30 Minute Meals
Easy & Authentic Greek Salad Recipe
Prep
10 minutes
Yield
4
This simple Greek Salad Recipe is easy, authentic, and so dang delicious. Perfect for your next BBQ, as a side, or a main course.
This Greek Salad Recipe is fresh, authentic, and a go-to in our household. Did you know that Greek Salad dates back to Ancient Greece? This simple salad with chopped veggies, and an easy dressing is a staple in Greek cuisine even today. I grew up eating authentic Greek salad and I’m so excited to share this simple recipe for you to create it at home for your family because it’s SO easy to make and absolutely delicious.
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Greek Salad Recipe 🇬🇷 🥗
- Fresh: Loaded with fresh veggies, this Greek Salad Recipe uses simple, fresh ingredients that are good for you and make a flavor-packed salad that you can feel good about serving to your whole family.
- Authentic: This recipe is authentic to how you’d find Greek salad in Greece. I love how simple this recipe is but it doesn’t lack flavor.
- Easy: This Greek Salad Recipe can be made with just ten simple ingredients and in only 15 minutes. That’s it!
🍲 Ingredients
Olives – Olives are one of the key ingredients in this Greek Salad Recipe to make the flavor pop. Olives are a staple in a Mediterranean diet that is rich in antioxidants, healthy fats, and fiber. For this recipe, I used just an assortment of olives for this Greek Salad and you can truly use whatever you have on hand.
Feta – It’s important to buy high-quality feta cheese when adding it to your Greek Salad. Feta gives a saltiness to your salad and is so incredibly versatile. It also lasts in your fridge forever, which I love, because I can always keep it on hand. To buy the right feta cheese, look for feta made with sheep’s milk. You also want the texture to be just right. It should be firm but crumbly. You don’t ever want it to be dry or chalky.
Olive Oil – Just like the feta, it’s important you use good olive oil when making the dressing for this salad. You’ll want to buy olive oil that is extra virgin and when you look at the ingredient list you just see “olives” listed. Good olive oil should have a deep golden color, not too light, or not too dark.
👩🍳 How to Make This Greek Salad Recipe 🇬🇷 🥗
For the salad:
- Simply add all your ingredients to a large mixing bowl and gently combine while drizzling the beautiful dressing on top of the salad.
For the dressing:
To make this dressing, it’ll only take you about 5 minutes and you can store it to use for future salads. This homemade dressing really will make this salad. Don’t take the lazy way out and go buy store-bought Greek dressing. It is not authentic, and less healthy for you. Plus, this dressing is so easy you have no excuse. All you do is:
- To a medium-sized mason jar add all the ingredients and shake till well combined
- Use immediately and store it in the fridge for at least 10 days
For the pickled onions:
These onions really take the salad to the next level and are so much better (in my opinion) than just using raw, simple red onions. Don’t get turned off by the word “pickled” because these don’t take that long to whip together and you won’t be waiting months for them to set in their jars. All you do is:
- Combine all your ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and gently stir
- Let the ingredients sit for at least 1 hour and max 3 days before eating
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- Make Ahead: Make this salad in advance and just keep the dressing separate until you’re ready to serve.
- Dressing: You can use whatever dressing you like for this salad, however, the key is you don’t want to overdress your salad.
- Protein: If you want to make this a more filling meal on its own, add your favorite protein to this salad. Chicken can be a great addition!
- Get Creative: With any salad, you are welcome to get creative and add your own unique spin to it. This recipe is entirely versatile. Add in ingredients like artichoke hearts, or swap/add your fav veggies.
🗒 Variations
Here are some other Greek salads that you’ll love:
- Pantzarosalata (Roasted Beet Salad)
- Greek Couscous Salad
- Greek Lentil Salad
🗒 Substitutions
- Oregano: If you are not using fresh oregano, then add 1 tbsp. dried oregano to the salad.
- Pickled Red Onions: You can use fresh red onions instead. I like to soak chopped red onion in ice water for about 10 minutes. This helps make them crispy and cut the strong taste they tend to have.
- Feta: Use goat cheese, halloumi, or your favorite cheese in this Greek Salad Recipe, but feta is the most authentic way of making it.
🗒 Best served with
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Although there is no lettuce in this salad so it won’t get soggy as quickly when dressed, this salad is best enjoyed when made fresh. Dressed salad will last in the fridge in an airtight container for up to one day.
🤔 Common Questions
Try to cut your veggies in even, bite-size pieces to make it easy to eat with just a fork.
The lack of lettuce in Greek Salad is because it is simply not needed. You can let the other veggies shine when you omit the lettuce, and although you can easily add it in, the authentic way to make a Greek Salad is without lettuce.
Greek Salad Recipe
Your Greek mommy that is. 😍 Step into my kitchen to learn how to make yummy Greek food. 🍽️💃
Ingredients
- 2 large tomatoes cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 large cucumber halved and chopped
- 1 large fresh pepper chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 small/medium-sized red onion pickled (optional)
- 1/4 cup assorted olives
- 1/4 cup vegan or traditional feta cheese
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- a handful of fresh oregano optional
- 4 tbsp Greek Salad Dressing
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper optional
Instructions
- Simply add all your ingredients to a large mixing bowl and gently combine while drizzling the beautiful dressing on top of the salad. See notes below for my take on the Viral Greek Salad trend!
Video
Notes
- If you are not using fresh oregano, then add 1 tbsp. dried oregano to the salad
- How to make this the Viral Greek Salad way:
- Add 150g feta to a large bowl along with 4 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar and juice of one lemon. Use a fork, whisk or masher to mash/whisk/stir all together.
- Add in all of the vegetables (tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, olives) along with dried oregano, salt and pepper. Toss together to combine.
- Top the salad with a 100-150g block of feta or crumbled feta and one more drizzle of olive oil.
Perfect Greek salad! My favorite summer salad
thank you so much hun!
Fast easy and oh so delicious! Perfect salad for hot summer evening. The bigger the slab of feta the better, there’s no such thing as too much cheese. Fresh oregano straight from the garden with beefy heirloom tomatoes and homemade pickled red onions kicked it up a notch! Adding this to my weekly meal planning. Do yourself a flavour favour and make this for your next meal.
You are truly so sweet my love, thank you so much!
Two things: First, this was absolutely delicious. Light, fresh, just…..clean feeling. Secondly, I have no idea why restaurants around me have redefined a Greek salad into a few veggies on top of lettuce. I’ll never order another one. ever.
isn’t it amazing!!!!
The salad was delicious. Where did you get the paximadia that I see in the photos?
I actually found it at my local Greek market!!!!
So we have really started cooking Greek/Med food an love it….Then we just got back from trip to Athens area an Crete….An well, our tastes were really refined….
But Maria we want to thank you because we made alot of Greek salads…an yours….THE BEST!!!
So looking forward to alot more of your recipes in the future….
Thank you…:)
this makes me so happy, thank you so much ron!!!
Greek salad always hits the spot! Made this with vegan feta which is not the traditional way but it was amazing! Thanks for the recipe
Whatever way works for you works for me my love! So happy to hear you enjoyed this!
This Greek salad recipe is a winner! Simple steps, and the taste is amazing. I can’t get enough of those pickled onions—I’ve been munching on them non-stop. Thanks for the recipe !
IMO the pickles are the best part! so glad you loved this!
Made this tonight (along with the dressing) and it was so flavourful and easy to make. Will definitely make it again.
thank you so much for your suppport! I am so glad you loved this!
This was perfect! Thank you! I loved the dressing too.
Isn’t the dressing just the best?
Just like my Grandma’s! Thank’s Maria!!
You’re so welcome hun!