This Marinated Tomato and Cucumber Salad has layers or tomatoes, cucumbers and onions in a perfectly sweet and salty brine. It's one of my favorite pickled salads.
For some reason, canning always makes me feel so domestic. I'm a huge fan of Little House on the Prairie, and any time I make jam, pickles, tomato sauce, freeze berries or do any sort of food preservation, I feel like I'm channeling my inner Caroline Ingalls, taking care of my family by preparing us all with lots of stocked up food in our pantry. There is something so satisfying about seeing colorful jars of canned food.
I also watched my Mom can our summer produce all summer long, from the many varieties of Marinated Tomatoes and Pickles, Marinated peppers, Adzhika, Tomato Juice, different assortments of Slavic salads and all kinds of jams. We enjoyed the contents of those jars all year long. This was my all time favorite recipe that my Mom made every summer.
The Marinated Tomato and Cucumber Salad is so simple, yet the taste is like none that I have tried anywhere else. First of all, it looks beautiful. The layers of onions, cucumbers and tomatoes are so colorful. The flavor isn't too "pickley" or "vinegary". Actually, there is such a small amount of vinegar, that you can't really taste it at all in the finished product. It's the perfect balance of sweet and salty. My husband, who is NOT the biggest fan of pickled food, loves this salad, for this very reason. Since the tomatoes and cucumbers are cut up into pieces, it's especially convenient, because you don't have to fit them into the jar a certain way. You don't have to choose the perfect small vegetables, because you can cut up the tomatoes and cucumbers that normally wouldn't fit. Also, since the tomatoes and cucumbers are canned together, they give a very unique flavor to each other. These pickles have an extra delicious flavor because of the tomato juice that is in the marinade.
It's a perfect quick side dish to any meal. Open up a jar, and you're all set. I hope you enjoy this recipe that has been loved in our family for many years.
Ingredients: (You can most certainly halve the recipe if you want to make a small portion)
5 lbs tomatoes
5 lbs pickling cucumbers
2 lbs onions
2 heads of garlic
1 large bunch fresh dill
20 cups water
8 Tablespoons granulated sugar
9 Tablespoons fine sea salt
¾ cup distilled white vinegar
10 Tablespoons sunflower oil, 1 Tablespoon per jar
Instructions:
Wash the cucumbers and tomatoes.
If your cucumbers are a little soft, you can crisp them up by letting them soak in really cold water for 15-30 minutes. This is actually a really cool trick for any time your cucumbers need a little extra pep. They got nice and crunchy just by standing in the cold for a bit. 
Slice the cucumbers into approximately ½ inch circles. Slice the onions, about ¼ inch slices and quarter the tomatoes. Peel the garlic.
Wash and dry your canning jars. Place a few sprigs of fresh dill on the bottom of each jar, and then add 2-4 garlic cloves. 
Layer the onions, cucumbers and tomatoes in 2 layers in each jar. 
I got 10 (1 quart) jars, using 8 wide mouth quart jars and 2 half gallon wide mouth jars.
Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring the water, salt and sugar to a boil, mixing until all the sugar and salt dissolve. Off the heat, pour in the vinegar.
Ladle the hot marinade mixture over the vegetables in the jar, all the way to the top. 
Add about a tablespoon of sunflower oil to the top of each jar. I add a little bit less than a Tablespoon to the quart jars and a little more than a Tablespoon to the half gallon jars.
Place the jar lids in boiling water and let the lids stay in the boiling water for 10-15 minutes also, off the heat.
In a large pot, place a towel or dishcloth on the bottom and fill it with water. Bring the water to a boil. Place the filled jars in the boiling water, on top of the towel, cover them loosely with the lids and cook, at a simmer, for 10-15 minutes.
Take the jars out of the water and close the lids tightly. Repeat with all the jars.
The tomato and cucumber salad is ready to eat in 1-2 days, since the vegetables are cut, the marinade penetrates them really quickly. Store opened jars in the refrigerator, the rest are shelf stable at room temperature.
It's absolutely delicious! It looks beautiful right out of the jar. 
Marinated Tomato and Cucumber Salad
This Marinated Tomato and Cucumber Salad has layers or tomatoes, cucumbers and onions in a perfectly sweet and salty brine. It's a delicious and crunchy pickled salad.
- Total Time: 2940 minutes
- Yield: 10 quarts 1x
- Category: Side Dish
Ingredients
- 5 lbs tomatoes
- 5 lbs pickling cucumbers
- 2 lbs onions
- 2 heads of garlic
- 1 large bunch fresh dill
- 20 cups water
- 8 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 9 Tablespoons fine sea salt
- ¾ cup distilled white vinegar
- 10 Tablespoons sunflower oil (1 Tablespoon per jar)
Instructions
- Wash the cucumbers and tomatoes. If your cucumbers are a little soft, you can crisp them up by letting them soak in really cold water for 15-30 minutes.
