These deliciously easy cucumber recipes are just what you need if you're struggling to know what to make with an abundance of cucumbers.
Obviously you can pickle them - and I have top tips on pickling cucumbers at the bottom - but first off I have for you here super tasty recipes for :
- Cucumber salads with a twist.
- Classic gazpacho soup.
- Ever popular tzatziki and raita sauces to add a zing to your fave middle eastern and Indian dishes.
- PLUS surprisingly delicious fried and stir fried cucumbers with punchy harissa and peanut sauces.
There's also recipes for the best cucumber sandwiches, lovely cucumber canapes, cucumber smoothies and even cucumber sorbet!
So if you love cucumber, or like me have got a bumper harvest of huge cucumbers, read on. And do bookmark or save on Pinterest for later.
Table of Contents
Cucumber Salads
Creamy Cucumber & Dill Salad
This creamy cucumber & dill salad is super quick to make but seriously delicious and goes with just about any meal you could be serving.
Time To Table : 10 minutes
Ingredients : cucumbers, red onion, sour cream, lemon juice, dill, garlic
Cucumber Noodle Salad
This lovely cucumber noodle salad is tasty enough to be the centre of a light meal with just a quick protein side dish. You don't need a fancy spiralizer to make the cucumber noodles, I just use my super cheap julienne peeler.
Time To Table : 15 minutes
Ingredients : cucumbers, snow peas, spring onion, mint, sesame oil, ginger, coconut aminos/soy sauce, honey/maple syrup, sesame seeds.
Asian Cucumber Salad
This Asian cucumber salad takes a little longer to make but has a wonderful combination of flavours that perfectly complement the cucumbers.
Time To Table : 25 minutes
Ingredients : cucumbers, scallions/spring onions, ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, maple syrup/honey, chilli garlic sauce, toasted sesame seeds.
Thai Cucumber Salad
This Thai cucumber salad makes the perfect quick side dish for your favourite Thai dishes. My one gripe with this recipe is the sugar level - it has more than 30g per person. That is more than the recommended daily maximum for an adult in a salad, crazy!! Personally, I think it's great with barely 2 teaspoons per person.
Time To Table : 15 minutes
Ingredients : cucumbers, shallots, chilli peppers, cilantro/coriander, white vinegar, kosher salt, sugar.
Cabbage & Cucumber Salad
This green cabbage & cucumber salad recipe is something a bit different combining the freshness of cucumber with cabbage crunch which makes it filling enough to be the base of a low carb or Keto meal served with pork ribs or your other favourite pork cuts.
Time To Table : 15 minutes
Ingredients : cucumbers, green cabbage, green onions/spring onions, dill, sunflower oil, distilled white vinegar/white wine vinegar
Cucumber Greek Salad
A big cucumber greek salad is a great quick lunch in its own right with just just some bread on the side for mopping juices!
Time To Table : 15 minutes
Ingredients : cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, feta, green bell pepper, olives, mint leaves, olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, oregano, dijon mustard.
Tzatziki Sauce
A classic tzatziki sauce is an incredibly easy way to add some extra zing to your favourite Greek and middle eastern meals or leftovers and a perfect accompaniment for :
- Grilled fish
- Grilled meat
- Lamb kebabs
- Roast vegetables
- Pitta bread
- Falafel etc
Time To Table : 15 minutes
Ingredients : cucumber, yoghurt, lemon juice, garlic, dill, olive oil.
Cucumber Raita
Ready in barely 10 minutes this cucumber raita is the perfect quick partner for all your favourite Indian recipes or again a great way to pad out and freshen up leftovers.
Time To Table : 10 minutes
Ingredients : cucumber, yoghurt, cumin, black pepper, coriander/cilantro, chaat masala/curry powder, mint, green chilli pepper.
Cucumber Gazpacho
This cucumber gazpacho is a lovely way to use up garden cucumbers and green tomatoes. It's ideal for hot summer days but also delicious as summer fades in September.
Time To Table : 30 minutes
Ingredients : cucumbers, tomatillos/green tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper, olive oil, cilantro, lime juice, honey/maple syrup, yoghurt, mint, seeds
Fried Cucumber & Harissa
Who knew you could fry cucumber? Well you can and this fried cucumber & harissa truly is a fantastic way to use up big garden cucumbers. We love it combined in mezze with lamb, Greek yoghurt, falafel, houmous etc.
Time To Table : 10-15 minutes
Ingredients : cucumbers, harissa, olive oil
The recipe cuts the cucumbers into slices but I think it's quicker to cut them into slabs length wise, especially if like me you've got some huge late season cucumbers!
Cucumbers In Spicy Peanut Sauce
This recipe for cucumbers in spicy peanut sauce is another great way to serve cucumbers with a real big punch of flavour. It looks like it takes a bit longer but 60 minutes of your prep time is just leaving the cucumbers in a colander to lose some of their excess moisture.
Time To Table : 75 minutes
Ingredients : cucumbers, peanuts, soy sauce, rice vinegar, peanut butter, honey, garlic, chilli flakes, coriander
Stir Fried Cucumber
This brilliant stir fried cucumber from Ken Lom makes a wonderful low carb or Keto side for your favourite Chinese meat or fish dishes.
Time To Table : 30 minutes
Ingredients : cucumbers, groundnut oil, garlic, ginger, spring onions, chilli flakes, sesame oil, sugar (optional)
Cucumber Sesame Noodles
These spiralized cucumber sesame noodles tossed in sesame oil and roasted sesame seeds make a simple and elegant low-carb alternative to your usual noodles.
Time To Table : 40 minutes
Ingredients : cucumbers, salt, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sesame seeds, sugar (option)
Cucumber & Pineapple Smoothie
Cucumbers work well in all sorts of smoothies but this cucumber & pineapple smoothie has a wonderfully refreshing tropical flavour to it.
