quick salad recipe easy pickled cucumbers jewish Russian
Photo credit Shannon Sarna

Quick Russian Pickled Cucumber Salad

This quick salad is a cinch to whip up, keeps for several days in the fridge and is a real crowd-pleaser.

A lot of my friends have fond memories of their grandmother’s chicken soup or their mom’s amazing brisket. Sadly, I don’t have these sacred food memories. My Jewish grandmother (who I love dearly) is not such a great cook. Her kugel is always dried out, her soup is too fatty and needs salt, and she serves jarred gefilte fish at holidays, which more closely resembles lint from a dryer than something edible.

But one of the dishes she makes that I do enjoy is her marinated cucumber salad. It’s a dish that she learned to make from her grandmother (my great-great grandmother) who lived most of her life in Russia.

I updated her recipe just a bit, using a larger seedless English cucumber instead of regular cucumbers, and adding a bit of spice with just a pinch of red pepper flakes. I also love serving my salad in mason jars — definitely a modern twist.

This quick salad is a cinch to whip up, keeps for several days in the fridge and is a real crowd-pleaser. My young daughter devours it, and even my father-in-law approves — truly the ultimate compliment.

Note: This recipe needs to chill for several hours or overnight.

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quick salad recipe easy pickled cucumbers jewish Russian
Photo credit Shannon Sarna

Quick Pickled Cucumber Salad

This easy marinated cucumber salad is based on my great-great grandmother’s recipe.

  • Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 large seedless English cucumber
  • 1 yellow or red onion, thinly sliced
  • ½ cup white wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup water
  • 23 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • pinch crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

  1. Slice cucumber ¼½ inch thick.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, water, sugar, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and dill.
  3. Add thinly sliced cucumber and onion to bowl, and mix until liquid coats all the cucumber and onion.
  4. Place salad into container and allow to chill several hours or overnight.

Notes

This recipe needs to chill for several hours or overnight.

  • Author: Shannon Sarna
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes + 3 hours chill time
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Category: Vegan
  • Method: Quick
  • Cuisine: Ashkenazi

2 comments

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  • Karen

    I’ve used this recipe for years. It’s exactly what my Mom used to make. Very quick and very delicious.

    • Arlene Smith One of my fav dishes my Mom always made and served. Mouth watering now thinking about it. Can't wait to try

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