- Slice the cucumbers into approximately ½ inch circles. Slice the onions, about ¼ inch slices and quarter the tomatoes. Peel the garlic.
- Wash and dry your canning jars.
- Place a few sprigs of fresh dill on the bottom of each jar, and then add 2-4 garlic cloves.
- Layer the onions, cucumbers and tomatoes in 2 layers in each jar. I got 10 (1 quarjars, using 8 wide mouth quart jars and 2 half gallon wide mouth jars.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring the water, salt and sugar to a boil, mixing until all the sugar and salt dissolve. Off the heat, pour in the vinegar.
- Ladle the hot marinade mixture over the vegetables in the jar, all the way to the top.
- Add about a tablespoon of sunflower oil to the top of each jar. I add a little bit less than a Tablespoon to the quart jars and a little more than a Tablespoon to the half gallon jars.
- Place the jar lids in boiling water and let the lids stay in the boiling water for 10-15 minutes also, off the heat.
- 1In a large pot, place a towel or dishcloth on the bottom and fill it with water. Bring the water to a boil. Place the filled jars in the boiling water, on top of the towel, cover them loosely with the lids and cook, at a simmer, for 10-15 minutes.
- Take the jars out of the water and close the lids tightly. Repeat with all the jars.
- The tomato and cucumber salad is ready to eat in 1-2 days, since the vegetables are cut, the marinade penetrates them really quickly. Store opened jars in the refrigerator, the rest are shelf stable at room temperature.
Can you tell me why the jars have to be stored at room temp. ? Is there another way since my temps fluctuate from 30's to 100's. Summer through winter?
We always stored our canning in the root cellar or somewhere where it was relatively cool. I suggested room temperature because it's not too cold or too hot and is most accessible to most people. These days, most people don't have root cellars and most don't have enough space in their refrigerator for too much extras. If you have the space for it, you can store this recipe in the refrigerator. The most important thing is not to store it somewhere too warm.
Is this recipe truly acidic enough to be safe? It has far less vinegar than other recipes I’ve used.
If you are concerned about the acidity, you can store them in the refrigerator instead of at room temperature. We have been making this recipe in my family for decades and have never had any issues, but please do whatever you feel more comfortable with.
A lot of tomatoes to use up I found this recipe so I did make it. On one of your comments that you did not need to sterilize the jars first and then later you posted that they would last up to a year if you sterilize the jars. So tell me which is it? I am new to pickling.. Iis this enough vinegar ? Seems very little.
I don't sterilize if I just store the tomatoes salad in my fridge to be eaten up shortly after making them. If you want them to last longer and store them in a pantry/cold storage, then you need to sterilize. Hope that helps.
Most recipes do use a lot more vinegar, but that will change the taste of it significantly. The recipe we have been making in our family uses the proportions that I shared.
Hi Olga,
What percent vinegar does this recipe require?Thanks 😊...
-Natasha
I have made this before and it is great, do you think you could put green peppers in the mix as well?? Thanks
I have never tried it, so I'm not sure how it will affect the taste and texture. If you try it, I'd love to hear what you think, Kelly.
Does canning it make the veggies soggy or are they still crispy.
They are softer than fresh, of course, but they shouldn't be mushy.
I found the flavor very bland when opened and tasted.
I made these last year and am just about out of these, I made a few quarts but mostly I made 2 quart jars and increased the cooking time by 10 minutes, a little bit softer but I loved them that way, I did not have a single jar fail and no problems with spoilage. A Wonderful Recipe!!
I'm so happy that you were happy with the results, Rebecca.
I used pint size jars but I saw where you didnt recommended that..since I did will the affect the shelf life or should I figure on just storing them in refrigerator?? They look so lovely though:)
I have never used pint jars for this recipe, so I am not sure.
Can sliced carrots be added?
I have never tried it with carrots, Loretta, so I am not sure.
I am going to try this although I, too, wondered about the level of acidity. For those who are asking about covering the jars with water, steam canners have been around forever and the jars sit above the boiling water on a rack. They work beautifully so that is not an issue.
I found this easy to make, but I forgot to add the vinegar to the brine. Is that going to affect the shelf life.
Store it in the refrigerator. Omitting the vinegar will definitely affect shelf life and the flavor as well.
Can I use orange tomatoes for this recipe?
Yes, orange tomatoes will work as well.
Olga this sounds delicious. My question for you is can I use large and small Cherry tomatoes and or Grape Tomatoes in this recipe for the Tomato, Onion, Cucumber salad in a jar?
Hi Vicki,
I have never used small tomatoes, like cherry or grape tomatoes for this recipe, as I prefer the larger tomatoes, so I can't say from experience how well they will work in this recipe or not. You are welcome to experiment, of course.
i've only recently discovered your site for the first time. do you have many recipes for canning? if so, is there a way to easily access them without searching each category?