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This Greek salad recipe is brimming with flavor – loaded with delicious fresh vegetables, olives, and feta cheese tossed in a light and refreshing greek salad dressing.
If you are looking for a quick and light side dish that everyone will love, make this healthy Greek Salad recipe. I make it for every potluck during the summer and everyone raves about it. This Mediterranean salad tastes amazing with fresh juicy tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden. It’s so light and refreshing. I grew up with Mediterranean cuisine and we used to eat this salad every single day in the summer – lunch, and dinner!
Why you will love this Greek Salad recipe!
- Flavorful & healthy: This salad tastes amazing and it is loaded with fresh summer vegetables.
- Quick & Easy: Just chop the ingredients, mix together the dressing and toss everything together. It’s a great last-minute salad or side dish recipe.
- Perfect for summer grilling: Perfect BBQ or potluck side salad for any meat, fish, or poultry dish. Everyone will love this simple salad recipe.
What is Greek Salad (Horiatiki)?
Greek salad or Horiatiki salad (also spelled Khoriatiki) is a popular salad in Mediterranean cuisine. It’s a well-known classic salad which is common not only in Greece but also in the Mediterranean region. Traditional Greek salad is made with tomatoes, red bell pepper, sliced cucumbers, onion, feta cheese, olives, and sometimes chickpeas, typically seasoned with a simple dressing – salt, oregano, olive oil, and vinegar.
Greek Salad Ingredients
You need a handful of ingredients to make this easy salad recipe.
- Vegetables: Tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, red or green bell pepper, small red onion, black olives. Optionally, you could also add minced garlic.
- Feta cheese
- Greek salad dressing: olive oil, vinegar, salt, black pepper, and a teaspoon of dried oregano
How to Make Greek Salad
- Place the tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, onion, olives and parsley in a large bowl and toss gently to combine.
- Combine the salt, black pepper, olive oil, vinegar, and oregano in a small jar. Whisk salad dressing ingredients. Drizzle the Greek salad dressing over the salad, add the cubed feta cheese and toss gently to combine.
It’s very easy to make this light, refreshing and healthy salad – it takes only about 15 minutes to chop the vegetables and toss them in a bowl with a light dressing. The most time-consuming part of the salad assembly is going to be chopping the vegetables. I usually chop the tomatoes (you can use different varieties of tomatoes to add more color, texture, and flavors) and bell pepper in bite-sized pieces, halve the cucumber lengthwise, slice it, and thinly slice the onion.
Because red onions can be quite sharp in flavor, some people recommend soaking them in vinegar or lemon juice for several minutes before adding them to the salad. I like their taste the way they are but if you prefer you can soak them first.
This salad wouldn’t be Greek without the olives and feta cheese. While most Greek salads call for Kalamata olives, you can also use black olives if that is your preference. I also like to use Bulgarian feta cheese because I find it’s creamier and tastier. But you can choose feta cheese from any country if you like one better than the other.
Greek Salad Dressing
I love that this Mediterranean salad dressing is so simple to make yet it packs so much flavor! You don’t need fancy, hard-to-find ingredients for the Greek dressing – just olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper. Ingredients that you usually have on hand. I use this simple salad dressing as a go-to dressing on a lot of other salads as well.
Recipe FAQs
Can I make this salad in advance
Yes, you can make it a day or two in advance but don’t add the dressing until you are ready to serve it. Store the chopped salad ingredients and the dressing separately in the refrigerator.
How to store this salad
You can store the undressed chopped salad covered in the fridge for about 2 days. It will keep in the refrigerator for about a day if it’s a fully dressed salad.
Can you make it with lettuce
Yes, you can add chopped Romaine lettuce to your salad but authentic Greek salad is not served with lettuce.
Is this salad healthy
Yes, this Mediterranean salad recipe is naturally healthy, gluten-free, low-carb, and keto-friendly. It’s made with whole foods and incredibly flavorful! You can also make it dairy-free if you omit the cheese. For a Paleo and Whole30 version, just omit the cheese.
What To Serve With This Mediterranean Salad
This easy Mediterranean salad goes wonderfully with roasted or grilled chicken, lamb, beef, and even with baked salmon. You can even serve it as a main course if you add grilled chicken or salmon on top, or as a side dish to the recipes below:
- Chicken in Creamy Mushroom Sauce
- Mediterranean Chicken Kebabs
- Easy Creamy Chicken Marsala
- Honey Sriracha Salmon
TIPS FROM NELI’S KITCHEN
Recipe Notes and Tips for the best Greek Salad Recipe
- To remove the sharp bite of the onions, you can soak them in vinegar or lemon juice for a few minutes before adding them to the salad
- Don’t omit the feta and olives, they add a lot of delicious flavor to the salad.
- I like to add chickpeas to my salad for extra texture but you can omit them as they are usually not added to the traditional recipe.
