Growing up, did your grandma make cucumber and onion salad? My grandma did whenever the cucumbers in the garden were at their prime, and Grandma’s cucumber and onions always tasted the best! For years, I’ve struggled with trying to find the right ratio of ingredients to make my salad taste just like Grandma’s. From my experiments, Old Fashioned Cucumbers and Onions was born. I think my grandma would be proud of the results. 🙂
Old Fashioned Cucumbers and Onions Recipe…
The key to cucumbers and onions, I believe, is getting the ratio of water to apple cider vinegar correct. If there’s too much water, the recipe is flat and tasteless; too much vinegar, and the salad tastes like a bad pickle. Neither is optimal, obviously. 🙂
So after some trial and error, I’ve decided the best ratio is 3 to 1, with three cups of water for every one cup of apple cider vinegar. You can make cucumbers and onions with red wine vinegar, but Old Fashioned Cucumbers and Onions must use apple cider vinegar! It wouldn’t be “old fashioned” otherwise. 🙂
To make this recipe easier, I recommend the use of a mandoline slicer. It makes fast work of the peeled cucumbers and onions, plus cuts everything into uniform slices. I love mine! However a word of caution: mandolines are SHARP! Use the included hand protector. My husband lost the end of his finger while slicing pepperoni with our mandoline. (It was tragic at the time; but thankfully, it was just the tip! He’s fine, thank you!) Since then, we’ve both been careful to use the tool’s protective equipment!
Pick the best cucumbers you can find, wash and peel, and then slice a heaping bowl full! I had approximately seven or eight good sized cucumbers and two large onions for my bowl. After mixing together, I added six cups of water and two cups of apple cider vinegar, plus Kosher salt and pepper to taste. Old Fashioned Cucumbers and Onions does have to sit for a few hours in the refrigerator for the flavors to meld…don’t forget this step! 🙂 I made mine in the morning and they were PERFECT at supper.
I hope you’ll try Old Fashioned Cucumbers and Onions, especially if you enjoyed them growing up. This is one of our favorite summer recipes because it’s so easy and it’s so healthy! Whether you are following a certain eating plan like Keto, Paleo, Weight Watchers, or just trying to add more veggies to your diet, you can’t go wrong with Old Fashioned Cucumbers and Onions! 🙂 If you’d like a recipe with more heat, try my Cucumber, Onion, and Jalapeno Salad. It has the same great flavors only more zip!
Old Fashioned Cucumbers and Onions
Notes
Be sure to wash cucumbers well prior to peeling and slicing. Using a mandoline slicer helps create even slices. Red wine vinegar could also be used in place of the apple cider vinegar, though the flavor will be much more mild. Smaller amounts of cucumbers and onions can be used, simply make sure the ratio of water to apple cider vinegar stays at 3:1.
Ingredients
- 7-8 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced thinly
- 2 large onions, peeled and sliced thinly
- 6 cups water
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- Kosher salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine cucumber and onion slices.
- Add water and apple cider vinegar, mixing well.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Refrigerate at least three hours to allow flavors to meld.
If you are looking for similar recipes for garden veggies, you might like my Sweet and Sassy Grilled Corn. Another fun summer dish is my Grilled Pizzas Your Way…these are perfect for kids to get involved in dinner prep! 🙂
Might I suggest the following to make this recipe easier?