This easy Greek salad recipe is nutritious, delicious and super fast. My whole family devours it every time I make it, and I'm predicting you or yours will too. 🙂
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This classic Mediterranean Greek salad is the one salad I make more than any other, outside of a quick salad of greens. It's SO easy, and it's definitely restaurant quality. Also, the Greek salad dressing I use in this recipe pairs perfectly and works over basic greens too, if you want to make it on it's own.
A traditional Greek salad contains just a handful of ingredients besides the vinaigrette including chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, red onion, green pepper and feta cheese. I included all of these ingredients except the bell pepper to keep things as simple as possible. (But feel free to add the pepper too; totally personal taste!)
Did you know?
Feta cheese is actually considered a fermented food! Through the process of lacto-fermentation whereby beneficial bacteria convert the milk sugars into lactic acid and help to preserve the cheese, feta also takes on its distinctive and deliciously tangy flavor we all know and love.
If you're looking for other easy salad recipes, you can try this classic French Niçoise salad, a refreshing jicama salad or this simple cold cut salad; all are delicious.
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Easy homemade version of this classic Mediterranean salad
- Takes just 20 minutes to make from start to finish
- Can serve as a salad course or a light main course
- Great for make ahead meals during the week
- Easy to customize and always delicious!
🌿 Ingredients
As mentioned, the ingredients for Greek salad are minimal and very easy to find in any large grocery store.
A couple of notes on shopping for feta cheese: Depending on where you're shopping, you might see options for buying feta cheese in brine, or crumbled feta that's not brined. Both work just fine; the brined feta that normally comes in one piece is the more authentic form for Greek salad, but the crumbled form is often less expensive and works perfectly well too. I normally use crumbled feta since it also saves the step of chopping it; simply sprinkle it over the salad before you serve it.
See recipe card below for exact quantities.
📝 Instructions
Okay: ready to learn how to make a Greek salad? It couldn't be any easier. 🙂
First up, make the dressing. Simply place all of the dressing ingredients into a medium mixing bowl and use a whisk to incorporate everything together.
Pro tip: Feel free to make the dressing in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.
Next, make the salad. Prep the veggies by chopping the cucumbers and tomatoes, and thinly slicing the red onions. If you're using cherry tomatoes, you can just halve them. For Campari or other larger tomatoes, you can quarter them.
Then, combine all of the salad ingredients, toss with dressing and serve immediately or let the salad sit for up to 20 minutes at room temperature for the flavors to meld.
Pro tip: If you're using crumbled feta cheese instead of brined feta, sprinkle it on the salad just before serving (don't toss it together with everything else.)
📋 Substitutions
As written, this recipe for Greek salad is gluten free and vegetarian. Feel free to use any of the following substitutions to customize things further:
- Vegan - substitute vegan feta cheese (in brine or crumbled) for the dairy version
- Cucumbers or tomatoes - substitute chopped red or green peppers instead
- Olives - feel free to leave out if you're not an olive fan, or use a different type if you can't find Kalamata olives (black olives work well) - you can also substitute capers for olives
See these Greek salad dressing substitutions to swap out any of the vinaigrette ingredients.
📖 Variations
There are endless ways you can add on to Greek salad or turn it into a whole meal on it's own by adding some extra ingredients or protein. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Chopped Greek salad - if you'd like more of a regular chopped green salad but with Mediterranean flavors, toss in some chopped lettuce like Romaine or add other greens too like chopped kale
- Avocado - add some chopped or sliced ripe avocado over the top of your salad; this is my favorite add-on!
- Chickpeas - add a cup or so of cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans) before you mix everything together with the dressing
- Chicken - add some grilled chicken slices over the top of your salad
- Salmon - add some chunked, grilled salmon pieces over the top of your salad, or simply serve the salad alongside a grilled fillet of salmon
- Tuna - toss your salad with a can of drained tuna fluffed with a fork, or top with sliced grilled or seared tuna
- Shrimp - top your salad with freshly grilled shrimp, or use precooked shrimp and toss in with the other salad ingredients
- Kid friendly - add a little honey or agave syrup to the dressing; adults love this sweet variation too
🔪 Equipment
Very minimal equipment is needed to make Greek salad. Here is what I used for this recipe:
- cutting board
- chef's knife
- citrus juicer
- mixing bowl
- whisk
🍱 Storage
While this salad is best eaten right away, any leftover salad can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
The salad does not stand up well to freezing.
🎉 Top tip
Greek salad is one salad you'll want to eat right away rather than making it ahead. The tomatoes just aren't the same after being stored in the fridge! For an even more perfect blend of flavors, let everything sit at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes just before you serve.
Enjoy!
💭 FAQ
An authentic Greek salad typically includes chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, red onion, green pepper and feta cheese along with a red wine vinaigrette to dress the salad.
Traditionally, Greek salad or Horiatiki (Greek "village" salad) consists of a large block of brined feta cheese on top of the salad, but either brined or feta cheese will work equally well. If you use crumbled feta, sprinkle it on the salad just before serving (don't toss it together with everything else.)
Yes! Grilled chicken, salmon or shrimp all make great additions to a classic Greek salad and help turn this side salad into more of a meal.
Greek salad is best when consumed immediately once the dressing has been added, but you can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
🍳 Recipe
Best Simple Greek Salad with Feta
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅛ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt or to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the salad:
- 1 English cucumber or regular cucumber, seeded and chopped
- 4 Campari tomatoes or 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered or halved
- ½ medium red onion thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup pitted Kalamata olives
- ½ cup feta cheese cubed (if in brine), or crumbled (see notes)
Instructions
- Prepare the dressing: Place all of the dressing ingredients into a medium mixing bowl and whisk well to incorporate.
- Make the salad: Combine all of the salad ingredients and toss with dressing. If using crumbled feta cheese, sprinkle it on after mixing everything else together.
- Enjoy: Serve immediately or let sit for up to 20 minutes at room temperature for flavors to meld. Leftover salad will stay freshest in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
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