Think of this as a cucumber salad… with a twist. Instead of slicing the cucumbers into coins or smashing them like the viral TikTok salads, I cut mine into long, noodle-like strands using a mandoline. The result is a chilled sweet and sour cucumber salad that’s light, tangy, and seriously refreshing—perfect for cookouts, takeout nights or anytime you need a crunchy side with a burst of flavor.
Table of Contents
I still remember the first time I used a mandoline in culinary school. It scared the bejeezus out of me. Something about gliding slippery veggies toward a razor-sharp blade didn’t exactly scream “safe.” But after a few homemade coleslaws, barbecue chips and many cucumber salads later, I’d traded fear for fascination. How could such a tiny, non-electronic gadget produce such perfect slices and slivers and juliennes and … noodles?
That’s exactly what we’re doing here: turning cucumbers into long, elegant strands that soak up a quick, sweet-and-sour dressing. You can use a mandoline, a spiralizer or test your knife skills if you’re feeling bold. However you slice it (literally), this salad is light, crisp, sweet, spicy and sour—exactly the kind of side dish I want on repeat all summer long.
- Cucumbers: I prefer English or Persian cucumbers for their thin skin and minimal seeds, which means no peeling or scooping required. That said, any cucumber will work—just remove large seeds and peel thicker skins if needed.
- Red onion: Adds a sharp contrast to the sweet and sour dressing. If you’re not an onion fan, swap in a few sliced scallions for something milder and more herbaceous.
- Rice vinegar: This is what gives the salad its signature tang. I use unseasoned rice vinegar so I can control the sweetness myself, but seasoned vinegar works too; just reduce the added sugar slightly.
- Sugar: Just a couple of teaspoons balance the acidity. Feel free to swap in honey or maple syrup for a refined sugar-free option.
- White sesame seeds: These add a pop of nuttiness.
- Crushed red pepper flakes: Add as little or as much heat as you like.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Popular Variations & Add-Ins
- Chili crisp: A spoonful stirred into the dressing (or drizzled on top) adds heat, crunch and umami all at once.
- Soy sauce or tamari: Stir in a splash if you’re after a saltier, more savory vibe.
- Garlic or ginger: A small clove of minced garlic or a bit of grated fresh ginger can add bold depth to the dressing.
- Slice your cucumbers. You’ve got options here! I like to julienne them on a mandoline for cucumber noodles, but you can also use a spiralizer. Prefer classic half-moons or thin rounds? Just grab your sharpest knife and go for 1/4-inch slices.
- Make the sweet and sour dressing. In a medium bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, water, sugar and optional chili flakes until the sugar dissolves.
- Add the diced red onions and cucumbers. Give it all a good toss to coat the cucumber noodles in the dressing.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, stirring once or twice to help distribute the flavors. Just before serving, sprinkle on the sesame seeds.
Make-Ahead & Storage Tips
This salad was made for chilling. The longer it rests, the more those sweet, tangy flavors soak into the cucumber noodles. You can prep the salad up to 24 hours in advance. In fact, I recommend chilling it for at least 2 hours so the cucumbers have time to soak up all that vinegary zing. Give it a quick toss before serving to redistribute the dressing.
Store leftover cucumber salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The cucumbers will naturally release some liquid over time—this is totally normal! Just drain off any excess or use a slotted spoon to serve.
My Favorite Mains to Pair with This Salad
This easy cucumber salad recipe is the ultimate refreshing side dish for hot summer days and pairs well with all kinds of dishes. I love serving it alongside beef bulgogi, pork potstickers, beef satay, or honey-garlic salmon, but it’s just as tasty with pork fried rice, baked orange chicken or teriyaki chicken meatballs.
It even holds its own at summer cookouts—try it with barbecue ribs, honey-garlic shrimp skewers or pulled pork sandwiches. However you serve it, the cool, sweet-and-sour crunch is the perfect contrast to rich, bold flavors.
FAQs
No salting required here! The cucumbers hold up beautifully in the vinegar-based dressing without turning soggy. Just be sure to chill them for at least 2 hours to let the flavors meld.
Absolutely! A sharp knife will do the trick. Slice the cucumbers into thin rounds or matchsticks—whatever you prefer.
Yes! This salad is a great base for building a light lunch. Try topping it with shredded rotisserie chicken, grilled shrimp or even crispy tofu for a complete meal.
Cucumbers are about 95% water! You can salt them first to draw out excess moisture, but I like the lightness that comes from tossing them straight into the dressing.
