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a woman holding a crate of cucumbers

Cucumbers Galore? Here’s What to Do With Every Single One

/4 Comments/in , /by Mary Hunt

Cucumbers are having a moment. Actually, they have this moment every summer, and every summer I fall for it all over again. If you’re growing your own, you already know the drill. One week you’ve got two sad little cucumbers hiding under the leaves. The next week you’re hauling in an armload and wondering who you can foist them off on. Sound familiar?

a woman holding a crate of cucumbers

I picked up a full box at the farmers’ market the other day for seven bucks. Seven. For a box I could barely carry. That’s the beauty of cucumber season. The more of them there are, the less they cost, so this is exactly the time to go a little overboard.

I happen to love cucumbers enough that I’d eat them in a salad, on a sandwich, pickled, or just sliced with a sprinkle of salt standing over the sink. Every single day. So today I’m rounding up my favorite ways to use them up before they go soft on you, plus one reader trick that’ll buy you extra time either way.

Grandma’s Creamy Cucumber Salad

grandma's cucumber salad recipe with sweet white onions mixed in bowl with wood spoons

This one goes back generations in my family, and my grandmother never measured a thing. Turned out perfect anyway, every time. I finally pinned down what she was actually doing… a salt-and-rest step most recipes skip entirely, and it’s the difference between a salad that stays creamy and one that turns into cucumber soup by dinnertime.

Cucumbers, sweet onion, sour cream, a little sugar, a splash of apple cider vinegar. That’s it. Get the full recipe (and the trick for keeping it from getting watery) here: Grandma’s Creamy Cucumber Salad Recipe Made Easy.

Jump to the full recipe โ†’ย 

Easy Refrigerator Dill Pickles

easy refrigerator dill pickles in glass jars

No canning. No giant pot on the stove. No lying awake wondering if you sealed the jars right and you’re about to poison the family come January. Just cucumbers, brine, a few jars, and your fridge doing all the work.

I go into which cucumbers actually make a good pickle (hint: not the ones you’re using for salad) and walk through the whole thing step by step. Full recipe here: The Best Easy Refrigerator Dill Picklesโ€”No Canning Needed!.

Jump to the full recipe โ†’ย 

Chicken Pasta Salad

closeup of chicken pasta salad at potluck

If you’ve still got cucumbers left after the salad and the pickles and with a box that size, you probably will, toss the extras into a chicken pasta salad. It’s the dish I make for potlucks, graduation parties, and any week where I’m suddenly feeding more people than I planned on. Chopped cucumber goes right in with the peppers and onion, and it tastes even better the next day. Recipe here: Easy Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe for a Crowd.

Jump to the full recipe โ†’ย 

Freezer Cucumber Relish for the Days You Can’t Keep Up

cucumber relish in glass jars for freezing

If you’ve got more cucumbers than you can eat fresh this week, don’t let them turn to mush in the crisper. A quick relish: chopped cucumber, onion, vinegar, a little sugar and salt, freezes beautifully and turns overflow into something you’ll actually use come fall, on a hot dog or straight out of the jar with a spoon. It’s the same instinct as the pickles: don’t let peak-season abundance go to waste just because you can’t eat it all today.

Skip the Fancy Water

cucumber water in a glass

Before you buy another case of flavored sparkling water, try this: a few cucumber slices in a pitcher of tap water, into the fridge overnight. Tastes like something you’d pay too much for at a spa, costs about thirty cents. I keep a pitcher going most of the summer.

The Trick That Keeps Cucumbers Fresh Longer

Here’s one from EC reader Jessica that I wish I’d known years ago. You know how the pricier English cucumbers come wrapped in plastic at the store? That’s not packaging for show. Those cucumbers spoil faster than the regular kind, and the wrap is what keeps them going.

Turns out that trick works on any cucumber once you’ve cut into it. Jessica tested it out after seeing it recommended by the folks at Cook’s Illustrated, wrapping plastic wrap snugly around the cut end so there’s no gap between the wrap and the cucumber, no air bubbles, sealed tight around the sides. Into the fridge it goes. A cut cucumber that would normally turn slimy in a day or two will hold up for close to a week.

I’ve started doing this with every cucumber I slice into and only use part of, and it’s a small thing that’s saved me more produce than I’d like to admit.

One more thing while we’re on the topic of storage… resist the urge to shove your cucumbers into the coldest part of the fridge. Anything below about 40ยฐF and they start to go soft and pitted. The crisper drawer, not the back wall, is where they want to live.

So there you have it. A salad, a jar of pickles, a pasta salad that’ll feed a crowd, and a trick to keep the rest of that box from going to waste. Seven dollars never stretched so far.

 

Question: Now tell me… what’s your go-to move when the cucumbers start piling up? I’m always looking to steal a new one.

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4 replies
  1. Laura says:

    You got a DEAL! A bushel of cucumbers at our farmers market was priced at $54.
    I can buy pickles for less, although they wonโ€™t be nearly as fresh and tasty, itโ€™s a lot less work! Wish I lived in your neck of woods!

    Reply
  3. Nancy Swecker says:

    5 stars
    I had some pickling cucumbers in my refrigerator so I made your Grandmother’s Cucumber Salad with them. So good! I’m having another serving right now. The only adaptations I made were to skip the salting/rinsing/draining step since my cukes weren’t bitter – adding a good sprinkling of salt to the dressing, and to substitute a squirt of liquid stevia for the sugar since I am following a low carb food plan. It’s a very easy and delicious salad!

    Reply
  4. Alice says:

    I have been making cucumber salad using sliced cukes, sour cream, a spoonful of dill pickle juice and salt and pepper. It’s very good when first made, but the next day after being refrigerated it is somewhat watery. I’m going to try salting the cucumbers first as this may be the reason it turns watery, Next time I’ll try your grandmother’s recipe! It sounds good. As always, thanks for the great tips, Mary. I pin so many of your recipes and tips.

    Reply

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