Nice and creamy, but also nice and healthy.
It’s six years since I initially shared this recipe, but it is the perfect salad for the heat of summer. This recipe for Creamy Cucumber Salad is my favorite version of cucumber salad. The other cucumber recipe is a favorite for others in my home. For me this salad is all about the peas and creamy dressing. However, even though it has a creamy dressing, it’s still healthy because I use one of my go-to ingredients: Greek yogurt. For a different spin on cucumber salad, you definitely need to give this recipe a try.
To learn more about this recipe, originally published in August 2017, keep reading.
Yes, I know. I have a fixation with healthy foods. I frequently am thinking of ways to convert recipes from high fat, high calorie dishes into slimmer, trimmer dishes while keeping lots of flavor. I can admit that sometimes you just have to use butter, sugar, and all the other naughty ingredients to deliver, but I also know that quite often you don’t. That’s how I eat: most of the time healthy, occasionally indulgent.
This salad falls into my healthy eating category. It’s not the creamy cucumber salad of my childhood that would have been made with loads of sour cream or mayonnaise. Nope, this salad is made with my good friend, Greek yogurt. And why shouldn’t it be? Greek yogurt is thick, so it delivers the texture you want. Plus, its tart notes give so much more dimension to the flavors of this salad.
Making this salad I did learn/remember how watery cucumbers are. For my first batch I simply peeled and sliced the cucumbers. Silly mistake, I should have known better. Although it looked lovely upon completion, when I took it out of the fridge hours later, there were pools of liquid. *Sigh*
If that happens to you, it’s not the end of the world. Simply drain the liquid from the bowl. However, the better option would be to take the time and remove moisture before assembling the salad. It’ll add an hour or so to your prep time, so it’s your call. Skip the prep work, and be prepared to drain your salad. Spend a little prep time, and your salad is ready when you are.
I think my favorite thing about this salad is that it isn’t one that I see often at cookouts. Sure, you have your table full of potato and pasta salads, cole slaw, and some version of a green salad, but it isn’t often that you see a cucumber salad. Make this salad, and you’ll have many requests for the recipe. Feel free to send them my way!
- 1 medium-sized cucumber
- Salt
- ½ cup peas, fresh or frozen
- 2 tablespoons minced red onion
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 1-½ tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Ground black pepper
- Peel cucumber.
- Slice in half lengthwise twice, so that you have 4 spears.
- Cut each spear into 1/2” thick wedges.
- Place cucumber wedges in a bowl, and sprinkle with 1-2 teaspoons of salt.
- Allow to sit for at least an hour.
- While the cucumber sits, blanch fresh peas or defrost frozen peas.
- After an hour, drain cucumber, and transfer to a paper towel; blot to remove excess salt.
- Combine cucumber, peas, and onion in a medium-sized bowl.
- Whisk yogurt, vinegar, and sugar together in a small bowl.
- Add yogurt mixture to veggies, and stir to combine.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, stirring well.
- Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
