Dinner inspiration from the farmers’ market
One of my favorite things about summer in Portland is wandering through our wonderful farmers’ markets in search of inspiration for my meal-planning efforts each week. Right now, our markets are bursting with huge cucumbers, plump radishes, and lush dill all begging to be added to cold summer salads that pair perfectly with the sweltering weather we’re having.
This Creamy Cucumber Radish Salad is one of my favorite summer side dishes to throw together on a warm night. I often keep hard-boiled eggs in the fridge for quick breakfasts, so there’s a fairly decent chance I may not even need to turn the stove on when throwing this together. You can’t beat that on a warm night.
A lighter Creamy Cucumber Radish Salad
This salad comes together with very few ingredients, relying on unsweetened yogurt for the majority of its creaminess. I include 2 tbsp of mayo in this recipe, but if you feel like lightening this up even further, you can omit this in favor of more yogurt.
No more soggy cucumbers
Cucumber salads are notorious for turning soft and soggy quickly, owing to the large quantity of water naturally found in cucumbers. Therefore, it’s important that you prep the cucumber properly to avoid this. Luckily, this is super simple to do.
The first step to decreasing excess liquid in the cucumbers is to remove the soft center portion that includes the seeds. After peeling the skin from the cucumber with a potato peeler, slice the cucumber in half length-wise. Using a spoon, simply scoop the seeds out in a downward motion, then slice the cucumber width-wise into half-moons.
The second step is a process called disgorging, that simply uses salt to expel the excess water. Place the sliced cucumber half-moons in a medium bowl and toss in a good quality sea salt; For this recipe, 1 tsp is plenty. The salt works to draw out the excess water so it doesn’t end up sogging up your salad once the sauce is added. Leave the salted cucumber to rest for 15-20 minutes then drain through a colander or sieve. You will be amazed at how much water drains out.
A note for special diets
This Creamy Cucumber Radish Salad is grain-free, gluten-free, nightshade-free, refined sugar-free and friendly for Keto, SIBO, and Low-FODMAP diets.

Creamy Cucumber Radish Salad
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Prep Time: 10 minutes
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Cook Time: 5 minutes
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Total Time: 55 minutes
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Yield: 6 cups salad 1x
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Category: Sides
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Cuisine: Russian
Ingredients
- 3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced into discs
- 2 large cucumbers (about 4 cups)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup radishes, sliced
- 1/2 cup yogurt (24hr or lactose-free if you are Low-FODMAP)
- 2 tbsp mayo
- 1 tbsp dill, finely chopped
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp white vinegar
- cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Hard-boiled eggs: This is my go-to way to make hard-boiled eggs, but feel free to use your favorite method. I know many who bake their eggs or use their pressure-cooker instead. I often have a few eggs already hard-boiled in my fridge. If you do also, skip this step!
- Cover 1 dozen eggs in a large pot with water, then add salt and white vinegar.
- Set on medium-high heat until eggs have come to a boil, then cover with lid and remove from heat for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, drain all of the hot water and place eggs in an ice bath for 5 minutes, or until they have cooled enough to peel without burning your fingers.
- Slice into discs.
For the salad:
- Peel the skin from the cucumber with a potato peeler, then slice the cucumber in half length-wise. With a spoon, scoop the seeds out in a downward motion. Then slice the cucumber width-wise into half-moons and place in a bowl.
- Disgorge the excess liquid by tossing the salt in with the prepared cucumber. Allow to rest for 15-20 minutes, then drain liquid through a colander or sieve. There should be ample liquid that drains off from the cucumber.
- Add radishes, yogurt, mayo, dill, Dijon mustard, white vinegar and mix gently to combine. Add cracked pepper to taste.
- Add sliced eggs in at the last minute and gently toss. This Creamy Cucumber Radish Salad must be stored in the refrigerator and will keep through the following day.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 91
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 421 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 3 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 112 mg
This looks like a combo of some of my favorite salads all in one! Love cucumbers for freshness, and the eggs to add some satisfying protein. Yum!
★★★★★
We have been making lots of cucumber salads with the abundance we have growing. I like the idea of adding radish too.