Ingredients
- 2 medium cucumbers, peeled
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 3/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons white sesame seeds
Equipment:
- mandoline or spiralizer
Instructions
- Attach the julienne blade to the mandoline and adjust it to the 1/8-inch-thick setting. Applying medium pressure, carefully run one of the cucumbers down the blade to form noodles, slicing until you reach the core. Rotate the cucumber a quarter turn and continue slicing and rotating until you’ve cut the entire cucumber. Repeat the slicing process with the second cucumber then transfer the cucumber noodles to a medium bowl.
- Add the red onion, rice vinegar, water, sugar and crushed red pepper flakes (optional) to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the cucumber noodles for a minimum of 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until chilled.
- When ready to serve, use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the noodles to serving plates and top with the sesame seeds.
Kelly’s Notes
- If you’re using a spiralizer instead of a mandoline, simply twist the cucumber into the spiralizer to form noodles.
- Make-Ahead: You can prep the salad up to 24 hours in advance. Give it a quick toss before serving to redistribute the dressing.
- Storage: Store leftover cucumber salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The cucumbers will naturally release some liquid over time—this is totally normal! Just drain off any excess or use a slotted spoon to serve.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Nutrition
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
Kelly, I am 76 and have some weakness . I am considering getting a spiralizer and want to know what you think of an electric spiralizer, instead of a manual. If so, which would you recommend ? Thank you .
Hi Sandi! I don’t use a spiralizer all that often, but I do have some experience with electric ones and find they work well.
Could you please put nutritional content on your recipes? Thank you.
Hi Sharon! You can find the estimated nutritional info by clicking on the purple button below the recipe that says ESTIMATED NUTRITION INFORMATION. :)
So refreshing and tasty. Makes a great afternoon snack. Thank you for this recipe!
You are so welcome! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hi Kelly – this sounds so great and it will be perfect to bring to a family get together where my mother-in-law is making fresh spring rolls and my sister-in-law is making Pho. The directions say add 1/4 cup water but the water isn’t in the ingredient list. Just want to be sure I am supposed to add the water.
Thank you!
Hi Chris! Yes, the water is correct :) Enjoy!
I just got done making this for our dinner tonight. I noticed that the water wasn’t in the ingredients as well, so I wasn’t sure what to do. I figured I would just see if it needed to be (if it was a little strong) then I’ll add the water.
Hi Andrea! I’ve added the water to the ingredient list.
HI Kelly,
Duh…forget my last note. I just didn’t read carefully enough. I now see you say to slice until you get to the core and then flip the cuke. So that answers my question about the seeds and extra water from slicing.
Would the English cucumber still have to require that process? Aren’t they mostly seedless?
Hi Dave! I’m so glad you’re enjoyed looking through all of the Just a Taste recipes! I haven’t used an English cucumber with this recipe so I can’t say for certain if the process would be the same, however, you are correct that they have less noticeable seeds. Let me know if you give it a shot!
Hi Kelly,
I can’t believe it’s been so long last I left a comment on this (12/31/2016)but I finally tried this recipe yesterday with the English cucumbers. I used a spiralizer and the recipe was incredible! I didn’t try this with my mandolin with regular cucumbers because the spiralizer makes it so much easier.
Getting ready to add a comment to your blog entry on the “Greek Pasta Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette” because I made both to take a picnic to an outdoor concert last night.
Hi Dave! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! And thank you so much for taking the time to comment :)
How long will this keep?
Hi Kimberly! The sweet and sour cucumber noodles will last a few days if kept in an airtight container in the fridge.
I made this with my spiralizer and it was a HUGE hit. Now I crave it every once in awhile and have to make it. My best friend’s 13-year-old son ate several servings of it. It’s delicious!
So glad you’re enjoying the recipe, Kate!
Have you ever added a few drops of sesame oil to this?
Absolutely, Kathy! It’s pretty strong-flavored so I’d start with 1/4 teaspoon and go from there. Enjoy!
Can you take the sugar out or swap it with something?
You could use honey or a sugar substitute.
I’m note sure what a mandolin is .
It’s a kitchen gadget featuring a blade that allows you to thinly slice food items.
This looked SO good, I just had to try it! Unfortunately no matter what I did, I could not get my spiralizer to spiralize the cucumber, and my cucumbers were pretty firm! I ended up just using my peeler to make thicker ribbon noodles but would love to make the thinner kind! Not sure what I’m doing wrong… any ideas?
Hi Tanya – I use a mandoline to make my cucumber noodles so unfortunately I can’t troubleshoot what went wrong with your specific piece of equipment.
