If you are growing cucumbers in your garden this summer, this is a great side dish to use them in! I found a recipe at Our Best Bites that I modified a little…I used honey instead of sugar as a sweetener, used a little less salt, and used white wine vinegar instead of rice vinegar. I thought using honey in this cucumber salad worked out great! I’m trying to use honey instead of granulated sugar when I can because it’s healthier, and this seemed like a great recipe to try it in.
The honey gives this salad a yummy sweetness, and there’s a little zing and spice from some diced red onion and red pepper flakes. Sweet and spicy…I love that combination in this salad! If you don’t want much spiciness, add a little less of the red pepper flakes and it should be just fine! This recipe makes about 4-6 servings, depending on how big your servings are. If you’re making this for a larger group, you’ll probably want to double the recipe.
Honey-Sweetened Cucumber Salad
HONEY-SWEETENED CUCUMBER SALAD by NancyC
Makes 4 to 6 servings
1 1/2 pounds cucumbers (about 3 medium), peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup white wine vinegar (or substitute rice vinegar)
1/2 cup water
3 Tablespoons honey (or substitute same amount of granulated sugar)
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 Tablespoons finely diced red onion
Place cucumber slices in a colander sitting over a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and toss well. Let cucumber slices sit in your refrigerator for 1 hour, tossing them several times as they are draining.
Prepare marinade while cucumber slices are draining in the refrigerator: Combine vinegar, water, honey, and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until liquid is reduced to about 1/3 cup (if you end up with less than 1/3 cup, add some water to bring the mixture to 1/3 cup). Remove mixture from heat and mix in the diced red onion. Let mixture cool to room temperature.
When cucumber slices are ready to remove from the refrigerator, dry them a little more by patting with some paper towels and then combine with the vinegar marinade mixture, blending well. Refrigerate until well chilled and then serve (you can serve it without chilling, but it tastes best chilled).
Recipe from NancyC | nancy-c.com
Cucumbers are great in summer salads and side dishes! Do you have a favorite recipe you like to make with cucumbers?
Sharing at Weekend Potluck, Fiesta Friday, Thursday Favorite Things, Full Plate Thursday, Wonderful Wednesday, Inspire Me Monday, Hearth & Soul.
That looks really good! We use honey in everything, we go through it so fast. I always feel kind of yucky after I eat sugar, but seldom with honey. We also make a cucumber salad with sour cream and red onions that is very good.
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I’m trying to use more honey, too–that’s great that you are already using it a lot! Your sour cream cucumber salad sounds really good!
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I love cucumbers in vinegar, but never have tried honey. You’ve intrigued me!
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Hope you get to try it out sometime! 🙂
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I love cucumbers and cool summer salads! Thanks for a new reciepe to try!
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You’re welcome, Dawn! It’s good to hear from you–hope all of you are doing well! 🙂
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Cucumbers are one of my favorites foods to eat on their own. I love the texture, crispy and soft! My husband loathes them, however, so we don’t often buy this vegetable. I might just have to make a serving size for me. 😉
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I love cucumbers, too–especially in the summer!
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I love seeing flavor pairings that make perfect sense, but are ones I wouldn’t have thought of. Looks great!
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Hi again – love this one, too! Perfect for the summer issue of the Ruby magazine ;o) Looking forward to hearing from you soon! Nina @ rubyforwomen.com
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Cooking the marinade now! This looked so good I decided to make it with our Pinterest Pot Roast instead of our usual summertime cucumbers and onions in vinegar. I think it will receive rave reviews from the family! Thanks for sharing.
Barb in Ohio
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You’re welcome, Barby, and hope you and your family enjoy them! 🙂
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We sure did! It was as big a hit as I thought they would be. Spicy and tangy! None left over.
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I just made some to have with salmon tonight and I had a taste of it. I can say it is very delicious and I can’t wait to have it with dinner tonight. I will definitely make this again.
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Glad you like it, Jennifer! 🙂
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