Here’s A Greek Salad Recipe That Livens Up Your Meal!
If you’re looking for a fresh, colorful salad idea that doesn’t hold back on flavor, this Greek Salad is the one for you!
Made with freshly cut cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, olives and feta cheese, this Mediterranean-inspired salad is topped with an easy-to-make dressing to bring it all together!
There are many different iterations of Greek salad found across different regions/islands. Some recipes for Greek salad peel their cucumber, while others include bell pepper.
In our recipe, there are a couple of small additions that are not super authentic (namely honey and parsley), but the rest of the ingredients are often found in a traditional Greek salad.
Also, we did not include any lettuce since that is an ingredient that is usually only found in the “Greek salads” made abroad (mostly in North America if we’re being honest here).
Ingredients
Here are the Greek salad ingredients that you will need for this recipe:
Dressing
- Olive oil – Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil.
- Red wine vinegar – Ideally you use red wine vinegar but if you can’t find it, apple cider vinegar is a good alternative.
- Lemon juice – Approximately 1 tablespoon lemon juice, more to taste.
- Honey (optional) – If you don’t want a hint of sweetness, feel free to skip it.
- Oregano – We use dried oregano but you can also use fresh, chopped oregano.
- Salt – You’ll need 1/4 teaspoon of salt but can add more to taste.
- Black pepper – To add flavor.
Salad
- Cucumber – One English cucumber, seeds removed and cut into slices.
- Cherry tomatoes – Instead of cherry tomatoes you can also use grape tomatoes or tomatoes on the vine that you cut into smaller pieces.
- Red onion – Cut the red onion into thin slices.
- Kalamata olives – If you can’t find any, you could also use green olives.
- Feta cheese – We like using feta in brine for extra flavor, but use whatever you have on hand.
- Parsley – For some extra flavor, but feel free to skip if you’re not a fan of parsley.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
This Greek salad is a pretty easy recipe to take on but here are some recipe tips and other things to think about!
- You can add one green bell pepper if you like the taste. That’s another classic ingredient in some Greek salads (regional).
- If preferred, you can also peel the cucumber.
- Instead of cherry tomatoes, you can also use grape tomatoes or larger tomatoes and cut them into smaller pieces.
- Instead of cutting the feta into cubes (or crumbling it), you can also add the whole rectangle of feta cheese on top of the salad. That’s a traditional way of serving it.
- Traditionally, the olives still contain their pit. If you want to make enjoying the salad easier – and especially if kids are eating the salad – you can also buy pitted olives.
- If you don’t like the hint of sweetness that the addition of honey provides (it’s not an ingredient in a traditional Greek salad), you can skip it. In that case, may may want reduce the amount of vinegar you use.
- The feta cheese and the olives you use might be quite salty already. If that’s the case you might want to reduce the amount of extra salt you add.
How to Make Greek Salad – Step by Step Instructions
Here is exactly how to make this Greek salad recipe and the Greek salad dressing. You can follow the process photos in this section to see how we did it.
You can also find the detailed recipe card for this recipe with all the info at the bottom of this post.
Add all ingredients for the dressing to a mason jar or any type of container with a lid. Cover and shake vigorously until combined. Adjust the salt and pepper as needed.
Add the sliced cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes, slices of red onion, olives, cubed feta and chopped parsley to a salad bowl.
Drizzle with the dressing and stir to combine. Adjust salt if needed. Top with more parsley if desired.
And that’s it, it’s really simple. You can serve the Greek salad with some crusty bread. Enjoy!
Storage Tips
This salad – with the dressing added – is best served fresh. You can refrigerate any leftover salad in a container and eat it within 2 days.
FAQ
Here are some answers to questions related to Greek salad:
A more traditional Greek salad includes cucumber, kalamata olives, red onion, tomato, a rectangle of feta, and a simple olive oil-based dressing. Regional additions might include bell pepper or capers.
To make a Greek salad, chop the vegetables and combine them in a bowl with the feta and the dressing (olive oil, oregano, salt, and more). Toss and serve.
Greek salad dressing is very simple. It is usually a combination of salt, olive oil and oregano – but other additions such as red wine vinegar, lemon juice, etc. can be included.
You can serve a Greek salad with whatever you like or enjoy it by itself with some crusty bread or even Greek pita. Since it is usually on the lighter, fresher side, it can be paired with a heavier dish like pastitsio, moussaka, chicken souvlaki.
Related Recipes
This is a simple Greek salad that goes well with lots of other classic Greek dishes. Here are some more for you to explore:
- Greek Meatballs (Keftedes)
- Pastitsio (Greek Lasagna)
- Greek Fries
- Greek Lemon Chicken Soup (Avgolemono)
- Greek Potato Salad
- Tiropita
Greek Salad
Ingredients
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, extra virgin
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, alternatively apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1-2 teaspoons honey, optional (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon oregano, dried
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Salad
- 1 English Cucumber, seeded and sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup feta cheese, cubed
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped; optional
Instructions
- Add all ingredients for the dressing to a mason jar or any type of container with a lid. Cover and shake vigorously until combined. Adjust salt and pepper as needed.3 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1-2 teaspoons honey, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Add cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, olives, feta chese, and parsley to a salad bowl and drizzle with vinaigrette. Stir to combine, adjust salt if needed. Enjoy!1 English Cucumber, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup red onion, 1/2 cup kalamata olives, 1/2 cup feta cheese, 1/4 cup parsley
Notes
- You can add one green bell pepper if you like the taste.
- If preferred, you can also peel the cucumber.
- Instead of cherry tomatoes, you can also use grape tomatoes or larger tomatoes and cut them into smaller pieces.
- Instead of cutting the feta into cubes, you can also add the whole rectangle of feta cheese on top of the salad.
- Traditionally, the olives still contain their pit. However, you can also buy pitted olives (recommended if kids are eating the salad).
- If you don’t like the hint of sweetness that the addition of honey provides (it’s not a traditional ingredient), you can skip it. In that case, you may want to reduce the amount of vinegar you use.
- The feta cheese and the olives you use might be quite salty already – if that’s the case you may want to reduce the amount of extra salt you add.
Nutrition
This nutritional information has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator. It should only be seen as a rough calculation and not a replacement for professional dietary advice.
