Sweet and Sour Dill Cucumber Salad! With its vibrant flavors and easy preparation, this salad is bound to become your new go-to recipe for all things cucumber.
If you’re on the hunt for a refreshing dish that perfectly balances sweetness and tang, look no further than this Sweet and Sour Dill Cucumber Salad! Bursting with flavor and vibrant colors, this salad features crisp mini cucumbers that take center stage, showcasing their natural crunch and freshness. The star of the show is the delightful sweet and sour dressing, which beautifully complements the dill, adding a fragrant herbaceous note that elevates every bite. Perfect for summer barbecues, picnics, or as a light side dish, this salad is sure to impress your friends and family.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
As self-proclaimed mini cucumber enthusiasts, we’re always on the lookout for creative and flavorful ways to incorporate these adorable veggies into our meals. This Sweet and Sour Dill Cucumber Salad did not disappoint; it’s a delightful blend of crunchy cucumbers and a tangy dressing that dances on your taste buds!
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This Sweet and Sour Dill Cucumber Salad is delicious and full of fresh ingredients. Mini cucumbers shine in this tasty salad that showcases a sweet and sour tangy dressing.
- Mini Cucumbers Preparation: This recipe uses 8 mini cucumbers The mini cucumbers are not peeled. The 14 oz. measurement is from a store-bought package of mini cucumbers.
- Mini Cucumbers Water: Cucumbers are comprised of a mostly water which will eventually start to leach into the salad and create a watered-down dressing if you do not salt the cucumber slices and allow the water to drain out of them.
- Slice the Cucumbers: We used our 4mm slicing blade for our Cuisinart Food Processor; however, using a food processor is optional. You can hand slice the mini cucumbers if you wish.
- Amount of Pure Maple Syrup: Our family was divided over the amount of maple syrup that was needed to create the perfect amount of sweetness. Feel free to use less or add more. It is easy to add more, so start on the lower side if unsure how much you like.
- Fresh Dill or Dried Dill: You can use either fresh dill or dried dill in this recipe. If using fresh dill, you can use as little or as much as you wish. The same goes for the dried dill.
- Distilled White Vinegar Substitutions: You can substitute the distilled white vinegar with apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar.
- Optional – Soaked Red Onions: If you are concerned about the sharpness that can come from red onions, then we suggest lightly soaking them. The purpose of soaking the red onions is two-fold. One – it removes any sharp notes as some red onions can be overpoweringly strong. In this cucumber salad, mild red onion perfectly complements the flavor. Two – it ever so slightly reduces the crunch. The red onions are still crunchy as they are raw, but soaking can mitigate some of the crunch. Simply place the chopped red onions into a small bowl, cover with warm tap water and steep for 7 minutes, then drain off the water, shake well to remove any excess water, then they are ready for the recipe.
- Oil-Free Dressing: The classic (Non-WFPB) version of this salad is made with oil which coats all the ingredients. Since this salad does not have oil, the dressing will be on the thin side. In other words, oil coats the ingredients, since there is no oil in this dressing, the dressing is on the thinner side and doesn’t coat to the ingredients. The recipe makes a nice amount of dressing without drenching the salad ingredients. The key to the deliciousness of this salad is to get a little bit of the dressing (that falls to the bottom on the dish) with each bite when served in individual bowls.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered container.
This salad cannot be frozen.
Pantry Products:
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Whisk (or fork)
- Food Processor with 4 mm slicing blade (optional)
If you try this flavorful dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
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Sweet and Sour Dill Cucumber Salad
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 30 Minutes
- Yield: 6 Cups 1x
- Category: Salad
- Diet: Vegan
Description
If you’re on the hunt for a refreshing dish that perfectly balances sweetness and tang, look no further than this Sweet and Sour Dill Cucumber Salad!
Ingredients
Cucumber Ingredients:
- 8 mini cucumbers, sliced (14 oz.) *
- 1 teaspoon sea salt *
Salad Ingredients:
- 1 cup finely diced red bell pepper
- ½ cup grated carrots
- ½ cup finely diced red onion (+/-) *
Dressing Ingredients:
- ½ cup distilled white vinegar *
- 3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup (+/-) *
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried ground mustard powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried dill (+/-) *
- Pinch to ½ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
Instructions
- Place the sliced cucumbers into a colander and sprinkle with the teaspoon of sea salt, then mix the sliced cucumbers with the teaspoon of sea salt thoroughly so that the salt is mixed through the sliced cucumbers to ensure that all the sea salt has been distributed among the cucumbers. Place the colander filled cucumbers over a bowl and place in the refrigerator to allow the water content of the cucumbers to release and drain into the bowl for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, rinse the salted, sliced cucumbers under cold tap water for several minutes, gently flipping them around to remove most of the sea salt, then lay them out on a lint-free tea towel and pat dry. Then place into a large bowl.
- In the meantime, place all the Dressing Ingredients into a small bowl and whisk well until smooth and emulsified.
- Place all the Salad Ingredients into a large bowl with the salted and rinsed sliced cucumbers, mix to evenly distribute the ingredients.
- Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients, mix well to thoroughly coat all the ingredients. If desired, top with chopped fresh dill or sprinkle with some additional dried dill. Serve and enjoy! Refrigerate leftovers.
Notes
*Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Servings: Makes 6 cups (4 to 6)
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