A light and creamy summer side dish
This Creamy Cucumber Radish Salad is one of my favorite summer side dishes when the weather turns warm. Crisp cucumber, lightly spicy radish, and rich hard-boiled eggs are tossed in a light and creamy dressing that pairs well with just about everything you're grilling this summer.
The light dressing relies on Greek yogurt for the majority of its creaminess and is balanced with a kick of Dijon mustard, fresh dill, and tangy vinegar. If (like me) you also tend to keep hard-boiled eggs in the fridge for quick meals, there's a fairly decent chance you may not even need to turn the stove on to make this dish. You can't beat that on a warm night!
How to help prevent soggy cucumbers
Did you know that cucumbers are approximately 96% water? It's true! As such, cucumber salads are notorious for turning soft and soggy. The good news is, there is a few things you can do to help prevent your cucumbers from turning soggy as quickly -- and they're super simple!
How to prep + disgorge excess liquid from your cucumbers:
- If you use English cucumbers, as suggested in the recipe, there's no need to remove the outer skin first, however, if you use a traditional garden cucumber that has a thicker skin you'll want to peel the skin off first.
- Slice the cucumber in half length-wise. Using a spoon, scoop the seeds out in a downward motion, then slice the cucumber width-wise into half-moons.
- Place a sieve over the top of a mixing bowl, ensuring that there is at least 1-inch or more space between the bottom of the sieve and the bottom of the bowl. Add the cucumbers to the sieve and toss with Kosher salt -- for this recipe, 1 teaspoon is plenty. The salt works to (disgorge) draw out the excess water from the cucumber flesh.
- Let the salted cucumbers rest for 15-20 minutes, tossing once or twice to make sure that all the excess liquid drains through the sieve. There should be plenty of liquid at the bottom of the mixing bowl in the end, which you can discard. The cucumbers will likely look wet and glossy at this point so take a paper towel or a clean kitchen towel and gently damp dry the excess moisture on their flesh.
What should I serve this Creamy Cucumber Radish Salad with?
This cucumber radish salad makes a tremendous side dish for so many main courses. Some of my favorite dinners to pair it with are:
- Greek Lamb Meatballs with Tzatziki Sauce
- Mediterranean Turkey Burgers
- Crab Club Sandwich
- Grilled Chicken Wings with Chipotle Peach BBQ Sauce
- Pressure-Cooker Boneless Beef Ribs
- Crispy Oven-Fried Fish
- Grilled Skirt Steak with Avocado Chimichurri Sauce
What tools do I need to make this recipe?
- A cutting board
- A chef's knife
- A large mixing bowl
- A large sieve
- A kitchen scale - OR - measuring cups (for less accurate measurements)
- Measuring spoons
- 2 wooden spoons (to toss and serve)
- A mandoline (nice to have to slice the radishes but not essential)
- An egg slicer (nice to have but not essential)
Are you looking to upgrade to your cooking tools or replenish your pantry? Check out my kitchen tools shop page and pantry staples shop page to find my must-have kitchen tools, pantry items, and other Whip & Wander favorites.
Looking for more dinner inspiration?
Love this recipe? Here are some additional side dishes that you might enjoy!
- Crunchy Greek Salad with Avocado and Feta
- Creamy Dijon Dill Potato Salad
- Smashed Potatoes with Avocado Chimichurri Sauce
- Strawberry Peach Summer Salad with Basil Walnut Pesto
- Horseradish Dill Slaw
- Spicy Cabbage Slaw
A note for special diets
This Creamy Cucumber Radish Salad can easily be made friendly for grain-free, gluten-free, Keto, and Low-FODMAP diets. For Low-FODMAP diets, you'll want to select a lactose-free yogurt in place of traditional Greek yogurt.
Print
Creamy Cucumber Radish Salad
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Inactive Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Sides
- Method: No-Cook, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Russian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Creamy Cucumber Radish Salad is one of my favorite summer side dishes when the weather turns warm. Crisp cucumber, lightly spicy radish, and rich hard-boiled eggs are tossed in a light and creamy dressing that pairs well with just about everything you're grilling this summer.
