I Tried Our 5 Most Popular Creamy Cucumber Salad Recipes and Discovered a New Favorite

Sure, the classics are awesome. But this is better.

Creamy cucumber salad is the perfect summer side. For one, it uses all those summer cucumbers you’ve likely got popping out of the garden (or filling up the table at the farmers market), and it goes really well alongside burgers, hot dogs and almost any grilled food. And while creamy cucumber salad is ideal for summer, it’s also great year-round (try it next time you make Sloppy Joes and see what we mean!).

Given how much I love creamy cucumber salad, I wanted to see how well the most popular recipes on Allrecipes lived up to their rankings (and of course, find my own favorites). So it was off to the supermarket for cucumbers and into the kitchen! Here’s what I found.

What Makes the Best Creamy Cucumber Salad?

Creamy cucumber salad isn’t often a complicated recipe. Perhaps that’s part of its allure. It’s simple, but in the best way–basic ingredients thrown together in a relatively basic fashion. The recipes included here exemplify that. As for what makes one better than another? It comes down to these four things:

Just enough dressing: Yes, the recipe has the word “creamy” in the title, but that doesn’t mean I want cucumber soup. The recipe should highlight all that is good about cucumbers, not hide them in a swimming pool of mayonnaise.

Balanced flavors: I want to taste the cucumbers, which means all of the other ingredients need to complement, not surpass, the cucumbers. There should be just the right amount of creaminess (from sour cream, mayonnaise, etc.), acid (from vinegar or lemon juice), salt, and other seasonings. Too much of one of these throws off that balance, leaving the dish feeling flat.

Salting the cucumbers: One technique that helps keep cucumbers crunchy and seasoned while also releasing some of their moisture (which helps prevent the cucumber-soup thing too), is to salt them after slicing. Toss them with salt and then let them sit in a strainer for about 30 minutes before adding your dressing. Even if it’s not in the recipes, below, add this extra step: It’s worth it.

The right cucumbers: Choosing the cucumbers for your recipe is an important step. If you’re unsure of which type to buy, I recommend using the English cucumber as your default. The flesh is usually firm, but not tough (or bitter) and it has very few seeds which are so soft, you’ll barely notice them.

Which Creamy Cucumber Salad Recipes Did I Test?

I tested five of the most popular recipes for Creamy Cucumber Salad on Allrecipes, all of which had a rating of 4.2 stars or greater. There was one that was really nice and creamy, one that everyone will like, one that will use up your extra dill from the garden, one that doesn't make you peel the cucumbers, and an imaginative version that we all loved the most. Here’s what I found.

Creamiest: Dad’s Creamy Cucumber Salad

• Fast facts: Developed by MHudson, has 367 reviews with a 4.7-star rating

Based on this recipe, it seems like Dad likes his cucumber salad ultra-rich and creamy. Luckily, the dressing, although perhaps a bit too plentiful for my tastes, had good flavor. And because the cucumbers and onions get tossed in salt, the cucumbers held up, even when covered with dressing.

I’d make this recipe again, but would use half the amount of dressing, so that I can enjoy those cucumbers. Otherwise, I’d keep everything else the same. The flavor was good and the recipe was simple.

Get the recipe: Dad’s Creamy Cucumber Salad

Best Crowd-Pleaser: Mom’s Cucumber Salad

• Fast facts: Developed by LisaPav, has 421 reviews with a 4.5-star rating

This cucumber salad was the simplest in flavor of all of the recipes tested. Perhaps that’s because it’s heavy on the mayonnaise, but light on the seasonings. This helped it earn “basic” status. Which isn’t a bad thing, especially if you're looking for a creamy cucumber salad recipe that will please everyone.

Now that we’ve confirmed the flavor is basic, what about the steps for making it? I don’t know about you, but I don’t love peeling vegetables. I love the skin (usually) and don’t love food waste. This recipe calls for medium cucumbers, and advises to peel them, but if you opt for smaller cukes or English cucumbers, you can skip the peeling. Next time, I’ll do just that and I’ll also add more vinegar and swap in fresh dill for the dried. And since this recipe doesn’t include salting the sliced cucumber first, I’ll do that too. This will take the overall recipe just a bit beyond basic.

Get the recipe: Mom’s Cucumber Salad

Best Elevated Flavor: Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad)

• Fast facts: Developed by VeggieMommy, has 63 reviews with a 4.4-star rating
  

This recipe is the least creamy of all of the recipes on the list, using just 2 ½ tablespoons of sour cream for the dressing. But somehow that minimal amount of sour cream adds just enough flavor and creamy feeling to make the dish satisfying. Like other successful recipes, this one also tosses the cucumbers in salt, making them perfectly seasoned and crisp.

But let’s talk about the fresh dill! You’ll end up chopping 1 bunch of fresh dill to toss with one pound of cucumbers and that’s no small amount. If you’re a dill fan, you’ll love it. If you’re not a dill fan, you will absolutely not love it. I personally loved it and would make it again, with only one small change–I’d skip peeling the cucumbers, because you know how I feel about that.

Get the recipe: Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad)

Best Make-Ahead: Gurkensalat (German Cucumber Salad)

• Fast facts: Developed by hisunbeam, has 189 reviews with a 4.6-star rating
  

This recipe thankfully calls for keeping the peels on the cucumber. That small detail, along with salting the slices before tossing with dressing, ensures the cucumbers stay crisp and crunchy.

It’s important to note though, that this recipe requires about 8 hours of additional refrigeration time beyond the 20 minutes of prep time. That means you’ll want to make it either in the morning or the day before you plan on enjoying it.

While I love the simplicity of this recipe, I wish there was more flavor. Next time, I’ll plan on at least doubling the amount of vinegar and swapping in fresh herbs for the dried.

Get the recipe: Gurkensalat (German Cucumber Salad)

Best Overall: Creamy Cucumber, Radish and Tomato Salad

• Fast facts: Developed by Mindy Harwood, has 14 reviews with a 4.8-star rating
  

Okay, here me out: I realize that this recipe goes beyond cucumbers, adding radishes, tomatoes, and red onion to the mix. Also, unlike other recipes, the vegetables get chopped. This makes it feel less like a salad and more like a relish, but obviously doesn’t affect the flavor, which is quite mild, even with the addition of feta cheese and fresh herbs.

Even though this wasn’t a “traditional” creamy cucumber salad, I really enjoyed it and so did all of my taste-testers. The flavor was light and the crunch was refreshing and satisfying. Bottom line, If you’re looking for a traditional creamy cucumber salad, this isn’t it. But if you want to try something that’s a bit different, but still offers that same crisp, fresh flavor, this recipe is it.

Get the recipe: Creamy Cucumber, Radish and Tomato Salad