Looking for an amazing anytime salad full of fresh ingredients? Try slices of radishes, cucumbers and red onions for a cucumber radish salad BURSTING with refreshing flavors and zero guilt.
Personally, I have an obsession with salads – I love the beautiful flavors, colors…ease of making them. But recently I realized, for a side dish blog, I really have very little radish side dishes here. And the whole irony is that there is a radish in the logo (so cute, right?).
This Radish salad side dish recipe is going to remedy that and the added bonus is that I get to eat it when I am done!
Just look at those chunky cucumbers and radishes all smothered with fresh herbs………wow.
Why this Salad works
Uncommon vegetables: Radishes are not a common veggie to just consider when you go to the store. They can be spicy to some, peppery almost, and are so unique. Radishes also give such a nice crunch in a salad and are easy just to eat as a finger food with vegetable dip on a holiday platter so while widely ignored, are an amazing and unique vegetable option.
Quick to make: Totally light and easy, this salad is done in mere minutes with only the prep of the vegetables taking the majority of the time.
Let the vegetables shine: This particular recipe isn’t creamy – it’s made with homemade dressing but without the dairy like our other creamy cucumber salad has. This allows the light crisp taste of a cucumber to really be the star of the show. However, if you want a creamy based dressing, we have that version below too!
Ingredients
Here is a grocery list (ingredient list) to see if you have everything on hand. If so, proceed through the instructions and learn how to make this awesome and refreshing spring salad!
- English cucumbers – quartered English cucumber pieces.
- radishes – sliced thin so not too over powerful.
- red onion – red onion can be particularly strong when it comes to fresh salads, often taking over the flavors. In order to let other vegetables shine, simply cut and place red onion pieces into cold water for 30 minutes, the dump water, dry onions and continue to place in salads. This takes away some of that initial bite.
- fresh dill – there isn’t much like fresh dill. It smothers the cucumbers and radishes not only in beautiful colors but beautiful flavors.
- white sugar – we like to add white sugar to ours to cut the vinegar, it’s also fine to add a bit of honey or molasses for the same reason.
How to remove excess water from Cucumbers
Cucumbers are one of the more watery vegetables. Prior to making a salad that contains them, it’s worth the extra step to pull out extra water.
Please note that this doesn’t have to be done if you are going to eat the salad instantly
Removing moisture is easily done by planning ahead and salting the cucumbers. Simply slice up cucumbers, toss in about a 1 tsp salt, and let rest in a bowl or colander. The salt will then pull out excess water and absorb it. This process should sit for a minimum of 1 hour up to 3 full hours.
Once done, drain out any excess water and dry cucumber with a paper towel. Avoid the temptation to rinse cucumbers as that reintroduces the water.
While there might be a tiny bit of salt left on the cucumber, just remove that from the recipe to compensate.
This step is especially important when adding a creamy dressing as the dressing + a watery cucumber isn’t so appetizing the next day.
How to make Cucumber Radish Salad
Make sure to check out the printable recipe card for full step by step instructions and ingredients.
Spring salad, summer BBQ or fresh holiday side, this salad is a perfectly easy dish. To kick off a few new radish dishes, of which I seriously hope you enjoy, I dissected one of my favorite cucumber salads on this blog to create a new version- Radish Cucumber Salad with Homemade Dressing.
The homemade marinade, the fresh dill and the chopped up red onions all make for a powerful and tasty side salad.
Step 1: Add sliced cucumber, quartered radishes, chopped red onion to a bowl.
Step 2: Mix vegetables together well.
Step 3: Add fresh dill herbs to a mixing bowl and combine well.
Step 4: For the homemade vinaigrette: In a separate smaller bowl, add olive oil.
Step 5: Add apple cider vinegar and sugar and mix well. This is your marinade dressing for your salad. If a creamy dressing is preferred, please see notes below. Season dressing with salt and pepper.
Step 6: Pour oil and vinegar mixture over sliced cucumber and radishes and toss well until all vegetables are well covered. Let flavors mingle and marinate for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid settling. No need to add to the fridge as oil tends to harden in cold environments – counter top is fine.
Topping Suggestion
Add crumbled feta or blue cheese to this salad!
Recipe Variations
This salad is perfect as is, but can you really ever go wrong with more seasonal veggies? Here are a few ideas for a more robust salad.
- Serve chunky radishes and cucumbers on a bed of Arugula or Kale.
- Add small cubes of watermelon for a sweet bite.
- Diced Avocado is a complementary veggie for this side salad.
- Chunks of Tomatoes bring in color and texture.
Add Creamy Dressing
Some really love what is known as Polish Cucumber and Radish salad, which contains a creamy dressing over a vinaigrette.
If you want a creamy salad, leave out vinaigrette ingredients and instead whip together sour cream, fresh dill, vinegar, minced garlic, salt, sugar and pepper. Then toss in radishes, cucumbers and red onions for the finish.
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Other simple ways to cream up a cucumber salad is a bit half a cup of sour cream + 2 tablespoons mayo or using unflavored Greek yogurt with above spices.
FAQ’s
Yes, cucumber and radish salad can be made ahead of time. The only concern is that cucumbers do contain some moisture and your salad may need to be slightly drained prior to serving. Just toss and mix.
Nothing takes the place of fresh herbs, however if needed, 1 tsp dried dill is the same as 1 tablespoon fresh dill.
Freshly quartered ripe tomatoes are a great additive.
no.
Yes but its a tiny amount and helps balance the vinegar. It wont really affect the overall carb count too much. The overall carb count of adding it is about 10 carb if you were to eat ALL the salad and ALL the dressing as one serving.
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Cucumber Radish Dill Salad
Ingredients
- 2 English cucumbers - quartered
- 12 radishes - sliced thin
- 1/4 chopped red onion
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2.5 tsp white sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add sliced cucumber, quartered radishes, chopped red onion and fresh dill herbs to a mixing bowl and combine well.
- In a separate smaller bowl, add olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sugar and mix well. This is your marinade dressing.
- Season dressing with salt and pepper.
- Pour oil and vinegar mixture over cucumber and radishes and toss well until all vegetables are well covered.
- Let flavors mingle and marinate for another 30 minutes (counter top or fridge is fine), stirring occasionally.
- Serve Radish-Cucumber salad immediately or continue to refrigerate (covered) until ready to serve.
- Mix salad well before serving to prevent too much dressing settling on bottom of bowl.
- OPTIONAL: Add additional sea salt and cracked pepper before serving.
Video
Recipe Notes
How to make a Creamy Salad Dressing
If you want a creamy salad, leave out vinaigrette ingredients and instead whip together sour cream, fresh dill, vinegar, minced garlic, salt, sugar and pepper. Then toss in radishes, cucumbers and red onions for the finish. Simply combine the ingredients below and add to salad.- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
