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Fresh and crisp, Spicy Cucumber Salad is a bright, marinated twist on the classic creamy cucumber and onion salad we all love.

For more light, marinated salad freshness, you’ll also want to try my tomato cucumber salad & marinated black eye pea salad.

Cucumbers and red onion marinated in a fresh and spicy vinaigrette to create a crisp summer salad.

I can’t wait for you to try this light and easy salad recipe! It’s that perfect, crisp refreshing side dish that’s going to keep you feeling cool and so good all summer.

Simply put, it’s just cucumbers and red onion tossed with cilantro then chilled in a dressing of lightly sweetened vinegar, garlic, red pepper, chili powder.

But one bite, and you’ll know there’s nothing “just” about it. It’s everything! Spicy cucumber salad is cool, refreshing, light… but soo, so tasty with just a hint of spicy heat at the same time.

Plus, it’s completely versatile. You’re going to love serving this simple summer salad with:

Hello, new summer go-to!

Recipe Ingredients & Overview

The ingredients from spicy cucumber salad arranged on a cutting board and labeled to help the reader see what's need to make this recipe.

I’ll walk through an overview of ingredients & steps in these next sections along with helpful tips!

Look for specifics at the end of the post in t he recipe card.

cucumbers
red onion
chopped cilantro
white vinegar
olive oil
minced garlic
sugar
red pepper flakes
chili powder
salt
coarse ground black pepper

Recipe Substitutions/ Additions: Instead of red onion, you could use a sweet yellow onion instead. The red onion does add some nice color though.

If you or someone who will be eating with you doesn’t like onion, feel free to leave it out altogether. The marinated cucumbers are still tasty!

Not a cilantro fan? Use chopped parsley.

My favorite: Add a spritz of lime juice to the dressing for even more flavor in this spicy cucumber salad.

I also think a sprinkle of feta cheese or cotija cheese would be delicious on this.

How To Make A Spicy Cucumber Salad

A bowl filled with cucumber, red onion and chopped cilantro waiting to be tossed and dressed to make cucumber salad. — Love these table linens? You can find all of the dinner napkins featured in theses photos in the specially curated Southern Discourse SHOP.

Make Dressing/ Marinade. Whisk vinegar, olive oil, sugar, garlic, salt, chili powder, red pepper flakes and black pepper together in a large measuring cup. Set aside.

Prep Salad. Cut cucumbers into 1 inch thick slices. Quarter slices to create bite-sized chunks. Thinly slice onion & chop cilantro.

Toss. Add cucumbers, thinly sliced red onion and chopped cilantro to a bowl. Top with dressing and toss well.

Marinate. Cover and refrigerate for one hour to overnight. Toss again before serving.

Close up of a bowl of fully dressed and marinated spicy cucumber salad to show ingredients and texture.

Tips for Making the Best Cucumber Salad

I use English cucumbers in this recipe because its skin is thinner and less tough than a regular cucumber. It also has fewer seeds and is less watery.
However, if you have fresh cucumbers from your garden or the farmer’s market, it’s hard to beat the robust flavor of fresh summer produce.
I don’t peel my cucumbers when making this salad. The bright green skin adds to the strong colors and visual appeal of the salad. And it’s just easier not having to peel the cucumbers first. This is where the thin, tender skin of the English cucumber comes into play.
I’m also careful to keep my cucumber wedges bite sized. It makes the salad easy to eat and creates more surface area to soak up that dressing!
Don’t skimp on the marinating time if you want really good flavor.

A bowl of spicy cucumber salad with marinated cucumbers, red onion and cilantro in a blue and white bowl with wooden salad tongs to show how to serve this salad.

How to Store

Because of the vinegar, this salad will last so much longer than you think! We’re talking up to on week if it’s sealed in an airtight container.

TIP: Store this salad in a large, large-mouthed mason jar or two for the perfect marinated method. Give your jar a quick shake before you pour the salad into a bowl and serve!

More Perfect Summer Side Dishes