These Easy Vinegar Marinated Cucumbers are a light, refreshing, summertime side dish. Add regular or cherry tomatoes to make it a delicious cucumber salad!
Our mom would often make these vinegar marinated cucumbers when we were growing up. I love the crisp, cold cucumbers in the sweet and tangy vinegar dressing. They are a great, light side dish for BBQs or potlucks. You can serve immediately or store in the fridge to eat later (see notes below).
Additions:
Sometime we like to bulk up these vinegar marinated cucumbers by making them into a cucumber salad. Our favorite way of doing this is by adding cherry tomatoes. If you don’t have cherry tomatoes, you can just use slices of tomatoes instead. We also like adding a splash of olive oil if serving as a salad. Sprinkle on a little pepper and you are good to go!
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We have never tried this before, but we have seen others add sliced green bell pepper to the cucumber/onion mix. If you are a big fan of green bell pepper, give it a try! I am sure it is delicious and I have been meaning to try it. Also, the type of onion you use doesn’t really matter all that much. I like to use the red onion because it looks prettiest, but any kind of onion will do.
How to Store:
Sometimes we like to make this ahead of time to let the cucumbers marinate for even longer. When we do this, we will divide the cucumbers into a couple quart Mason jars and pour the vinegar mixture over the top instead of putting in Ziploc bags. This makes it easier for snacking right out of the jar and less prone to leaking in the fridge. If I am just making this for my family and not a crowd, I will usually go the jar route.
You can store these vinegar marinated cucumbers in your fridge in a jar or air-tight container for up to 3 days. Any longer than that and the cucumbers will lose their “crisp-ness”. There is also a slight risk for microbes forming after 3 days but I guess that goes for any food you keep in the fridge longer than a few days. Some people keep them in their fridge and continue to eat them for up to a week without any issues.
Sweet Vinegar Cucumber Salad
- 5 cucumbers
- 1 red onion
- 1 c. apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 c. sugar (or more to taste)
- 1/2 c. water
- 1 tsp salt
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Peel and slice cucumbers into thin slices.
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Cut onion in half and cut into very thin slices.
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Combine onions and cucumbers in a large Ziploc bag.
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In a separate, medium-sized bowl, combine remaining ingredients.
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Stir until sugar dissolves.
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Pour vinegar mixture over cucumbers and onions in the bag.
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Press out as much air as you can and seal bag.
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Refrigerate at least 20 minutes.
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Before serving, drain liquid and place in a serving bowl to serve.
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*see notes above for instructions on saving in refrigerator
If you are loving this easy side dish, be sure to give these other ones a try!
- Roasted Vegetable Medley: This Roasted Vegetable Medley is a delicious, healthy, and easy side dish. The vegetables have just the right balance of tenderness and crispness.
- Asian Cucumber Salad: Another fresh, cucumber salad with an Asian twist! A great, low-calorie side dish.
- Light Greek Pasta Salad:Light Greek Pasta Salad a fresh, flavorful pasta salad that is perfect for lunch, dinner, potlucks, or BBQs! Great as a main dish OR a side dish!
- Side Salad with Homemade Greek Dressing:This flavor packed Side Salad with Homemade Greek Dressing is an amazing side to just about any meal! To make it a meal on it’s own, add some grilled meat.
Billy says
This looks delicious! It almost reminds me of a type of greek salad if you add tomatoes and feta! Thank you for sharing, I can’t wait to make this at home! Sounds so refreshing.
Sue Allan says
Very good!!! I added diced tomatoes! Made exactly by the recipe.
Favorite Family Recipes says
Thank you!
Chris Cummings says
My mother made this all the time when we were growing up, minus the sugar which frankly doesn’t appeal to me – I dislike sweet pickles. For that reason: 3 stars. Without sugar, 5 stars! A great side dish, and a nice addition to other kinds of salad.
Donna R. says
My mother always made this without the sugar also. I love the vinegar taste with the salt and pepper.
This Guy I Know says
Same here. No sugar and with salt, pepper and Walla Walla sweet onions too. Mmm!
Kathy says
My mom would make this yummy cucumber salad every summer, all summer long. That was many many moons ago. Your recipe is as close to my mom’s as you can get! I’m going to make this for Memorial Day. Brings back so many memories.
Favorite Family Recipes says
So glad this beings back happy memories for you! That is what FFR is all about! So so happy you like this recipe!
Joe Croisant says
This is excellent as I love the vinegar flavor. Another spice I found good is adding mustard seed and some garlic cloves then you really have something. lol.
Barbara D’Augustine says
My mother made this recipe for years and now I have done the same. I double the water and use 2 T of sugar. One comment and request. I’m on an anti-plastic campaign after seeing a documentary about the plastic island in the Pacific Ocean. Could we find other ways to marinate than using a plastic bag?
Favorite Family Recipes says
Sure, you can absolutely marinate it in a glass bowl if you would prefer. Or glass jars.
Sue says
After searching Pinterest for a cucumber/onion salad~I stumbled upon your recipe. I am taking the plunge as will follow the recipe as written, then add make a comment. I can not wait to make, also making cucumber/lemon water as well. Now I need to find a recipe for rhubarb since my friends have gifted me an abundance of this sweet treat. I also am now a “follower”!!!.
Favorite Family Recipes says
Hi Sue! Welcome to Favorite Family Recipes! We are so excited that you found us 😀 We don’t have many rhubarb recipes (in fact I don’t think we have any on the site yet) we will have to put it on our “to-do” list. Our mom has a great strawberry rhubarb pie recipe but none of us have made it in years. Maybe we need to pull it out and get it on the site!
Kala says
When storing in frig for a few days, should you drain the marinade?
Favorite Family Recipes says
I like to keep it in the marinade when storing. It gets a more infused flavor that is delicious!
Kathy says
Loved this recipe. I didn’t have any Apple Cider Vinegar so I substituted with Balsamic Vinegar. It came out great with a slightly darker color and a bit sweeter taste. I think I will keep doing it with Balsamic.
Favorite Family Recipes says
Yum! That sounds delicious! I love a good balsamic. Will definitely try it that way next time, just for fun!
Mary says
My mother always used wine vinegar, it has a more refined taste. Frankly, this is something that doesn’t require a recipe, it’s so simple, second nature.
Sara says
As others have said, this recipe is quite close to what my mother made growing up. The only difference is that after slicing the cucumbers, she would heavily salt the slices and let them sit for a few hours. The cucumbers were not crisp, but somehow I think it brought out the flavor. Before marinating she would rinse and drain the cucumbers. Delicious!
Favorite Family Recipes says
That sounds great! I’ll have to try that next time!
Dori Pederson says
Looks good
Mark DeMarko says
Soo…. I’ve been making this since last summer when I needed to change things up. Made if for Labor Day, Thanksgiving, a family reunion, basically at least once or twice a week… It’s THAT AMAZING! However the second time I made it, I mistakenly grabbed the wrong bottle and switched the apple cider vinegar with RED WINE vinegar!! It made the perfect sweet/tart combination… and I also added cherry tomatoes sliced in half… and now, all anyone asks when they are come over is if I made any of the Cherry Tomato Cucumer Onion Salad!?! All the rest of the ingredients stay the same!!!
#HugeHit
Mark
Favorite Family Recipes says
Hi Mark– red wine vinegar would be delicious! I also love the idea of adding some cherry tomatoes. So glad it was such a hit for you and your friends/family! Thanks for the nice comment and 5 stars!