Just shared it on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/juliennepeelers. Love you recipe. No Carbs and those colors! Great food photography.
Great looking recipe. As you describe in your first paragraph, mandolines are dangerous. I just took a big chunk out of my pinky using one last week. ER bills are no fun, so here is another friendly reminder to always use the guard!!!!
Looks refreshing, healthy and delicious.
I just made this for breakfast – delicious! I did use palm sugar instead of white sugar. What a lovely recipe! Cheers.
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it :)
Made this last night, hubby loved it. Only change to recipe is , doubling it. He wanted more!
Can’t wait to try this. Sounds great for hot summer evening side dish!
This was absolutely wonderful! So refreshing. I used my julienne blade to slice the cucumbers and loved the vinegar coating.
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Excuse for my probably “very stupid” question, but I’m new at this! I absolutely love this salad and I’m willing to eat healthier! I’m thinking about buying a food processor (thinking I could shred the cucumber like this one), but as I read, you used a mandoline. Do you think a food processor (shredder ) will work for this? thank u for your recipes!
Not a stupid question at all, Lucero! Yes, you could definitely use the slicing blade to cut the cucumbers for this salad, but I wouldn’t use the shredding blade. Enjoy!
I made this for my family and they went crazy over it. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Awesome! So glad you all enjoyed the recipe, Jennifer!
Great recipe! Do you use plain rice vinegar or “seasoned” rice vinegar (has sugar added)? Thanks!
Hi Kathryn! I use regular rice vinegar (unseasoned). Enjoy!
Bought a low end mandoline just so I could make this dish…and it was well worth the investment. Loved both the look and taste of these!
I just got a julienne peeler, which also works well at making vegetable noodles! I want to give this recipe a try soon. Sounds right up my alley!
I love a simple recipe like this! Havent gotten much use from my Mandolin but when I do I love it
whoa. I’m drooling at these! I’m Czech, and we eat LOTS of pickled cucumbers. This dish is right up my alley! Thanks! Pinning! :)
Gorgeous and absolutely refreshing noodles,the combination of ingredients is just perfect,love the toasted sesame seeds….terrific recipe :-)
LOVE these “noodles” Kelly….Pinned!
This is FABULOUS! I have a mandolin and never once thought of using it to make veggie noodles! Where have I been?!?!? Cant wait to try this. Ive always used mine to make bread and butter pickle ribbons for on sandwiches or campfire dogs.
Tried tonight and LOVED them. It has quite a bit of liquid so I strained them before serving. Refreshing and lovely. Thank you for all your hard work Kelly.
Thanks for reminding me to add a note about using tongs or a slotted spoon! So glad you enjoyed them :)
I’ve seen zucchini noodles, but never cucumber noodles. What an awesome idea! PS. I just bought a mandalin and I can’t wait to use it!
Loving this twist on cucumber salad, Kelly! A new noodle has officially arrived in my low-carb world! Like Averie, I have only made zucchini ribbons. Thank you! Pinning to spread the word!
Okay a mandoline is immediately going on my Amazon wish list!! These noodles look so refreshing!
LOVE cucumber noodles. I always find a reason to use the mandoline. It’s just so fun. Love this sweet and sour recipe :)
I. Love. Every. Single. Thing. About. THIS! Beautiful shots too! <3
Holy moly! Now this is what I call a recipe.
What an incredible idea, I love this!
I’ve never made actual cucumber noodles. Ribbons, yes. But not noodles. I do make zucchini noodles with my spiralizer but this is just so creative and gorgeous. Pinned!
Love ribbons, too! Thanks, Averie :)
I love cucumber salads so these noodles are perfect, fab flavors!
This is so different and healthy looking! This looks delicious!
The mandoline still scares the daylights of of me…but for this salad, I think it’s time to face my fears!
What a fun recipe! Love the look of the veggie noodles.
Kelly! What a clever, low-fat idea for us “Noodle-obsesser’s.” And your photos are gorgeous. I think I need some cuke’s Thanks for the idea.
Funny, I posted zucchini noodles today! We are always on the same page! Will be trying your recipe very soon!
We are seriously culinary cousins :)
What an interesting salad! I need to get a mandolin so I can try these cucumber “noodles.” Yum!
Absolutely love this! Never made cucumber noodles before, now I have to try. Thanks for sharing :)
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
Oh yes please! I love everything about this.
yum! I am totally trying this! Right up my alley
Whoa! These are gorgeous! I have never done cucumber noodles, but this dish is were I am starting! Sweat and sour anything is always good!