This Cucumber Mint Salad is so refreshing! With a short ingredient list and a creamy dressing, you’re going to want to make this over and over.
I’ve seen and made a lot of cucumber salad recipes with mint. A lot of them use an olive oil and vinegar based dressing, which is tasty, but I’ve found I like this one with a lime-flavored creamy dressing better! It’s refreshing like cucumber and mint in ice water.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Video: Making Cucumber Mint Salad
Ingredients
This cucumber salad has a creamy dressing with sour cream and lime juice, seasoned with salt and fresh cracked black pepper. There are so few ingredients that I think fresh lime juice and the fresh-cracked pepper really make a difference here.
For the cucumbers, we use the popular English cucumbers. These cucumbers are perfect for salads or snacking with their thin skin and tiny seeds. You don’t have to remove the seeds, but you can (and see below about doing that for sure when making this ahead). They have smooth dark green skin and tend to be 12-14 inches long each.
We’re also including red onion and fresh minced garlic. And of course, fresh mint! For the mint, it’s best not to cut the leaves since they will oxidize and brown. You can leave the smaller leaves whole and tear larger ones with your fingers.
How To Make Cucumber Mint Salad
First, mix together the sour cream, lime juice, salt, and pepper to make the creamy dressing. Slice the cucumbers and pat them dry with paper towels to remove excess liquid.
Add your cucumber slices to the dressing mixture along with the red onion and minced garlic. Give it a stir to coat the veggies and sprinkle the mint leaves on top. That’s it, you’re ready to enjoy!
Can I Make It Ahead?
You can make this side dish in advance, but if you’re making the salad more than 30 minutes before serving, it tends to get watery. To help prevent this, do the following preparation. We’re essentially removing the seeds and the waterier part of the inner cucumber that surrounds them.
- Halve the cucumbers lengthwise and then use a teaspoon to scrape out the seeds. Discard them.
- Slice the halved cucumbers into 1/4-inch thick half moons.
- Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and toss. Put the sliced and salted cucumber into a colander set over a bowl.
- Let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature or in the fridge. Discard any liquid in the bowl. Proceed with Step #3 of the recipe but omit the 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
What If It Gets Watery?
If you go to serve this salad and it’s watery, whether you did the extra cucumber prep or not, transfer the salad to a colander to drain off the excess liquid.
Put it back into the bowl and stir in an additional 2 tablespoons of sour cream. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
More Great Side Dish Recipes
If you love fresh mint, you’ve got to try my delicious Homemade Mint Sauce Recipe. And, if you love cucumbers, you’ll want to try my homemade Tzatziki recipe too. It’s that delicious Greek sauce with cucumber and yogurt. Or, go for something different and try one of the many other side dishes below.
- Creamy Cucumber Dill Salad
- Air Fryer Cabbage Recipe
- Roasted Summer Squash
- Asian Broccoli Salad
- Easy Baked Vidalia Onions
- Mushroom Rice Recipe
Podcast Episode: Making Cucumber And Mint Salad
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
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Cucumber Mint Salad Recipe
This Cucumber Mint Salad is so refreshing! With a short ingredient list and a creamy dressing, you’re going to want to make this over and over.
Note that if you go to serve this salad and it’s watery (whether you performed the step above to prevent watery cucumbers or not), transfer the salad to a colander to drain off the excess liquid. Put it back into the bowl and stir in an addition 2 tablespoons of sour cream. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
- Prep Time: 12 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 12 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 Tbsp. lime juice
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
- 2 English cucumbers*
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together the sour cream, lime juice, salt, and pepper.
- Slice the cucumbers into 1/4-inch slices. Pile the slices onto a triple sheet of paper towel and top with another 2 sheets of paper towel. Pat cucumber slices dry. Move them around and pat them dry some more.
- Add the cucumber slices to the bowl of sour cream dressing, along with the red onion and garlic. Stir to coat. Sprinkle the mint leaves over top, tearing larger leaves in half using your fingers. Serve immediately.*
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Notes
*If making this salad more than 30 minutes before serving, it can get watery. To help prevent this, do the following: Halve the cucumbers lengthwise and then scrape out the seeds and discard them. Slice the halved cucumbers into 1/4-inch thick half moons. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and toss. Put the sliced and salted cucumber into a colander set over a bowl. Let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature or in the fridge. Discard any liquid in the bowl. Proceed with Step #3 of the recipe but omit the 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
Delicious! Thank you!