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This is the perfect salad for summer! Bringing it to our end-of-summer BBQ!
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I love this! I don’t often see cucumbers and radishes together on their own in a salad. Looks delish!
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This looks and sounds so lovely! We eat a lot of cucumber so I can’t wait to try this as a way to change things up a bit from the norm! 🙂
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This looks so yummy and delicious … Can’t say I have had it before. Must change that.
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Yuuuuum! This looks like such a light, healthy, delicious summer meal!
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This looks like a great way to prepare cucumbers!
Great tip on cucumbers so it doesn’t get soggy!
It’s a game changer!
I’m not a big fan of cucumbers, but I like them when they are “dressed up” with other things. This looks like it might be just the thing. Looks tasty!
I love the use of the yogurt in this, so perfect! I think this is perfect as a side for summer bbqs!
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I love that you added eggs and radishes into this summer salad – it looks absolutely delicious!
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Yum! Salads are all I eat in summer, it’s just too hot to use the kitchen (especially the oven) so salad recipe are much needed right now, thanks!
Thank you for including a lactose free option! Can’t wait to try it!
I adore fresh veggies salads and that dressing looks amazing. Over never had radish and Dijon together but it sounds excellent.
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This salad looks so delicious and refreshing. Such a great dish for the summer!
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Beautiful salad and solid technique for preventing wateriness. I also love that you used yogurt instead of excess mayo to make this creamy.
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Wow what a tasty looking salad. A great way to use cucumbers and radishes! This would be very popular in my house.
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This recipe looks delicious! We have so many cucumbers from our garden right now and this looks like a perfect way to use some of them up!
Emm! This looks really good! I can’t wait to try it.
★★★★★
This is such a yummy summer recipe, I need to try it
It looks so tasty and refreshing! What a yummy salad
This salad looks like it would be so amazing. Cucumbers are one of my favorite veggies!
farmers market inspired dinners are THE BEST! the absolute best! love this cucumber & radish combo too
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I totally agree! I get really excited everytime we go to the farmers’ market.
I love this simple and tasty combo of cucumber, radishes and eggs – perfect for a hot summer 🙂
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Perfect for all of those end of summer BBQs!
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Hi, good afternoon,I have to tell you this salad looks wonderful. I do have one question and I know it seems small but do you think this might store well for a few days? I was thinking of making a batch for my husband and I for lunch. Maybe 3 days? Let me know if you have any tips as I know cucumbers release a lot of water. I can’t wait to try this!!!
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Thank you! I happily add this to both the fella and my lunches the following day after making it for dinner and it’s been really tasty. That being said, I think this salad is probably really at its best in the first 24 hours. Though you can eliminate a good portion of the excess water from the cucumbers by disgorging them with salt and draining them before mixing the dressing in, cucumbers are comprised of 96% water (I know, that seems hard to believe!) so they will continue to expel liquid each day. I’m sure the cukes will be fine for another day if you don’t mind draining the extra liquid, but I think the texture and flavor of the eggs, in particular, will really suffer from the additional moisture so I would plan on adding the sliced egg in separately if you plan to eat this past the second day. Let me know if you try this 🙂
This salad sounds amazing! Can’t wait to try it out. Love the idea and the ingredients, love eating summer cucumbers in salads. So yum!
This sounds DELISH! I LOVE dill in everything!
I’ve never thought to put cucumbers and radishes together in a salad but it sounds so yummy!
Great tip for keeping the cucumbers crunchy. I love this combo of flavors & ingredients!
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How delicious! I love radishes and cucumbers together and your dressing looks so good!! I think I’ll be bringing this to my sister’s at Labor Day!!
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Thanks, I hope it’s a hit at your Labor Day event!
This is the perfect recipe to hold onto summer for a little while longer. I can’t wait to take this to our friend’s potluck soon!
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Thanks, I hope everyone at your potluck loves it!
Thanks for the recipe idea! I love salads and am excited to try this one as summer comes to an end!
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This recipe sounds delicious! I love a good veggie side dish and anything with dill has my heart!
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mmmmmm yummmm! i love radish and cucumber together, this salad looks amazing!
