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Pickled Cucumber Salad is the traditional Danish side dish to everything from hamburgers, meatballs, and sandwiches to chicken and pork. It’s easy to make, healthy, and can stay fresh in the fridge for a week. 

Pickled Cucumber Salad in a glass bowl

Pickled Cucumber Salad is one of those rare side dishes that go with almost anything. It’s perfect for a light summer picnic or lunch in the garden. And it’s just as great for heavy winter dinners while the snow is falling outside.

Because it’s so easy and inexpensive to make, you can always have a jar in the fridge, ready for when you need a few pickles in your life (which will be often!)

The recipe traditionally calls for sugar, but I don’t see any reason to add a lot of calories and carbs. Stevia works just as well.

How to make Pickled Cucumber Salad

It’s incredibly easy! The only tool you need is a mandoline slicer to get the cucumber and onion sliced thinly. You can also use a sharp knife, but the slices have to be very thin so you need to be careful not to cut yourself!

Step 1: Wash the cucumber. Remove the outer peel of the onion.

Step 2: Thinly slice the cucumber and onion using a mandoline slicer. You can also use a very sharp knife, but the slices need to be REALLY thin.

Step 3: Chop the dill.

Step 4: Put the sliced cucumber and onion in a bowl with a generous portion of chopped dill.

Thin-sliced cucumber and onion in a bowl with chopped dill.

Step 5: Mix the white vinegar, unfiltered apple cider, and Stevia for the marinade, then pour over the vegetables and mix well.

Pouring marinade over the salad

Step 6: Transfer the salad to mason jars (or any airtight container) and place in the fridge.

Step 7: Let it sit in the fridge for at least a few hours. It will get even better if you let the flavors combine overnight.

The balance of flavor and texture

The longer you let the pickled cucumber salad sit in the fridge, the more intense the flavor will become.

However, the cucumber slices will slowly lose their crispness.

So it’s very much a personal preference whether you prefer a freshly pickled version or one that has been in the fridge for a few days.

Storage

Because of the vinegar, this salad can easily stay fresh for a week in the fridge. You just want to make sure you always have enough liquid in the jar to cover the cucumbers.

Health benefits

Aside from being tasty, this pickled cucumber salad is basically calorie-free and has a ton of vitamin K, copper, potassium, manganese, vitamin C, phosphorus, magnesium, biotin, and vitamin B1.

It’s a great healthy alternative to store-bought pickles and condiments, which usually contain a lot of sugar or other preservatives.

More healthy vegetable recipes

There are so many delicious ways to include more vegetables in your diet. Here are a few more recipes that are simple to make and full of flavor:

You can also check out this roundup of the best low carb vegan recipes.

If you try this dish, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked it and rate the recipe in the comments below!

Pickled Cucumber Salad (Without Sugar)

4.88 from 33 votes
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Pickled Cucumber Salad is the traditional Danish side dish to everything from hamburgers, meatballs, and sandwiches to chicken and pork.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 10

Ingredients 

  • 1 large English cucumber
  • ½ medium sized red onion
  • 2 tablespoon dill
  • 1 ⅔ cup white vinegar
  • ½ cup unfiltered apple cider
  • 1 tablespoon Stevia

Instructions

  • Wash the cucumber. Remove the outer peel of the onion.
  • Thinly slice the cucumber and onion using a mandolin slicer. You can also use a very sharp knife, but the slices need to be REALLY thin.
  • Chop the dill.
  • Place cucumber, onion, and dill in a big bowl.
  • Mix vinegar, apple cider, and Stevia and pour over the vegetables. Mix well.
  • Move the cucumber salad to a Mason jar or other tightly sealed container and place in the fridge.
  • Leave in the fridge for a few hours or overnight before serving.

Notes

This recipe will make 10 servings of pickled cucumber salad.
The longer you let the this salad sit in the fridge, the more intense the flavor will become. However, the cucumber slices will slowly lose their crispness. Your perfect salad will depend on your personal preference.
This side dish will stay fresh for a week in the fridge as long as you have enough liquid in the jar to cover the cucumbers.

Nutrition Info Per Serving

Nutrition Facts
Pickled Cucumber Salad (Without Sugar)
Amount per Serving
Calories
21
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
0.1
g
0
%
Saturated Fat
 
0
g
0
%
Trans Fat
 
0
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
0
g
Monounsaturated Fat
 
0.1
g
Cholesterol
 
0
mg
0
%
Sodium
 
8
mg
0
%
Potassium
 
150.9
mg
4
%
Carbohydrates
 
3.6
g
1
%
Fiber
 
0.4
g
2
%
Sugar
 
1.7
g
2
%
Protein
 
1.1
g
2
%
Vitamin A
 
860
IU
17
%
Vitamin C
 
14
mg
17
%
Calcium
 
27
mg
3
%
Iron
 
0.7
mg
4
%
Net carbs
 
3.2
g
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.