30 Cooling Cucumber Salads for Your Next Summer Cookout

Summer cookouts call for crunchy-tangy cucumber salads. The perfect no-cook side to grilled mains, cucumber salad comes together in a snap and it's sure to please a crowd. Here, we're rounded up our best cucumber salad recipes to make warm weather entertaining a breeze.  Find easy recipes for cucumber tomato salad, cucumber dill salad, and so much more. 

When making cucumber salad, opt for English cucumbers over slicing cucumbers. The English variety is a bit more expensive, but it boasts a soft, tender skin and a mild, subtly-sweet taste.   

This simple, refreshing cucumber onion salad will never go out of style, especially on hot days. Soaking the sliced red onion in cold water for a few minutes removes some of its pungent bite while keeping it crisp. Bulk up the salad for tomorrow’s lunch by adding chickpeas, sliced kalamata olives, arugula, and canned tuna. 

We give the classic cucumber, tomato, and onion salad a hit of grassy dill for more vibrance. Instead of crumbled feta or another cheese, a dollop of cool, rich Greek yogurt makes for the perfect contrast to the other ingredients in the salad. Serve this creamy cucumber salad with Grilled Chipotle Chicken and Sweet Potato Toss.

This Greek cucumber salad is easy to make and absolutely stunning to look at, thanks to crisp, elegant cucumber ribbons. This fresh riff on a Greek salad also boasts mild Castelvetrano olives, bright green tomatoes, pungent green onions, and creamy feta cheese. A splash of champagne vinegar adds a mildly-sweet and tangy kick, but you can substitute white wine vinegar if you don’t have it. Likewise with green peppercorns—they offer a different sort of peppery kick and stick with our color palette, but black peppercorns would also be delicious.

Cucumber tomato salads shouldn't be complicated, and that's why we love this easy no-cook recipe for nights that you just want a simple meal without the fuss of grilling, baking or roasting. Use up the produce you have in your kitchen to make this light, refreshing summer salad come together in a breeze.

Tomatoes are a summer superstar. Enjoy them in a refreshing salad or simply sliced. Sweet peach dressing amps up the summery deliciousness in this simple salad.

Here's a unique cucumber salad recipe that's extra crisp and cooling, thanks to freshly shaved honeydew melon. We toss the cucumber and honeydew with cumin, fresh oregano, and lime juice—an unlikely trio that totally works. Serve this cucumber salad with Greek-inspired meals like lamb and beat meatballs, kofta kebabs, or grilled chicken pitas.  

A bright and tangy Asian cucumber salad makes a crisp compliment to quick sauteed shrimp. Gently smashing fresh cucumber slices helps them absorb more vinaigrette, almost as if they've been marinating overnight. It’s a popular technique in many parts of Asia because cucumbers take on sweet, sour, and spicy flavors so well.

Thinly slice the bok choy stalks and leaves for an Asian cucumber salad that's full of color and texture. You can also use larger bok choy, but save the wide, fibrous ends of the stalks for a dish where they'll be cooked.

The crisp cucumber tomato salad in this summer meal is inspired by the traditional Israeli salad that's usually stuffed into pita pockets with shawarma (slow-grilled meat) and drizzled with tahini sauce. Here, it makes the perfect side to juicy tahini-marinated chicken thighs and rice.

For this cucumber salad, leave the skins on the cucumbers, and mix varieties. (For our photo, we used a combination of typical Persian and unique lemon cucumbers.) Lovage is a great cucumber herb—lively but not overwhelming. If you have it, use it in place of the celery leaves and flat-leaf parsley. Or change directions and go for dill, another natural with cukes.

This cucumber feta salad boasts plenty of texture, the most satisfying element of any salad. Crunchy and crisp vegetables signify freshness—and they taste as vibrant as they look. We dial up the crunch even more with crisp romaine hearts, sliced cucumber, and coarsely chopped almonds. Creamy feta and fresh dill add another element of flavor to the cucumber salad.

This stunning cucumber salad is a smart way to use up an excess of cucumbers or basil in your garden. If you don't have lime basil, substitute any fresh basil plus 1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind. Plums will also work in place of pluots.

This tomato cucumber salad is summer in a bowl. Sunshine-yellow and ruby-red wedges of juicy tomato anchor this cucumber salad recipe with a hefty dose of lycopene, a heart-helping, cancer-fighting antioxidant. Remember—summer tomatoes are extra juicy, so plan to serve this salad soon after making it for the most concentrated flavor.

