Our Most-Saved Cucumber Recipe of All Time Is ‘Just Like Grandma Used to Make’

Looking for a delicious way to use up all those fresh cucumbers that seem to overwhelm gardens and farmers’ markets this time of year? Your search ends with our most-saved cucumber recipe of all time: Cucumber-Tomato Salad.

With a near-perfect average rating from more than 800 members of the Allrecipes community, this classic and colorful side dish will be the star of your next summer spread—and it’ll quickly become a go-to in your seasonal rotation. 

Why We Love It

There’s a lot to love about this top-rated cucumber recipe. Here are just a few reasons we’re obsessed: 

• It’s full of old-fashioned flavor. Recent 5-star reviewer Donna Warner-Raskin puts it best when she says this classic dish tastes “just like grandma used to make.” Other community members agree, likening the summer salad to nostalgic recipes from their own mothers and grandmothers. 
• It uses in-season ingredients. This cucumber-tomato salad is a gardener’s dream (at least in the summertime, that is). If you don’t have a vegetable garden in your backyard, a quick trip to the farmers’ market is all you’ll need. 
• It’s the perfect make-ahead side dish. Because the flavors from the marinade take a few hours to reach their full effect, this is a great recipe to make in advance. It’s important to note, though, that the cukes might lose some crispness after a while—so we don’t recommend making this dish more than a day before you plan to serve it. 

Tips From the Test Kitchen

The colorful salad is also beloved by culinary producer and test kitchen expert Nicole McLaughlin, who calls it “summer’s favorite side dish.” Here are some of her best tips and tricks: 

• Nicole leaves out the water, as she likes the strong vinegar flavor that “makes her cheeks tingle.” She suggests keeping the water in, though, if you’re looking to “tame some of that tang.” However, she does recommend waiting until the end to add more liquid. You’ll be surprised how much juice the veggies create when mixed with the marinade!
• You can use any type of cucumber you have on hand, but Nicole strongly recommends using straight-out-of-the-garden pickling cucumbers (a.k.a. Kirby cucumbers) for the crunchiest results. 
• Nicole tweaks the recipe a bit by only peeling her cucumber halfway, using a potato peeler to peel in stripes. This adds a little extra color and flavor. 
• “When it comes to the tomatoes, you can use whatever variety you want—just choose the ones that are the brightest red and the ripest. Those are going to have the sweetest flavor.”

Get the recipe: Cucumber-Tomato Salad