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When you’re looking for simple, refreshing, and reliable, you’d be hard pressed to find a dish better than classic Greek salad. Filled with fresh veggies, tangy feta, and a simple dressing made of ingredients you might already have in your fridge, this bright salad is one you’ll turn to all spring and summer long. The best part? This Mediterranean recipe only takes 15 minutes to prepare, making it a perfect last-minute addition to any meal.
What People Are Saying:
"Love it. We are a Greek family and it's a favorite every time. Even Mum is impressed." -GoldDucky
"Made it & my family loves it! I’m making it for a picnic this weekend as well. Thanks for sharing the recipe!" -GreenMustache
Also known as horiatiki (Greek for “peasant salad” or “village salad”), this rustic dish is a chunky assemblage of tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives, red onion, and a substantial amount of feta—many traditional recipes are crowned with thick slabs of it. Anointed with a bright, herby dressing of lemon juice, red wine vinegar (sometimes), dried oregano, and extra-virgin olive oil, it’s a marvelous, Mediterranean way to celebrate summer produce.
Sharpen your chef’s knife and prep those ingredients! If you’re going to soak the red onion (to reduce its pungency), now’s the time to do it. Be sure to cut the feta into large cubes so it doesn’t wind up as crumbles. The tomatoes and olives should stay chunky—just halve them and move on. Now combine everything in a large bowl and admire all those colors.
On to the dressing: To get a good emulsion you want to combine the water-based ingredients (the lemon juice and vinegar) first and then to gradually whisk in the oil until the dressing is slightly thickened and completely homogeneous. A well emulsified dressing won’t separate and will wrap the salad ingredients in a loving embrace rather than run right off them. When seasoning the dressing, bear in mind that the feta is quite salty.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently, trying not to break up the feta. Now dig in. I told you this was simple!
Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.
Can I make Greek salad ahead of time?
Absolutely! One of our favorite parts of this dish is that it can be prepped ahead. Just pack all the prepped vegetables into a separate airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. The dressing is sturdy enough to hold up for 2 weeks in the fridge.
How to customize Greek salad:
Want to add a little something extra? Roughly chop up some pita chips for a bit of crunch, or add some capers or whole anchovies for briny, salty punch. Want to zhuzh up the dressing? A small clove of garlic, finely grated, is just the thing.
• Chicken Souvlaki: You can’t go wrong by keeping things Hellenic. This classic Greek
street food is well worth firing up the grill for, and the tzatziki sauce is so good you’ll want to eat it with a spoon.
• Lamb Burger: One of my go-to summer cookout mains, these burgers are imbued with Greek flavors like mint and lemon. All they need is a salad—a Greek salad!
• Scrunch Bread: Thought phyllo was tricky to work with? Well, not in this recipe! Think of scrunch bread as spanakopita gone slightly (and wonderfully) bananas.
This salad is best eaten fresh, but if you have any leftovers, store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
cucumber, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced into half-moons
red onion, thinly sliced
grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
halved pitted Kalamata olives
feta, cut into 1/2" cubes
red wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
dried oregano
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
extra-virgin olive oil
Let us know how it went in the comments below!