Name: German Cucumber Salad (Gurkensalat)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 large cucumbers; 3/4 tsp salt; 2 tbsp chopped dill or chives; 1 tbsp oil; 2 tbsp white wine vinegar.; 1 tbsp water

This recipe for German Cucumber Salad is one that was passed down to me from my mother, who got the recipe from her mother etc. German cumber salad or Gurkensalat as it's known in Germany, is very easy to make and is often served alongside roasted meats or simply on its own. It makes a great lunch paired with a hearty sandwich and is a great addition to potlucks and other family gatherings!

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Cucumbers are a great vegetable to eat and have on hand as a kitchen staple. Kids generally love them, and they are full of health benefits. Vitamins A, B, and C are all present in cucumbers and since these vegetables are made up of up to 95% water, they are a great way to keep hydrated and flush out toxins from your kidneys. Our family eats cucumbers daily!

german cucumber salad garnished with dill in a glass bowl

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While multiple variations of cucumber salad do exist, I will only focus on this one recipe today!

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My Mother's German Cucumber Salad

Since cucumbers are fairly easy to grow at home, this Gurkensalat recipe is a great way to use up excess cucumbers from the garden. Besides the cucumbers, you will only need three other ingredients making this an easy salad recipe to put together with very little notice.

Before you begin make sure you have:

1 large cucumbers
¾ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon chopped dill or chives
1 tablespoon of oil
2 tablespoon of white wine vinegar. (You could also substitute with this Homemade Chive Blossom Vinegar!)
1 tablespoon of water

Instructions

Traditionally the cucumbers would have been peeled for this salad recipe, but I love the contrast the dark green rind adds to the salad.

Wash the cucumbers and then very thinly slice them whole. If your knife skills are up to par, you could do this by hand, but for most home cooks I would suggest using a vegetable slicer such as this mandolin.

An english cucumber being sliced on a japanese mandolin slicer for a german cucumber salad.

If you have never heard of a mandolin slicer, it is essentially a very sharp hand-held slicer that is capable of slicing various vegetables from 3 mm to 20 mm thick. Most mandolins also come with various blade attachments which allow you to cut julienne and batonette style cuts.

If you need to add this valuable tool to your kitchen arsenal I highly recommend a Benriner Japanese Mandolin over cheaper grocery store brands. The blade is removable which allows it to be sharpened, and is the mandolin most trusted by professional chefs. Once you have it you'll wonder how you ever did without!

a stainless steel bowl filled with thinly sliced english cumber

Once the cucumbers are sliced place the slices in a bowl and gently mix in ¾ teaspoon of sea salt. Cover the bowl and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes to draw out the natural water present in cucumbers.

As the cucumber slices sit, prepare the dressing by mixing the oil, vinegar, and herbs.

dill, vinegar, oil, and salt, being mixed in a glass bowl for the german cucumber salad dressing

Going back to the cucumber slices, drain the water and gently press the cucumber slices to squeeze out any extra moisture.

Don't squish the slices to mush though! By removing the excess water you prevent it from leeching into the dressing and watering it down.

Mix the cucumber slices and the dressing and season to taste with salt and white pepper if you have it!

A glass bowl filled with german cucumber salad, garnished with fresh dill

That's it! Isn't it a simple recipe? It is perfect for a hot day, if you're only looking for a light meal, or simply something refreshing to snack on! The simple flavors of the cucumber and dill, paired with the vinegar, make this almost like a quick pickled salad! I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!

If you're looking for more healthy and easy to prepare salad recipes, try my shredded beet salad with apple!

More German Recipes

If you loved this German recipe, try out some of my other traditional German foods such as these:

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