Betty’s Country Cucumbers
Betty’s Country Cucumbers are a must-make spring and summer side dish. A classic cucumber and onion salad that is tangy, crisp, and offers a slight sweetness, or your Grandma may have called it cucumbers in vinegar! We call it delicious! Cucumber salad is great for cookouts, potlucks, or your weeknight dinner.
Betty’s Country Cucumbers is me tried and true recipe. I make them year-round, they are too good to save for summer only!
Cucumber Salad
I have a pretty amazing mother-in-law named Betty. She is an adorable, happy-go, lucky lady. Always telling jokes and giggling. She has treated us all to many delicious meals. Unfortunately, for us all, she claims that she is retired from cooking. 🙁 We all fight this as much as we can but she is putting up a good battle. My only hope was to try to duplicate some of her wonderful recipes.
Betty’s Country Cucumbers
Betty’s country cucumbers are a family favorite. It is a delicious cucumber vinegar recipe. My kids literally get excited when they see the Ziploc bag in the fridge with cucumbers marinating. This recipe actually belonged to her father and it took her years to figure out the recipe. I am so grateful she did. You will be too!
Cucumber and Onion Salad
This is an EASY recipe. I love to whip this up along with my creamy coleslaw when we are having a BBQ.
How To Make Cucumbers In Vinegar
- Slice the cucumbers nice and thin. If using onions as well, slice those very thin. Place cucumbers and onions into a large Ziploc bag.
- Combine vinegar, sugar, and water…mix well.
- Pour into the Ziploc bag with the cucumbers and onions. Season with salt and pepper if you like.
- Seal the Ziploc bag and make sure it has a nice tight seal. With your hands slowly work the bag so that the liquid mixes into the cucumbers well. Lay the bag in your refrigerator and turn the bag every few hours or so giving the liquid a chance to marinate every bit of your cucumbers.
Can I Make Cucumber And Onion Salad in Advance
You definitely want to make these cucumbers in advance. I usually make mine the day in advance, they can be made two days in advance if you like. If you are tighter on time try to make them at least the morning of to allow enough time for the cucumbers to marinate.
How Long Will Cucumber and Onion Salad Last
Anywhere from 3-5 days. You will need to be the judge if you feel it is going bad. If so toss it out. Each day the salad will break down more becoming more tender.
Do You Peel Cucumbers for Cucumber Salad
The choice is yours if you want to peel cucumbers or not. If you leave them on you get a chewy texture. If you opt to peel it is a softer texture.
How Do You Thinly Slice Cucumbers
My trick is to use a mandolin grater. It allows you to set how thin you want your Cucumbers and then you get an even cut.
I have found when the onions and cucumbers are the same size the flavor is more consistent. Of your veggies are different sizes you will have areas that taste more oniony and other areas not as broken down.
Best Vinegar for Cucumber and Onions
White distilled vinegar is what I use for my cucumber and onions. It works great at giving you that zing without choking you out by being too strong.
What Onion to Use for Cucumber Salad
White or Red onion works just the same. If you have a preference on an onion reach for whatever you like best. The red offers a pretty color contrast but a lot of times I reach for white as a flavor preference.
Do You Have To Store Cucumber Salad in Bag
No! Feel free to use a storage container or glass container if you prefer. It is just how she made and stored her cucumber salad so I wanted to mimic her to try and capture her exact flavors.
Plus this is a strong salad, so if you use plastic you want to remember it might soak in some of the vinegar odor. Being in a bag helps you not to have a strong-smelling Tupperware later.
What to Serve Cucumbers and Onions With
- Hamburgers, Brats, Steak, all the cookout-style foods.
- Ham
- Chicken Nuggets
- Pork chops or pork tenderloin
- Meatloaf
- Sandwiches
- And more
We serve up this salad in any and every way. It is versatile in what to pair with it and it goes with almost any main dish! Like I said above we make this year-round!
I am so thankful I have a recipe that mimics Betty’s Salad. While it always tastes best if she makes it, I sure come close to the perfection she has!
Betty's Country Cucumbers
Betty’s Country Cucumbers are a must-make spring and summer side dish. A classic cucumber and onion salad that is tangy, crisp, and offers a slight sweetness, or your Grandma may have called it cucumbers in vinegar! We call it delicious! Cucumber salad is great for cookouts, potlucks, or your weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- 3 English Cucumbers, can also use 4 large cucumbers peeled and sliced thin
- 1/2 Cup Vinegar
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 2 TBSP Water
- White or Red Onion, optional sliced thin
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice cucumbers nice and thin. Place cucumbers and onions into a large Ziploc bag.
