This juicy grilled cucumber is the side dish you may not have known you were missing! I’ll show you just how easy it is to take an average cucumber, throw it on the grill, and turn it into a masterpiece worth serving alongside your BBQ favorites.
You can flavor it with a simple, special flavor-boosting sauce, or enjoy the charred, tender cucumber all on its own. If you’ve never had it, you won’t regret trying grilled cucumbers!
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✨ why you'll love this recipe
- This grilled veggie is the most perfectly crisp, juicy, and light side dish you could imagine.
- As a professional chef, I made this for private events and cooking classes. It's a summertime favorite among clients and now I'm sharing the recipe with you.
- Even though it's surprisingly easy to make, you get the 'wow' factor from serving a vegetable that's not commonly grilled.
- It tastes incredible with grilled meat or your choice of protein too.
- Grilled cucumbers will soak up the flavors you introduce and take them to the next level.
- You can dress them with whatever sauce you want, but there's a simple chef-favorite seasoning trick I’m sharing below.
🥒 what grilled cucumber tastes like
While they look so similar to zucchini and can be cooked using the same methods, cucumbers won’t get as soft when exposed to heat, and their mild flavor is only enhanced by the smokey flavors from grilling.
The heat brings out the juiciness of the cucumber - but you still retain the crunch! Dress it simply with a flaky sea salt and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, or you can drizzle on an umami-rich sauce.
Serve your cucumbers with chilled corn potage (creamy corn soup); this combination is perfect for grilling season! It’d also be fun to pair it with an easy Taiwanese cucumber salad (my Din Tai Fung copycat recipe) to experience the vegetable in a different way. Finish off your meal with some refreshing aiyu jelly for dessert!
📋 key ingredients
All you need are cucumbers and some light seasonings to make this dish really shine!
- English cucumbers - a 'seedless’ cucumber works best since the peel is thinner and there are fewer seeds that are also smaller. Look for seedless cucumbers that are still firm and don’t have any soft spots. You can go for English cucumbers, Persian, Japanese, or even Korean. These varieties have relatively thin skins and few seeds, making them perfect for high heat.
- canola oil - or another neutral-tasting oil with a higher smoke point (to withstand the hot grill)
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt (use half the amount if using sea salt)
- lemon - juiced. Adding a splash of fresh lemon juice will brighten up the flavors.
See the recipe card for quantities.
📖 substitutions & variations
Here are a few different kinds of cucumbers that work especially well on the grill, as well as a flavor-booster!
- cucumber - English cucumbers, Japanese cucumbers, and Persian cucumbers taste amazing grilled. Korean cucumbers should work well too!
- flavor booster - Add 1 tablespoon of low sodium soy sauce mixed with 1 teaspoon of mala chili crisp for a quick boost of umami flavor and a spicy kick. Baste the cut side of the grilled cucumber with the sauce right after taking it off the grill.
🔪 instructions
I’m going to go through each step in detail below, including step-by-step photos of how to grease your grill. In a hurry? You can jump straight to the printable recipe.
Start by preparing your cucumbers so they're ready to grill!
Cut 2 washed Japanese or English cucumbers in half and cut the ends off.
Cut each half down the middle lengthwise.
Leaving the cucumber in larger pieces like this makes it easier to grill. They can be cut into smaller pieces after grilling if you'd like.
Heat your BBQ grill or grill pan until smoking hot, then oil the grill. I use the Lodge grill pan (*paid link) when I'm only grilling a few items.
Place the pieces of cucumber cut-side-down onto the hot grill.
Grill for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Try not to flip it until they get nice grill marks.
pro tip
I use a rolled-up old, but clean, kitchen side towel (*paid link) to oil my grill. This is a pro tip used by professional cooks and chefs – one I used when cooking for private events and restaurants. This will help prevent the vegetables from sticking.
Fold the towel into thirds, then roll it up and tie it with cotton kitchen twine.
When the grill is hot, use tongs to dip the rolled-up towel into a container of canola/vegetable oil and rub it over the hot grates until they are shiny.
This will help prevent the vegetables from sticking. You can store this towel in a covered deli container to use the next time you grill. Just make sure to store it away from hot surfaces like the grill or stove since it can be flammable.
Once your cucumber has grilled for a few minutes...
Remove from the grill and season with salt and fresh lemon juice. This is the simple chef-favorite seasoning trick! A little bit of fresh lemon juice or another acid (like a nice vinegar) will enhance the flavor of the ingredient without having to add more salt.
For a bolder flavor, top with the optional sauce.
Serve with your favorite grilled proteins.
chef's tip: The cucumbers will still be pretty firm when done since you want them to have that satisfying crunch (the same juicy crunch you would get from a dill pickle)!
🍲 equipment
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❄️ storage & reheating
This dish is best enjoyed immediately, but you can store your leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for about a day if you'd like.
Reheat briefly in an air fryer, on the grill, or serve cold over a salad.
💭 top expert tip
Get your grill hot first (or in chef lingo: ‘ripping hot’), then add the cut cucumber. Resist the urge to move it once it’s on the grill. That way you’ll get beautiful grill marks!
🍴 perfect pairings for grilled veggies
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
👨🍳 COOKING WITH KIDS
What can kid chefs help with?
- help with picking out cucumbers
- mixing up any sauces or flavor boosters
- sprinkling on the salt and lemon juice
Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.
Happy cooking! ~ Cindy 周昀
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juicy grilled cucumber
watch it step-by-step: the sound of cooking® video
ingredients
- 2 Japanese or English cucumbers, about 20 ounces, halved lengthwise (or 4 Persian cucumbers)
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, use half the amount if using sea salt
- ¼ lemon, juiced
optional sauce:
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, low sodium
- 1 teaspoon mala chili crisp
*The Instacart button above is an affiliate link, which means we do make a small profit from your purchases (your price is not affected by this commission).
instructions
- Cut each cucumber in half and cut the ends off, then cut each half down the middle lengthwise.
- Heat your grill or grill pan until smoking hot, then oil the grill.
- Grill for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
- Remove from the grill and season with salt and fresh lemon juice. For a bolder flavor, top with the optional sauce.
- Serve with your favorite grilled proteins.
equipment and highlighted ingredients
notes
💭 faq
They sure are! They have a similar consistency to zucchini, so imagine that texture and the mild flavor of cucumber. Then, add in the slightly charred taste from the grill and you have a delicious side dish perfect for the summer.
Yes, you can. Cook them just like you would on the grill - you can even stir-fry them. Think of them like zucchini or summer squash and cook, marinate, and enjoy accordingly.
🌡️ food safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands before touching ready-to-eat foods like already grilled cucumbers
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
- See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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