Time To Table : 5 minutes
Ingredients : cucumber, pineapple, banana, coconut milk, lime, spinach/kale.
Cucumber Canapes With Salmon Mousse
These pretty cucumber canapes with salmon mousse need a little patience to cut and fill but are really not tricky. If you are making them from home grown cucumbers, do check the skins aren't too thick and tough.
Time To Table : 20 mins preparation, 5 hours chilling
Ingredients : cucumbers, smoked salmon, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, dill, garlic, lemon.
Cucumber Sandwiches
It is easy to be dismissive of cucumber sandwiches but they really are a refreshingly mouth cleansing start to afternoon tea and the perfect segue to scones and jam!!
Time To Table : 15 minutes
Ingredients : cucumbers, white bread, cream cheese, mayonnaise, dill, chives, garlic powder (optional)
Cucumber Sorbet
Sadly cucumbers don't typically freeze well when you've got an abundance to use up BUT they do freeze well transformed into a mouth wateringly simple cucumber sorbet!
Time To Table : 6 hours
Ingredients : cucumbers, lemons, sugar.
Equipment : ice cream maker
Pickling Cucumbers
Pickled cucumbers are a brilliant and very simple way to use up an abundance of homegrown cucumbers but there's also an over abundance of pickled cucumber recipes out there which over complicate the process!!
So I have here basic rules for pickling cucumbers to keep in the fridge safely for a few months and a quick recipe you can easily adapt using the rules.
Pickled Cucumber Basics
- Pickling Brine
- Pickling Vinegar
- Vinegar - Water Ratios
- Pickling Salt
- Heating The Brine
- Cooling The Brine
- Do You Need Sugar?
- How Long Do Fridge Cucumbers Last?
- Do Jars Need Sterilising
Pickling Brine
Cucumbers are pickled in a preserving brine made from :
- Vinegar
- Water
- Salt.
You can add all sorts of flavours to your brine to give your cucumbers a real zing.
Pickling Vinegar
Cucumbers are typically pickled in distilled white vinegar or white wine vinegar but you can use other vinegars e.g. apple cider vinegar as long as the acidity is greater than 5%. The acidity stops bacteria growing in your pickles.
Vinegar - Water Ratios
Adding water to brine stops the vinegar being crazily tangy. But do NOT dilute the vinegar too much. You must have at lease equal parts of vinegar and water e.g. 1 cup of vinegar to 1 cup of water.
Pickling Salt
You can pickle your cucumbers with plain table salt but it can make the brine cloudy. Cumbers are typically pickled with Kosher or pickling salt in the USA or with rock salt in the UK.
Heating The Brine
You don't have to heat the brine for fridge pickles - you must if canning - but the added flavours will be much better if you do.
Cooling The Brine
Some recipes cool the brine before pouring over cucumbers. Cooled brine will keep your cucumbers crunchier but the flavourings will take long to penetrate the cucumber. If you want to start eating cucumbers the same day or next day hot brine is better if not let the brine cool.
Do You Need Sugar?
Sugar is not needed to preserve pickled cucumbers in the fridge. If can help keep cucumbers a tiny bit crunchier but is mostly just there because we are all addicted to sugar!!.
How Long Do Fridge Cucumbers Last?
Cucumbers pickled in vinegar and salt brine should last up to 2 months in the fridge as long as the cucumbers stay covered by the brine.
Do Jars Need Sterilising?
Jars just need hot washing in soapy water and air drying rather than sterilising if you are going to keep cucumbers in fridge.
Picked Cucumber Ingredients
Brine per 1 large cucumber weighing roughly ~7 oz / 200 g :
- 5 US fl oz (150 ml) distilled white vinegar or white wine vinegar with > 5% acidity.
- 4 US fl oz (120ml) water.
- 2.5 teaspoon (14g) of kosher salt (rock if kosher not available).
If your family loves tangy cucumbers up the vinegar to 6 US fl oz (180 ml).
Brine flavouring extras per cucumber :
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon pepper corn
- 1 teaspoon of e.g. mustard seed, coriander seed, fennel seed, dill seed or a combo thereof.
Other optional extras to pickle with cucumbers per cucumber :
- 1 jalapeno pepper sliced
- 1 spring / green onion sliced
- 1-2 garlic cloves crushed
Pickling Equipment
Equipment needed per cucumber :
- 12-16fl oz / 350-500 ml jar
You will also need a stainless steel pan that won't react with vinegar.
Pickled Cucumber Recipe
- Make Brine : bring brine ingredients to boil in pan and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the salt has dissolved.
- Cool Brine : for at least 30 minutes to keep cucumbers crunchy.
- Prep Cucumbers : thinly slice cucumbers or cut into spears. Big home grown cucumbers may need peeling if they have thick skins.
- Crunch Cucumbers : place cucumber in a colander over a bowl either lots of ice or ½ teaspoon of salt for 20 minutes to make super crunchy.
- Hot Wash Jars : leave to air dry.
- Prep Extras : slice e.g. jalapeno pepper or spring onion and crush garlic cloves.
- Pack Jars : with cucumbers and extras until 75% full.
- Pour Brine : pour over brine and seeds leaving ½ inch space at top.
- Submerge Everything : push down cucumbers & extras to ensure submerged in brine.
- Store In Fridge : ready to eat in 24 hours but peak flavour in 3-5 days. They will last up to 2 months.
And there you go, loads of simple but super tasty ideas for what to make with an abundance of cucumbers.
For more seasonal food ideas do check out my other real food recipes and follow my seasonal food and food storage boards on Pinterest.
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