- Combine vinegar, sugar and water...mix well.
- Pour into the Ziploc bag with the cucumbers and onions. Season with salt and pepper if you like.
- Seal Ziploc bag and make sure it has a nice tight seal. With your hands slowly work the bag so that the liquid mixes into the cucumbers well. Lay the bag in your refrigerator and turn the bag every few hours or so giving the liquid a chance to marinate every bit of your cucumbers.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 65Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 53mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 1gSugar: 12gProtein: 1g
I’m Melissa, the imaginative force behind Sparkles to Sprinkles, where creativity comes to life, and sprinkles of joy are scattered generously. Melissa is a proud Jersey girl who found love with a New York boy. As a mom to four wonderful boys and a few fur babies, her journey into the world of blogging began after making the life-changing decision to stay home and raise her children. Previously a dedicated workaholic, Melissa’s blog became her creative outlet and passion project. Inspired by her mother-in-law, a masterful cook renowned for her delicious home-cooked meals and legendary holiday feasts (think mouthwatering sausage stuffing), Melissa honed her culinary skills through a combination of family recipes and countless cooking classes. She often attended these classes with her son Michael, who shared her enthusiasm for cooking from a young age. Melissa’s love for learning extends beyond familiar cuisines, as she enjoys exploring international recipes in hands-on cooking classes. Her blog features a diverse array of recipes, showcasing her expertise with various kitchen appliances such as the Instant Pot, air fryer, Slow Cooker, Ninja Foodi, Instant Vortex Plus, and more. Join Melissa on her culinary adventures as she shares tried-and-true family favorites alongside exciting new discoveries!
This does sound delicious. Does marinating help with the burping?
Also, Have you seen a recipe that involves placing ice over thinly sliced cucumbers? I’d love to have that recipe, too.
Is using a bag absolutely neccessary? Would a bowl be ok if the cubes were turned every couple of hours? How long do they last this way? Just wondering as I live alone.
Bag is not necessary. I have had them in my fridge for 3-4 days and still found them tasty and perfect. The beauty is the longer they marinate the better they are.
I must try this recipe! I’m sure it would be tasty with a good bbq pulled pork sandwich! I love a good cuke and onion salad during the summer!
This is the recipe for a Hungarian side dish – Saláta Uborka… but we put a dash of paprika in it as well at the end (of course, any other differences depend on the individual cook).
My mother made this, but added sour cream. My daughter loves it.
Do you happen to know how much sour cream. There is a place here that has creamy cucumbers and they are amazing. I bet if I add sr cream the recipe would be pretty close to the restaurants.
No off hand I do not, I would have to experiment with it to see. Maybe we both can and than compare. 🙂
Does it matter what kind of vinegar, apple cider, white?
Yes I am so sorry.. I use white vinegar 🙂
My Mom made these similar, but they taste almost the same. I have made these
4 times in two weeks. Everyone loves them. I put more onion because everyone loves them just as much as the cucumbers.
Same here in my house! It is one of our favorites and the onions end up so sweet and delicious. 🙂
Does this need be in the fridge ?
I keep mine in the fridge and it really seals all the flavors together too.
This recipe is great, thank you for sharing!
My grandmother made this 50 plus years ago and passed it down int he family. You can keep it for weeks in the refrigerator and just keep adding to it.
I have been making these for three years now, and they are a favorite in my households – I make a bag a week in the summer when the cucumbers are growing like crazy. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe!
I add dill to this recipe and it gives it a nice fresh flavor.
Love this recipe …make it with sour cream and onions…also with the vinegar love them both….
My Czech Grandmother made this too
but after thinly slicing the cucumbers,
she would lay them out on a towel and salt them
and after an hour or so she would wring out the juice from the towel.
This salting made the cucumbers limp.
I made this Summer before last & my hubby loved it!…me too! Last Summer we were in an rv waiting for the completion of our home…so no cucumbers. I have them marinating in the fridge right now…yummo! I have a meal of good ole pork chops, new potatoes, etc. where they will be the star of the show.
This time I left the skin on and used a red onion. Also I used my slicing blade on my processor…very thin.
Thank you for posting this…for our family it is now a Summer tradition!