Greek Salad is a refreshing, light, and flavorful salad with bright flavors of cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, olives, onion, bell peppers, feta cheese, and homemade Greek dressing. It’s a perfect salad to serve at picnics, potlucks, and outdoor barbecue parties. Summer simply wouldn’t be the same without this fresh salad!
Greek salad is truly unlike any other salad recipe around because there is so great flavors mingling together. While the romaine lettuce is a simple base for the salad, you will also find an equal amount of traditional Greek ingredients like crumbled feta cheese and savory Kalamata olives.
As delicious as the salad itself is, the homemade dressing is what really steals the show! It’s made with simple, natural ingredients that blend together to create a seriously flavorful salad dressing. Notes of lemon, garlic, and dill are predominately present in every bite.
The way that this salad perfectly balances savory and fresh flavors is unforgettable. It’s packed with leafy lettuce, feta cheese, red onions, and tasty vegetables like red tomatoes and cucumber. Not only is this salad absolutely delicious, but it’s also packed with nutrients your body will love.
When tossed in a silky, mouthwatering homemade dressing, this side salad might just be even more impressive than your main dish!
Ingredients in Greek Salad
For the salad, you’ll need:
- Romaine Lettuce – Always try to buy the freshest romaine for this recipe! It’s the base of your salad, so make sure it’s perfect by picking the best romaine. If the lettuce is wilted, discolored or slightly slimy, it’s gone bad.
- Cherry Tomatoes – Grape tomatoes will also work for this salad, as well other small tomatoes.
- Cucumber – Did you know that cucumbers are packed with vitamins K, B and C? Feel free to toss some extra slices into your salad if you want an extra healthy crunch.
- Kalamata Olives – These olives can be whole, sliced, or halved. Just make sure to use pitted olives.
- Feta Cheese – This is an ingredient you simply mustn’t skip! Greek salad wouldn’t be complete without crumbled feta cheese. Try to get a block and crumble it yourself.
- Red Onion – Red onions have a touch of sweetness and bitterness to them, which compliments the other ingredients in this flavorful salad wonderfully.
- Bell Peppers – Your bell peppers can be any color! All bell peppers are delicious in this salad – just pick your favorites.
You’ll need these simple ingredients for the homemade Greek dressing:
- Olive Oil – A flavorful extra virgin olive oil will provide the dressing with the richest flavor. Just make sure to taste is first to see if it might be too bitter.
- Lemon – The juice from just one freshly squeezed lemon is what gives this salad its zesty, fresh flavor!
- White Wine Vinegar – I like to use this vinegar the best but you can also try while balsamic vinegar.
- Garlic – Two garlic cloves is the perfect amount of garlicky flavor without overpowering the other ingredients.
- Parsley, dried
- Dill Weed, dried
- Oregano, dried
- Salt and Pepper
How to Make a Greek Salad
Like most salad recipes, the steps to creating the best Greek salad are simple. It’s all about preparing and tossing the fresh ingredients to create a beautiful medley of vegetables!
Prepare the vegetables. Start by cutting the cherry tomatoes in half, then slice up the bell peppers and cucumber. Chop the romaine lettuce and thinly slice the red onion. You can choose to cut the olives during this step, or leave them whole.
Toss. Add the feta cheese to the prepared vegetable mixture, then toss it all together.
Make the dressing. To create the best homemade greek salad dressing, all you need to do is combine the ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake well!
Pour and toss again. Pour the delicious dressing evenly over the entire salad. Toss everything together until the salad is totally coated with the dressing.
How to Make Greek Salad Ahead of Time
To make this salad ahead of time, follow one cardinal rule – do not toss the salad and dressing together until you’re ready to serve it. If you coat the salad with your homemade dressing, then attempt to store it, the ingredients will wilt and even become mushy.
To store the Greek dressing, keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it. It will stay fresh for up to 2 weeks. If you find that in that time, the dressing solidifies slightly, simply let it sit on the counter for about 30 minutes before giving the jar a good shake.
To save some time, you can prepared all of the vegetables ahead of time, except for the romaine lettuce. Lettuce can wilt pretty quickly, so be sure not to toss it with the rest of the vegetables until you’re ready to serve the salad.
Feel free to make this salad about 1 day before serving, but don’t wait to serve it too long! Vegetables release their juices and have a tendency to go soft fast once they’re cut.
Serving Suggestions
Greek salad is a side dish that can accompany an endless list of main courses! Consider serving it alongside Marinated Greek Chicken at a backyard barbecue, or next to a buttery Lobster Tail for a slightly more sophisticated summertime meal.
More Satisfying Salad Recipes to Try
Kale Salad – a healthy salad with fresh kale, red onions, avocado, cranberries, nuts, and feta cheese.
Creamy Cucumber Tomato Salad – a refreshing summer side dish that only requires 4 ingredients.
Cheddar Bacon Ranch Tortellini Salad – a salad loaded with crispy bacon, sharp cheddar cheese, and tossed in a creamy ranch sauce.
Avocado Shrimp Salad – made with delicious boiled shrimp, fresh avocado, fresh dill weed, green onions, and some celery for added crunch.
Greek Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 10 oz romaine lettuce
- 8 oz cherry tomatoes
- 14 oz cucumber
- 6 oz pitted Kalamata olives whole, sliced, or halved
- 6 oz crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 red onion
- 2 bell peppers any color
Greek Dressing:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 lemon- juice only
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tbsp dried dill weed
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- salt
- black pepper
Instructions
- Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Take out the seeds and slice bell peppers and cucumber. (You can also choose to peel the cucumber of leave it with skin on.) Slice lettuce and onion thinly and either cut the olives or leave them whole. Combine the vegetables in a large mixing bowl.
- Add feta cheese and olives and mix everything together.
- Combine ingredients for the dressing in a jar with a lid or salad dressing shaker and shake well.
- Pour the dressing all over the salad in a bowl and mix until the vegetables are all evenly coated.
- Serve right away.
Notes
Nutrition
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