German Cucumber Dill Salad [Gurkensalat]

Refreshing German Cucumber Dill Salad to serve as a salad side dish during the hotter months of the year.

This salad with cucumber is better known as Gurkensalat in German.

What is Gurkensalat?

Gurkensalat is a super popular spring and summer salad in Germany, Austria and all the surrounding countries.

The word Gurkensalat itself means cucumber salad (Gurke is a cucumber).

How to serve this German Cucumber Salad Recipe?

This particular cucumber salad is served during the spring and summer months.

People love to serve this cucumber and dill summer salad as a side when they sit outside for food or at a BBQ.

It’s quite refreshing!

Traditionally, the cucumber salad with the dill salad dressing is served with cooked sweet water fish.

Dill herb and fish go hand in hand.

In Austria, you will often see cucumber dill salad dressing served with Vienna Schnitzel, Parsley Butter Potatoes, and Lingonberry Jam.

Otherwise, feel free to serve up this delicious creamy cucumber salad with a vegetarian or vegan meal.

Variations of Cucumber Salad

There are some of the more common variations of the German cucumber dill salad.

You have the option here to make it the way YOU like it.

• prepared with sour cream and/or greek yogurt, mayonnaise, liquid whipping cream (yep they also use high-fat liquid whipping cream)
• cut into super thin or fat slices
• with chopped onion and/or garlic
• with fresh or dried herbs – Dill is the most preferred choice or also chives, parsley to just name a few.
• with the addition of salad oil and vinegar to the creamy ingredient.
• with the choice of Cucumber varieties and with or without peel.

You can prepare this German Gurkensalat the way you like it.

I tend to prepare a cucumber salad with sour cream and dill.

I think Austrian cucumber salad is usually prepared with liquid whipping cream while the German ones are made with sour cream.

There will be regional varieties of Gurkensalat in the German speaking countries and neighboring countries such as poland and slovenia.

How I prepare my cucumber sour cream dill salad

I use whatever cucumber I can get from my local grocery store. Seedless varieties are prefered.

Step 1

I semi peel my washed cucumbers for the green peel border effect ( I eat with my eyes too).

Step 2

Then I simply cut my cucumbers into thick slices because I like the crunch.

Germans use a manual vegetable slicer to cut the cucumbers thin. So, the traditional way is to cut your cucumbers into thin slices.

Step 3

For the dressing I simply chop the fresh dill herb and mix it into the sour cream and seasoning.

The cucumber salad dressing is poured over the cucumbers and I usually do that in advance and not just before serving because I want the cucumbers to take in the dressing flavors.

Tips for a creamy cucumber dill salad

Leave the cucumber to sit for a while, that way excess waters will come out, which you can discard before adding the dressing

Another idea is to let the sliced cucumbers sit with some sea salt.

The sea salt will help in getting excess liquids out of the cucumbers.

Then you are left with not adding salt to the dressing.

Keep in mind that the cucumbers will loose waters, so if you don’t want liquids but a creamy thicker dressing, simply add the dressing before you serve up the salad.

The longer the cucumber slices sit in the dressing the more liquid the dressing will turn.

More Cucumber Recipes

• Persian Shirazi Salad
• Lemon Cucumber Mint Water
• Dilled Cucumber Radish Salad by reneeskitchenadventures.com

Dear Reader, with what do you serve this Cucumber dill salad recipe?

Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comment section further below!