Ideas for Using Fresh Garden Cucumbers – Recipes, Homemade Pickles and How to Freeze Cucumbers

What to do with fresh cucumbers?  We are harvesting the first of our garden cucumbers this week! Cucumbers are a happy veggie as my kids love to eat raw cucumbers and are perfectly happy!

We have several methods of also using cucumbers in recipes and raw, so we wanted to share some of our ideas with you to help you use up all of your cucumbers!

This is another addition to our  Ideas for using fresh garden veggies series. 

Fresh Garden Cucumbers Idea #1 – Cucumbers and Berries Together

For the first idea and recipe, we wanted to share this great recipe for Cucumber Salad HERE that has strawberries, basil and of course…cucumbers!  Check out the recipe.

Berries and cucumbers go very well together.  This idea can be done with many types of berries!

Fresh Garden Cucumbers Idea #2 – Marinated Cucumber Salads

There are two classic ways that I learned to make marinated cucumber salads – both are from two of my grandmothers that I learned to make when I was a small child.  This was a popular dish that each of them served, especially in the summer!

Marinated Cucumbers #1 – The Classic Version

• 4 cucumbers (leaving peel on or peeling – whatever you want!)
• 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of water
• dashes of salt and pepper
• 1 medium onion (optional)
• 1 tomato (optional)

Mix the vinegar, sugar, water and salt and pepper.  Then pour over the cucumbers and other veggies and marinate for at least 1 hour. This is also a great make ahead side dish

Marinated Cucumbers #2 – The Creamy Version

• 4 cucumbers (leaving peel on or peeling – whatever you want!)
• 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar
• 1/3 cup of water
• 1 TBSP sugar
• 1/2 cup yogurt, sour cream or mayonnaise
• dashes of salt and pepper
• 1 medium onion (optional)
• 1 tomato (optional)

Same instructions as above, except this one is best served immediately and will store “ok” but best freshly made.

Fresh Garden Cucumbers Idea #3 – Crisp Cucumber Salsa

My grandma, the one that makes the Marinated Cucumber Classic Version, also made this a couple of years ago for a summer family party and it was a huge hit.  She later sent me the recipe from a Facebook group that she was a part of! This is so good!  See the Pin here that was passed around.

Photo Credit

Crisp Cucumber Salsa:

2 cups finely chopped seeded peeled cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped seeded tomato
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped
4-1/2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/4 c reduced-fat sour cream
1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
1-1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
Tortilla chips

In a small bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In another bowl, combine the sour cream, lemon juice, lime juice, cumin and seasoned salt. Pour over cucumber mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately with chips.

Fresh Garden Cucumbers Idea #4 – Stuffed Cucumbers 

Try stuffed cucumbers!  You can make many versions – they are great! Basically, cut medium thick to extra thick cucumbers and hollow out a little hole.  Then you can stuff all kinds of goodness in there and serve it up!

Here’s a list of foods that you can “stuff” in there:

• Tuna Salad
• Salmon
• Crab Salad
• Chicken Salad
• Sour Cream Ranch Dip
• Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip
• Hummus
• Cream Cheese

Also, sprinkle chopped green onions, bacon pieces, bell pepper chunks and/or paprika on top of your stuffed creation! This is also a fun food for kids!

Fresh Garden Cucumbers Idea #5 – Cucumber Lime Jello Salad

• 2 large boxes lime Jello
• 2 large cucumbers sliced or diced
• 1.2 cup mayo
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• Whole container of whipped cream

Prepare the lime Jello and set in the fridge overnight with the cucumber slices. Mix all of the other ingredients together to top the salad and serve!

Fresh Garden Cucumbers Idea #6 – Homemade Canned Pickles and Refrigerator Pickles

Finally, we are going to share some preserving ideas – the most popular…… pickles of course!

There are two main ways to make pickles, long term storage in glass jars (canning) and refrigerator pickles which are a quick version, but will not last as long.

How to Make Refrigerator Pickles Recipe

In a saucepan, add vinegar, salt and sugar and boil over medium heat, stir constantly, until the sugar is dissolved.  Then place the cucumbers, garlic, onion and fresh dill in a large bowl or jar (whatever you plan to store in the fridge) and pour the liquid mixture over the top.  Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks.

For homemade canned pickles, we recommend using the recipe for Homemade Canned Dill Pickles from Almanac.com HERE.

Fresh Garden Cucumbers Idea #7 –  How to Freeze Cucumbers

Now, if you run out of ideas, recipes or don’t want to make anything with cucumbers right now, you can freeze cucumbers.  

However, just a warning. Cucumbers are not great frozen.  What we mean is that they certainly cannot be eaten raw, just like most other veggies and the blanching trick does not work on cucumbers like it does on other veggies. Freezing cucumbers is kinda tricky and then in the end, still may not be that great. Most will probably advise you to not freeze them. However, we will tell you how you can!

The way to freeze them successfully is by brining them.  That means that when you go to use them, they will have more of the vinegar/pickle taste, but still resemble more of a cucumber than a pickle. This is really the only way to freeze them .

To brine the cucumbers for freezing, you will mix 8 cups of sliced cucumbers with 2 TBSP of salt and sliced onion (optional). Let this sit for a couple of hours and then rinse with cold water and pat dry.  Then mix 2/3 cup of oil, 2/3 cup white distilled vinegar, 2/3 cup of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of celery seed. Mix well and pour over cucumbers. Cover and refrigerate overnight to soak in.  Then transfer into a ziploc or plastic container for freezing in the brine for at least a week before using. 

What do you plan to do with your cucumbers?

Keep watching for more ideas on using your garden veggies as we have many more veggies recipes and ideas to share this summer with you as you make the most of your garden and farmer’s market finds! 

For actual garden ideas, we wanted to remind you that we have been sharing so many gardening ideas on our Garden Gallery of Ideas HERE, Pinterest HERE and Facebook HERE that we hope you are seeing some incredible results with your homegrown food supply.  And, as always, we will continue to share gardening tips and ideas on all our site.

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