Ingredients
- 2 large English cucumbers (about 4 cups or 500 g)
- 1 tsp Kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 150 g (about ½ cup) Greek yogurt (use lactose-free if Low-FODMAP)
- 2 tbsp mayo
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar or Champagne vinegar (can also use traditional distilled white vinegar if you prefer it tangier)
- cracked black pepper, to taste
- 1 bunch radishes, topped and thingly slices (about 1 ½ cups or 180 g once prepped)
- 3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced into discs
Instructions
Prep and disgorge the excess liquid from the cucumbers:
- If you use English cucumbers, as suggested in the recipe, there's no need to remove the outer skin first, however, if you use a traditional garden cucumber that has a thicker skin you'll want to peel the skin off first.
- Slice the cucumber in half length-wise. Using a spoon, scoop the seeds out in a downward motion, then slice the cucumber width-wise into half-moons.
- Place a sieve over the top of a mixing bowl, ensuring that there is at least 1-inch or more space between the bottom of the sieve and the bottom of the bowl. Add the cucumbers to the sieve and toss with Kosher salt -- for this recipe, 1 teaspoon is plenty. The salt works to (disgorge) draw out the excess water from the cucumber flesh.
- Let the salted cucumbers rest for 15-20 minutes, tossing once or twice to make sure that all the excess liquid drains through the sieve. There should be plenty of liquid at the bottom of the mixing bowl in the end, which you can discard. The cucumbers will likely look wet and glossy at this point so take a paper towel or a clean kitchen towel and gently damp dry the excess moisture on their flesh.
Assembling the salad
- In a large mixing bowl, add the yogurt, mayo, dill, Dijon mustard, vinegar and a few cracks of black pepper to taste. Mix to combine fully.
- Add the cucumber and radish and gently toss to combine. Then add the hard-boiled eggs and gently toss again. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed. Serve cold. The remainder can be stored in the refrigerator through the second day, however, the cucumber will continue to release liquid so I find this salad is best the first day.
Notes
Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 100
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 307 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 5 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 113 mg
Cassie says
Emm! This looks really good! I can't wait to try it.
Amber Battishill says
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!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
Wow what a tasty looking salad. A great way to use cucumbers and radishes! This would be very popular in my house.
Marc says
Beautiful salad and solid technique for preventing wateriness. I also love that you used yogurt instead of excess mayo to make this creamy.
Natalie says
This salad looks so delicious and refreshing. Such a great dish for the summer!
Juli Meyers says
I adore fresh veggies salads and that dressing looks amazing. Over never had radish and Dijon together but it sounds excellent.
Jereann says
Thank you for including a lactose free option! Can't wait to try it!
Cristina - Memories of the Pacific says
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!
Erin @ Platings and Pairings says
I love that you added eggs and radishes into this summer salad - it looks absolutely delicious!
Justine Young says
I love the use of the yogurt in this, so perfect! I think this is perfect as a side for summer bbqs!
Summer Sorensen says
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!
Pech says
Great tip on cucumbers so it doesn't get soggy!
Whip & Wander says
It's a game changer!
Kelsey says
This looks like a great way to prepare cucumbers!
Jordan | Read. Eat. Repeat. says
Yuuuuum! This looks like such a light, healthy, delicious summer meal!
Tanvi Rastogi says
This looks so yummy and delicious ... Can't say I have had it before. Must change that.
❥ tanvii.com
Monica | Nourish + Fete says
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! 🙂
Leslie says
I love this! I don't often see cucumbers and radishes together on their own in a salad. Looks delish!
Jessica Formicola says
This is the perfect salad for summer! Bringing it to our end-of-summer BBQ!
Danielle says
We have been making lots of cucumber salads with the abundance we have growing. I like the idea of adding radish too.
Marlynn | Urban Bliss Life says
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!