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this salad looks amazing! I love cucumber and love how you make this a creamy salad. It must be so delicious with all of the flavors and textures!
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We eat a lot of cucumber in this house — so thank you for another unique way to serve it!
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Oh, that looks just right. I’m the radish lover in this house – everyone else is willing to eat small amounts well mixed with other foods… This should give me enough radish while giving them enough of the surroundings to not feel overwhelmed! LOL
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I love the sound of this! I bet it’s so refreshing with that crunch from the cucumber and radish
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Yay for no more soggy cucumbers! This look like such a delicious and refreshing salad!
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This looks like a perfect salad for me! I am a huge fan of radishes and I love the combination of ingredients! The yogurt and dill sounds amazing together. And I learned something new about prepping the cucumbers! 🙂
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I don’t typically crave radishes but this salad has got me wanting them! Looks yummy 🙂
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Yum this looks so good, saving for my next BBQ!
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I love adding radishes in my salad too. I think it’s a very neglected vegetable. My kids can’t stand it unless I chop them real find and add them to the salad. This looks so creamy and delicious. Saving for later.
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I love love love this! The tangy radish really balances out the calm cucumber and the yogurt sauce fits perfectly. I need to try this!!
This summer I haven’t gone to the farmer’s markets nearly enough. Thanks for the reminder to get my rear in gear and take advantage of the season’s amazing produce!
Oh wow – what a delicious salad! I love that you added hard boiled eggs for some protein. I can’t wait to try this!
★★★★★
That is interesting that you said it because I keep hard-boiledd eggs in the fridge as well. I’ve never used them in a salad like this though so I have another one to make at one of these warm nights 😉
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I’ve got some cucumbers ready for harvest in my garden right now and this looks like a perfect way to use them! Looks very refreshing.
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My husband LOVES cucumber salad! We normally use tomatoes, but radishes would give the salad a different flavor profile. Sounds great, and we’ll have to give them a try the next time we make a salad!
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Radishes are great, as are boiled eggs and the dressing with yogurt/mayo. Love this salad, but I would need to replace the cucumbers which I really cannot stand. Any idea what I can replace them with? Thanks!
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I would consider swapping them out with seeded and sliced tomatoes.
This is the best salad for the summer! Light, refreshing, and super delicious! Will make it tonight for dinner!)
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Love farmers markets! Portland has the best. This salad looks so unique and refreshing! I don’t cook with radishes enough, I’ll definitely have to give this a try!
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This cucumber and radish salad looks wonderful! Love that you included instructions to prepare the cucumbers not to get soggy. What a great summer salad!
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We often have cucumber salad. So easy and refreshing and the perfect side for any meal. Great salad for bbq parties.
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What a great salad! This looks and sounds delightful! I’m sure the Portland farmers markets are amazing!
Oh yes, cucumbers and radish in creamy sauce sounds just perfect. It sure is a great summer salad and I wont mind having this salad any time of the year.
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what delicious and refreshing salad. I love radishes and eat them in every salad I make. This will go at the top of my list of must makes!
That looks so creamy and delicious. I love creamy salad dressing. The cucumber and radish sound like a wonderful combination. I can’t wait to try this one soon. Sounds yum
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The salad sounds like a wonderful addition to any meal. I remember we used to have “cold plates” in the summer time when our kiddos were home. I’d take them swimming and I’d have the cold plate all ready. I like the addition of yogurt in the salad versus having too much mayo. And your tips for the cucumbers is right on.
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Yes, this is the perfect recipe for me. I’m sure this is very tasty. I definitely want to try it. Thank you!
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My husband loves cucumbers and radishes so I bet he’d enjoy trying this salad. I love simple recipes and this sounds very easy to make.
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What a delicious summer salad.. I love cucumber but never thought to add radishes. Fab idea and it looks so easy to make too. Winner all round
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I love the sound of this salad between the cucumbers, radishes and eggs. What a wonderful side for the end of season cookouts. Beautiful photos too!
I like this creamy salad, I haven’t tried the combo of cucumber and radish. I am going to try it, This is going to best starter for get together.
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Radish and cucumber together.. oh I must try that. It looks absolutely amazing. Creamy salads are my favorite. I will make this very soon.
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