This easy cucumber dill salad in a creamy tzatziki-style dressing is a family favorite. Made with just a few ingredients, it's the perfect refreshing summer side dish.
I'm Emily Roz — food content creator, recipe developer, and cookbook author behind Myriad Recipes. My boyfriend's parents harvested so many cucumbers last year from their garden that we were preparing cucumber salads and various other cucumber dishes every day including my spicy cucumber salad and this creamy chicken cucumber salad!
Out of all the dishes we made, this cucumber dill salad recipe is one of the simplest summer side dishes, and if you ask me or the rest of the family, it’s also one of the best.
- It's refreshing. Great served on a hot day.
- It's customisable. I've provided some popular additions further down the blog for those of you who want to bulk up the recipe or swap out a few ingredients.
- Made in advance. You can make this cucumber dill salad hours before serving, just keep in the fridge.
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Ingredients and Substitutions
Yogurt: I'm using 0% fat thick yogurt for this recipe. Because the cucumber has such a high water content, we want to use the thickest yogurt possible to ensure the salad remains creamy. You could alternatively use cottage cheese or a dairy-free alternative.
Garlic: fresh garlic is best for this recipe but if you've only got garlic granules, use ¼ teaspoon.
Dill: we're using fresh dill for this recipe but the best flavour, but if you've only got dried dill, use ½ teaspoon. If you've got no dill at all, check out my dill substitutes guide for some great alternatives.
Mint: once again, we're using fresh mint leaves. Feel free to use dried if that's all you've got.
Lemon: lemon juice adds a nice acidity to our cucumber dill salad. If you love lemon, you could also add the zest of the lemon to the salad too.
Olive oil: good quality olive oil adds the nuttiness we want for our tzatziki inspired cucumber salad dressing.
Cucumber: you can either use large cucumbers or lots of small little Persian cucumbers. The fresher, the better and the more flavourful they'll be!
For the full ingredients list with measurements and instructions, scroll down to the recipe card.
Popular Additions
- Shredded rotisserie chicken: to increase the protein, add in 1 cup of shredded chicken.
- Feta cheese: to follow our Greek-inspired dressing, add about ¼ cup of crumbled feta to boost saltiness and tanginess.
- Avocado: for extra creaminess and flavour, add a chopped avocado to the salad.
- Chickpeas: a chickpea and cucumber salad is another one of my favourite side salads. Simply add 1 cup of drained and cooked chickpeas for extra flavour, protein, and carbs.
Step by Step Instructions with Photos
Step 1: In a large bowl or 32 oz plastic food container, add the yogurt, garlic, dill, mint, lemon juice, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, then either stir to combine, or add on the lid of the tupperware and shake until combined. Taste and season according to your preferences!
Step 2: Add the sliced cucumbers and then stir to combine, or add on the lid of your container and shake until well combined.
Step 3: You cucumber dill salad should be creamy and well coated. Enjoy!
Top Tips
- If you like a softer bite, slice your cucumbers as finely as possible. If you're more of a chunky sliced cucumber lover, then slice them slightly thicker.
- If you don't know how much cucumber salad you'll be making, make double the dill dressing just in case you have to whip up another cucumber dill salad batch in short notice! If you end up not having to use it, it goes great with pasta to create a cold dill pasta salad!
- Storing the cucumber salad for a few days? Chill the cucumber slices for 20 minutes and then drain them before adding to the dill dressing. They’ll release a lot of water while they chill, and removing it from the salad makes it considerably less soggy.
What To Serve with Cucumber Dill Salad
FAQs
Store the cucumber dill salad in the fridge for up to 3 days.
This is totally up to your personal preference. Most cucumbers have a delicate thin skin that is easy to eat and provides a nice crunch. If you're dealing with slightly thicker skinned cucumbers, then feel free to peel them to remove the slightly tougher skin. Peel, then slice.
The easiest way is by using a mandoline, creating very thin slices of cucumber. But most of the time, I just use a very sharp knife and slice the cucumbers as thinly as possible - thick enough to maintain a nice crunch.
More Salad Recipes
If you tried this Cucumber Dill Salad or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thank you!
Easy 5-Minute Cucumber Dill Salad
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon yogurt
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 10 g fresh dill finely chopped
- 5 g mint or a handful of mint leaves, finely chopped
- ½ lemon juiced. Add more based on your taste preferences.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cucumber thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a large bowl or 32oz plastic food container, add the yogurt, garlic, dill, mint, lemon juice, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, then either stir to combine, or add on the lid of the tupperware and shake until combined. Taste and season according to your preferences!
- Add the sliced cucumbers and then stir to combine, or add on the lid of your container and shake until well combined.
- You cucumber dill salad should be creamy and well coated. Enjoy!
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