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Light, refreshing and easy to pair, cabbage and cucumber salad is a summer-feasting staple. Potluck, picnic or BBQ, this no-mayo green slaw is cool, crunchy, flecked with dill, and spiked with a simple dressing.

Second-in-summer-salad-command is a crowd-pleasing classic coleslaw. My recipe is a colourful mix of red and white cabbage, and carrot, and will satisfy your mayo-loving guests.

Top down shot of cabbage and cucumber slaw

I have eaten my way around the world in salads, but I will always come back home to this simple cucumber salad recipe. Brimming with typical Eastern European ingredients; cabbage, cucumber, onions and dill, it’s pure nostalgia for me.

When I was a child, growing up in Russia, it was known as ‘Vitamin Salad’. It was considered very healthy, and thanks to its inexpensive and accessible ingredients, there was always a giant bowl of it at family gatherings served alongside typical dishes like pelmeni and kotlety.

I loved it then; I love it still. I hope you do too.

Simple cucumber and cabbage slaw

The beauty of a minimal salad is not only that it goes with anything you set beside it, but the ingredients-light recipe means it’s easy to prepare and ready to go in mere minutes.

My summer slaw recipe is just thinly sliced white cabbage, cucumber and shallot, a handful of herbs, an easy dressing and a sprinkling of crunch.

For herbs, I’ve chosen frondy dill. Dill has a subtle fennel flavour which elevates the mild vegetables. It’s often used it pickling so it’s not stranger to a cucumber!

Pumpkin and sunflower seeds are my own addition. I can’t get enough crunch right now and seeds bring bonus fibre.

And a note on the 3-ingredient dressing. This simple recipe calls for unrefined sunflower oil, which is typical of Russian and Ukrainian dressings. It is slick, buttery and nutty, and nothing like the standard, neutral-tasting This is an affiliate link.sunflower oil used in cooking. The two are not interchangeable!

Important recipe tips and notes

A This is an affiliate link.mandoline makes light work of cabbage prep. If you don’t have one, slice as thinly as possible.
Kirby or Persian, aka baby cucumbers give the best crunch. A long, slender English cue will do at a push though.
Unrefined sunflower oil is the key dressing ingredient. It is NOT the same as regular sunflower oil! Can’t find it? Use EV This is an affiliate link.olive oil instead.
Embellish with nuts and seeds. I’ve used pumpkin and sunflower.
Apple cider vinegar brings the tang-factor. Lemon juice or white wine vinegar are good substitutes.

Process shots of cabbage and cucumber combined in a bowl

What goes with it

Hosting a potluck, picnic or BBQ? Cabbage and cucumber salad is your new summer-feasting fave. It’s easy-going flavours mean it can accompany almost anything, here’s a few of my serving suggestions for this summer slaw at each event:

Potluck

with Hearty tuna macaroni salad, cabbage and cucumber bring the crunch.
with salty caramelised onion sausage rolls, this refreshing slaw slakes the thirst.

Picnic

with a meat-heavy, deli-style focaccia sandwich, cabbage salad provides the greens.
Dill potato salad, because you can never have too much dill!

BBQ

Homemade burgers, top with this slaw or serve on the side.
Simple lemon and garlic grilled chicken, and an equally simple salad.

Storage and leftovers

This picnic-perfect summer slaw recipe can be made up to a day ahead so you can pack up first thing and head out. Don’t keep any leftovers that have been out all day, but if you’ve served the cabbage salad as a side at home, it can be refrigerated in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container for another day or two before getting too oniony.

More salad recipes to try

Cabbage and Cucumber Salad

By Julia Frey of Vikalinka

Prep: 10

Total: 10

Servings: people

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This no-mayo cabbage and cucumber green slaw is cool, crunchy, flecked with dill, and spiked with a simple dressing.

Ingredients

▢ 500g / 1/2 small head of white cabbage, sliced thinly (7 cups sliced)
▢ 5 baby cucumber, or 1 English cucumber, sliced
▢ 1 shallot, sliced
▢ 2 tbsp dill, chopped
▢ 4 tbsp toasted sunflower or pumpkin seed combined, (or 1/4 cup red onion, sliced)
▢ 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
▢ 4 tbsp unrefined sunflower oil, (or extra virgin olive oil)
▢ 1 tsp salt

Instructions

Slice the cabbage thinly using a mandoline or a food processor if you have one, then slice the cucumbers and shallot. In a large mixing bowl combine the cabbage, cucumbers, shallots and chopped dill.
Mix the apple cider vinegar and unrefined sunflower oil with a teaspoon of salt, then pour all over the ingredients and mix to coat. Sprinkle with the seeds and give the salad another quit mix.