Add flavor and punch to a simple cucumber salad with sambal oelek, a fiery chili paste found on the Asian foods aisle. Combine with nutty sesame oil and fresh green onions, this easy veggie salad is light and refreshing, yet packs a spicy, unexpected kick. Let stand to allow the flavors to mesh before consuming.

This simple creamy cucumber salad comes together in a flash. The yogurt-based dressing is packed with fresh dill, parsley, and mint for a seasonal taste. Don't make the salad ahead—the cucumbers will release too much water.

This easy cucumber salad will get gobbled up quickly at summer cookouts, picnics, and potlucks. Sliced bell peppers and radishes lend color and complexity, while fresh parsley adds an earthy bite to the salad. Boost the tanginess by adding a touch more lemon juice. You can make this cucumber salad a few hours in advance and let it marinate before guests arrive. Serve it with cole slaw, baked beans, and other cookout classics. 

Sumac—available at spice stores—adds a subtle piney, tangy note, but don't worry if you can't find it—this watermelon and cucumber salad will still have loads of flavor complexity without it. You could also sub 1 teaspoon of prepared horseradish for the wasabi powder.

The longer this Mediterranean-inspired cucumber salad sits, the better it gets. A fine dice allows the salt and lemon to penetrate the vegetables and draw out their juices. Serve this with a stunning grilled leg of lamb or as a cooling side to grilled flank steak.

Quick pickling the cucumbers with rice vinegar adds a sweet, tangy, and crunchy element to these spiced beef kefta patties. Tie in a cooling Greek yogurt sauce, and you have a balanced dinner that can easily be assembled on a weeknight. Feel free to dice or thinly slice the cucumbers instead of making ribbons.  

To get wide, even strips from all sides, slightly rotate the cucumber and carrot after you remove each ribbon with a vegetable peeler. Thinly slice the slender cores and add to the salad for more crunch.

Dill absolutely makes this cooling cucumber breakfast salad, offering a fresh, herbaceous boost that livens up the canned chickpeas. It's a satisfying bowl of crunchy, creamy, chewy textures.

In under five minutes, you can have this speedy cucumber salad ready and on the table. The vinegar is quite pumped-up because there's not much time for the cukes to pick up much flavor otherwise. Serve with grilled steak or chicken or beef kebabs.

Basil adds a fresh kick to this summery cucumber salad. Here's another plus—watermelon and cucumber are both fluid-rich and will aid in hydration. Serve this salad with Smoky Grilled Corn and your favorite grilled main, such as this Grilled Hawaiian Chicken.

Whole-grain farro bulks up this hearty Mediterranean salad. If you like the crunch of fresh red onion but not the full pungency, give the slices a 30-second dip in ice water to tame the flavor; drain and toss in the salad.

Short ribs are typically braised, but they also hold up beautifully over low heat on the grill—the technique is a real game-changer. So, too, is the lightly charred orange, peel and all: fragrant, fruity, and removed of most of its bitterness.

This deconstructed take on a cheeseburger puts some of the season's best and most abundant produce in the spotlight with a simple, dilly tomato cucumber salad. Whip it up for an easy weeknight dinner—we cook the patties in a skillet but you could also char them on the grill.

Quick and easy to make in just three simple steps, this chicken main and cucumber salad side will soon become a weeknight family favorite. The chipotle chile lends a smoky kick to the chicken and plays well with the raspberry jam and lime juice, while the Cucumber Salad tones down that heat from the chipotles.

Crunchy cucumbers brighten up this creamy potato salad, which also boasts sour cream, Greek yogurt, and fresh dill. Add to the menu at your next picnic or cookout, along with burgers, cole slaw, and corn. Best of all, it's ready in 20 minutes so you can enjoy the festivities.

Not all produce needs honeybees for pollination, but their sheer numbers and tenacity make bees powerhouse pollinators. If a plant is not wind-pollinated (like corn), you can probably thank honeybees for the produce. All of the ingredients in this recipe (except salt) depend on bees for pollination. Fresh citrus juice, sweet honey, and tangy mustard combine for a finger-licking-good dressing to pour atop melons and cucumber.

This summer-friendly, no-cook Asian cucumber salad recipe works best with white miso for its mild and sweet flavor. Serve this simple side dish alongside our Grilled Chicken and Soba Noodles with Miso Vinaigrette.

Ready in just 10 minutes, this simple cucumber salad is the perfect addition to a variety of meat-based main dishes. A white wine vinaigrette lightly dresses crispy cucumber slices, bell peppers, chives, and parsley, making this cucumber salad a refreshing choice.