Gurkensalat (German Cucumber Salad)

  4.6 – 192 reviews  • Cucumber Salad Recipes

The finest seitan recipe I’ve ever used is this simple one. I frequently prepare it to add to stir-fries and use on sandwiches.

Prep Time: 20 mins
Additional Time: 8 hrs 30 mins
Total Time: 8 hrs 50 mins
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  1. 2 large cucumbers, sliced thin
  2. ½ medium onion, sliced thin (Optional)
  3. 1 teaspoon salt
  4. ½ cup sour cream
  5. 2 tablespoons white sugar
  6. 2 tablespoons white vinegar
  7. 1 teaspoon dried dill
  8. 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  9. ¼ teaspoon paprika, or to taste

Instructions

  1. Spread cucumber and onion slices onto a large platter; season with salt on both sides. Let rest for 30 minutes, then drain in a colander and squeeze to remove excess moisture. Blot dry with paper towels.
  2. Stir sour cream, sugar, vinegar, dill, and parsley together in a large bowl. Gently fold in cucumber and onion slices until coated. Cover and refrigerate, 8 hours to overnight.
  3. Garnish with paprika to serve.
  4. You can change up the flavor by using cider vinegar instead of white vinegar.

Reviews

Jorge Moran
Love creamy cucumber recipes. Gonna try all 5. When I was a little girl and walking home from school, I always stopped by the garden to get a cucumber to eat. No washing or peeling, just bite the end off and start eating. Made my Mom mad cause the peel was dirty.
Justin Morton
The recipe was good.it is really similar to the German cucumber salad my grandma made.dident add sugar.because my grandma never put sugar in to her salad.none of the Germans I knew ever put sugar in there salad.my Mom’s side of the family is German and I lived there 13 years of my life.
Amanda Goodman
just like my grandma use to make 50 years ago
Ashley Davies
I just made this for Thanksgiving at a friend’s! YUM!!
Julia Nguyen
Good recipe, tried pickled red onion this time, a nice variation but the original is excellent. I may put less sugar next time. 2 tbsp seems a lot.
Mark Fernandez
I’m German and this recipe was wonderful with a few changes: I reduced the sugar to 1 tsp and added the green parts of 2 sliced scallions at the end instead of the onions. Question: the salad tasted great but the sour cream mixture turned frothy when I served it. Any idea why?
David Nolan
Delicious! I’d eliminate the sugar, but that’s just me.
Traci Kennedy
It was just like I remember from my time in Germany. It is great. Thank you!
Barbara Moore
Like many others, I have had this dish since I was a kid and loved it. My salting technique differs a little though. After peeling and slicing, the cucumbers go into a colander. I then salt them generously with kosher salt (don’t bother measuring), then place a bowl of water on top to squeeze them for an hour. I then rinse the excess salt off and dry them with paper towels. The purpose of this step is not to remove water (like you do with zucchini) but acid. Yes, they do end up limp. But if you belch up cucumbers for hours after eating them, like I do, you’ll appreciate the difference. Also, as long as the salad’s cold, the 8 hours or overnight in the fridge is probably unnecessary. Doesn’t hurt though. Lastly, the paprika garnish is just to add a little color. An entire teaspoon, unless you’re using a very wide bowl, is probably overkill.
Patrick Richard
The first time I made this it was too sweet for my taste. I reduced the sugar to just 1 tsp. I also added a finely chopped small clove of garlic. This is a delicious and fresh side dish.
Kristine Cortez
Came out perfect! Just like my German Mom used to make! This is an absolute keeper!
Leslie Richards
It was a great side dish to a bratwurst and sauerkraut dinner. Unfortunately I didn’t find it in time to let it marinate the suggested 8 hours, but the flavor was a winner.
Kyle Martin
Way too much sugar! Ruined it for me.
Robert Moore
Thank you for this recipe and for the reviews. Taking a half hour to let the water seep out of the salted cukes and onion was the secret to a great salad. Don’t like sweet salads, so I took reviewers’ advice and decreased the sugar to 1 tbsp.
Natalie Ponce
I followed the recipe exactly except for the paprika. It was perfect! i lived in Germany for 3 years and loved the cucumber salad that adorned almost all dishes at restaurants there. I will make it frequently.
Eric Ramirez
Delicious! I went with a heaping four cups of thinly sliced cucumbers since ‘two cucumbers’ wasn’t very specific. One large sweet onion sliced thin. Used two tsp kosher salt for getting the water to release from the cukes. Did a double batch of the sour cream mixture, so 1.5 cups sour cream and double other items except sugar. After reading the reviews I cut the sugar in half and glad I did as we don’t care for super sweet dishes. Used fresh fern dill, skipped the paprika, added .5 tsp coarse pepper, but I think you could go a full teaspoon. Will be making this again.
Lisa Hutchinson
This was a huge NO for me. Way, WAY too sweet.
Chad Wall
a nice alterateto refrigator pickles
Alan Roberts
I loved this! I did use red wine vinegar as that was what I had on hand. I did not let it marinate more than a half hour or so…didn’t matter – so good! My husband said, “Please feel free to make this ANY time!!!”
Christine Craig
I used mayo and sour cream half and half and I didn’t end up using all the sauce on the cucumbers because I don’t like it soupy. I also left the veggies in a colander over the sink for 3 minutes to drain
Kiara Ware
This recipe is exactly what you’re looking for! I recommend following the instructions all the way through as I discovered Paprika mixed in, instead of garnished, makes for a different taste and color. 2nd batch made as written – awesome!

 

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