it’s still a favourite in the family. Our recipe is the same as this— so nice to see the tradition in two countries so far from Germany. Thanks too, for the trip down memory lane as Mum has been gone for nearly 40 years now and the reminder is lovely.
Thank you for your lovely comment, Sue!
Delicious, easy, clean crisp tasting, perfect along side many dishes. I used fresh dill once and dried dill another time and it was great both ways! I am looking forward to trying more of your recipes Julia.
What is the name of the mandolin slicer that you like to use. I was not able to find your link to the brand name.
Hi, which flavoured vinegar? The link isn’t there.
Sorry, Annmarie, we’re having problems with Amazon at the moment so some links to products are not working. Here is a link to the vinegar: Salata Seasoned Vinegar
Thank you. I have some Kräuter balsamic that I might try, I know you said not to use balsamic, why is that?
I live in Germany so I should have learnt how to make this but I’m lactose intolerant so avoid it as its always cream based.
I don’t recommend balsamic vinegar because it’s not traditional but you could definitely use it. It would be a more Italian version and not a “German” Cucumber Salad. You could also just use any “Kraeuteressig”, there should be a great selection in any German grocery store.
Memories of growing up in W Germany as a military brat reminds me of this recipe—my Mom’s with oil and vinegar and dill. It was our favorite dish! Also miss the market days and how fresh and large everything was, spots and all. So delicious…and just not the same here in U.S. Thanks for posting this recipe! Does anyone else know of “Ruebele Suppe”? Looking for a recipe…
Might it be Riebele Suppe you’re looking for? My husband loves it!