This Creamy Vegan Cucumber Salad with Dill and Red Onion is filled with delicious fresh cucumbers, savory herbs and spices, and a bright squeeze of lemon! Enjoy it as a side dish or as a light and tasty lunch.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup raw unsalted cashews, soaked in advance*
- ½ cup filtered water
- 1 large juicy lemon, juiced (about 3 tablespoons)
- 3 cloves garlic (4 if you LOVE garlic)
- 3 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
- ½ teaspoon ground black (or more to taste)
- ½ cup fresh dill, large stems removed plus more for garnish
- 1 large English cucumber, very thinly sliced (4 cups when thinly sliced)
- 1 cup thinly sliced red onion
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a high speed blender combine the cashews, water, lemon, garlic, vinegar, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth and creamy (about one minute).
- Add the dill and pulse four times to incorporate. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the cucumber, red onion and HALF of the creamy vegan dill sauce. Stir well to evenly coat the cucumber slices. Make sure cucumber slices are not sticking together and all both sides are getting coated with the dressing. At this point the dressing will be quite thick. That is okay.
- Let the cucumber salad chill for ten minutes in the refrigerator. As the salad chills the cucumbers will naturally start to release their juices which will thin out the sauce. After the cucumber salad has chilled, mix again, taste and add more sauce if desired. I usually end up using about ¾ of the sauce – it will depend on how creamy and how flavorful you want it. I save the extra creamy dill sauce for radish salad, tomato salad or regular salads. It makes a great dip for any raw vegetable too.
- Garnish with fresh dill and freshly ground black pepper.
- Best served when fresh. You can store leftovers in an airtight glass container for up to two days.