- Use juicy tomatoes as they release their delicious sweet juices and combined with the dressing, make the salad taste amazing.
- Don’t peel the cucumber as it helps preserve the cucumber’s crunchy texture.
- You can make this traditional Greek salad a day in advance but don’t add the dressing until you are ready to serve it. Store the chopped salad ingredients and the dressing separately in the refrigerator.
More Easy Side Salads
- Cucumber Salad
- Wedge Salad
- Shopska Salad (Bulgarian Salad)
- Caprese Salad
- Red Cabbage Slaw
- Strawberry Spinach Salad
- Carrot Salad
Best Greek Salad
INGREDIENTS
Greek Salad
- 2 large tomatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 long English cucumber (or 2 medium garden cucumbers), quartered lengthwise and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup black pitted olives, halved lengthwise
- 1/2 cup Greek feta cheese, , cubed
- 2 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
Greek Salad Dressing
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, red onion, olives, and parsley in a salad bowl and toss gently to combine.
- Combine the salt, black pepper, olive oil, vinegar, oregano, in a small bowl, and mix. Pour the Greek dressing over the salad, add the cubed feta cheese and toss gently to combine.
TIPS & NOTES
- To remove the sharp bite of the onions, you can soak them in vinegar or lemon juice for a few minutes before adding them to the salad
- Don’t omit the feta and olives, they add a lot of delicious flavor to the salad.
- I like to add chickpeas to my salad for extra texture but you can omit them as they are not in traditional Greek salad.
- Use juicy tomatoes as they release their delicious sweet juices and combined with the dressing, make the salad taste amazing.
- Don’t peel the cucumber as it helps preserve the cucumber’s crunchy texture.
- You can make this traditional Greek salad a day in advance but don’t add the dressing until you are ready to serve it. Store the chopped salad ingredients and the dressing separately in the refrigerator.
NUTRITION
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With the Greek salad, a must addition for me is wedges of pita bread and hummus or tahini for dipping.
Wonderful!
It was great! I added some leftover tortellini pasta and it was delicious!
Made this last night and the family loved it!!! Big hit with the daughter who is all about fresh.
Dressing is flavorable and does not overpower the veggies. Will make again! Thx for the receipe.
So glad your whole family loved the salad! 🙂
Hi can your Greek salad be made the night before? Should the dressing be added right before serving or can it be added the night before and left to marinate. I am making this salad for 40 guests at a baby shower and wasn’t sure how to time it. Thanks,
Hi Anna,
I would make the dressing and store in a jar in the fridge, and add it just before or an hour before serving. And you can chop the veggies but I would store the tomatoes in a separate bowl, the cucumbers in a separate bowl and the rest of the vegetables in the big salad bowl. Tomatoes and cucumbers are very watery, and I am afraid they might make the salad soggy if they stay overnight mixed together with the rest of the vegetables. You can mix them a few hours before the shower. Hope this helps!
Thanks so much for this recipe. I make a very similar one, but does not have chick peas or red pepper. Why didn’t I think of that!! I use a simple dressing of olive oil and lemon juice. Love red wine vinegar, so will try yours soon. I also add shredded of chopped chicken, so it’s an entire meal. Need to try it without! Thanks again! Now that it’s spring this will be a staple!!
Hi…. I always thought Greek Salad also had lettuce, but this recipe does not call for it. Can lettuce be added? We often have salad for dinner with no meat or fish added to it.
Hi Nancy, yes, you can add lettuce. I grew up in a Mediterranean country eating Greek Salad almost every day in the summer, and we usually didn’t add any lettuce, but I think it will be a great addition. Enjoy!
Do the chickpeas need to be cooked?
I used canned chickpeas. This means they were soaked, not necessarily cooked, but soft.
This looks incredible! Nothing can top greek salad!
This greek salad looks amazing! Perfect for all the veggies in season now.
You make vegetables and fruits feel so appetizing. I’m sure the feta and chickpea go really well. I’m saving this for later.
This salad looks so fresh and delicious, and I love the the addition of chickpeas!
Greek salad is my FAVORITE! But I never add chickpeas in mine! Thanks for the idea 🙂
You can’t beat a classic Greek salad. We are a tonne of this when we were island hopping round Greece.
I love Greek salad especially in summer. It’s perfect for outdoor entertaining, isn’t it? 🙂
Greek salad is probably my second favorite salad (Caesar is my first). Yours looks perfect! And I agree, it’s not a Greek salad without the olives and feta 🙂
It’s been unexpectedly sunny and warm here in Scotland the last few days after some really cold weather, so I am right in the mood for salads. This was very well timed. Shared1
This salad is so colorful, and it looks like it is bursting with flavor! I can’t wait to try it!
Greek salads are my FAVORITE!! I’m definitely going to make this over the weekend!
I agree! It is the Best Greek Salad. Chickpeas are a wonderful addition. I used white wine vinegar since I didn’t have red, I will have to try it with red. Thanks for this!