Ahhh, August. The cucumbers are fresh and crisp, but I feel like a piece of limp lettuce left to waste on a sandwich wrapper. I don’t really feel like cooking, but a cucumber salad? I can make that happen. Sound familiar? If so, you will love this Cucumber Salad Roundup!

Before we get into the recipes, I must share my personal belief that the success of a cucumber salad depends wholly on how the cucumbers are cut. Too thick and the salad feels unpleasantly clunky in the mouth. Too thin and the salad will be soggy and lifeless. Nail the cut, and everything else falls into place.

The cucumber salad recipes below explore these 5 cuts:

• Crosswise thin slices: Clean and classic. This typically requires cutting cucumbers using a mandoline slicer like this one (DON’T FORGET YOUR CUT GLOVE!) for even, chip-like rounds that soak up flavor and still hold their crunch.
• Lengthwise ribbons: Sliced vertically on a mandoline for wide, dramatic curls that fold into dressings like silk. Gorgeous on the plate.
• Small dice: Tiny cubes perfect for Mediterranean chopped salads or yogurt-based dressings—no slipping off your fork.
• Spiral cut: Playful and noodle-like, these curls are fun to eat, although they may take some time to master.
• Cucumber planks: We love a bold plank cut into 2-inch by ½-inch pieces because they’re sturdy enough to stand up to basically any dressing, and stay crunchy for hours (sometimes days).