Greek Salad

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Greek Salad is easy to make and bursting with flavor. With only six ingredients — cucumbers, tomatoes, bell pepper, red onion, olives, and feta — it’s one of the best healthy salad recipes. 

A big bowl of Greek salad
Photo: Gayle McLeod

This classic Greek salad highlights the beauty of the Mediterranean diet, where a few simple, fresh ingredients in their most natural form turn into a dazzling salad. Pair it with my homemade Greek salad dressing and you’re good to go! 

What I love most about this Greek salad recipe is that it’s veggie-packed and contains no leafy greens. That means all of the ingredients can be prepped ahead of time (as I showed in my summer meal prep), then tossed together when you’re ready to serve. So needless to say, it’s the perfect summer salad recipe that’s always on repeat. 

Ingredients for Greek Salad

Greek Salad Ingredients

Since a traditional Greek salad is only made up of 6 simple ingredients – quality matters! For vegetables, pick the freshest ones out of the bunch. For cheese and olives, keep an eye out for quality brands you love. 

  • Cucumbers: Make sure to use English cucumbers versus field cucumbers. The thinner skin is preferable with no peeling needed. 
  • Tomatoes: In Greece, you’ll most often find large tomatoes used, but cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes are much easier to dice.
  • Bell Pepper: Typically, a Greek salad uses green bell peppers. But you can switch it up and use yellow or red peppers. 
  • Onion: Red onions are the ideal choice for that pop of red, and softer onion flavor. 
  • Olives: Grab your favorite jar of kalamata olives. You can keep them whole in your salad, or slice them in half for even, bite-sized pieces. 
  • Feta Cheese: When it comes to cheeses, I always buy a fresh block. It’s better quality and guarantees a fresher taste and texture. But for convenience, you can also use crumbled feta.

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

Greek salad dressing in a bowl

This Homemade Greek Salad Dressing is Best

You’ll often find Grecian locals simply drizzling olive oil and red wine vinegar straight on top of the salad, with a sprinkle of dried oregano. Honestly, I also like to use this method for a quick and easy “dressing”.

But, I will say my homemade Greek salad dressing really gives this salad some oomph. All you need to do is whisk together a simple combination of olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, dried oregano, salt, and pepper. Plus, you can make it a few days in advance and store it in your fridge for easy access.

Ingredients for Greek salad in a bowl

How to Make a Greek Salad

Once you’ve got all the ingredients, it’s as simple as slicing and dicing them to about the same size (large chunks are preferred over fine dice). Then, drizzle your salad with the dressing and give it a gentle toss. That’s all there is to it!

Add Protein to this Greek Salad

I love to amp up this salad into a full meal by adding slices of herb baked chicken breast on top (like in my Greek chicken salad). But here are a few other ways to elevate this fresh, Mediterranean recipe:

A close up of a Greek salad

Storage Tips

It’s easy to devour this salad, especially on a summer day. But any leftovers will keep for 4 to 5 days in the fridge.

Make-Ahead Tip: Since there are no leafy greens involved, you don’t have to worry about anything wilting! Everything can be pre-sliced 1 to 2 days in advance, then tossed together the day of.

Greek salad in a white bowl next to dressing.

More Easy Summer Salads

Heat waves call for an endless list of salad recipes, and easy ones at that! 

I hope you enjoy this Greek salad recipe all summer long! If you make it, let me know how it turned out in the comment box below.

A white bowl of Greek salad

Best Greek Salad Recipe

4.99 from 52 votes
Prep: 5 minutes
Total: 5 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Lisa Bryan

Description

This Greek salad is fresh, easy, and made with the best homemade Greek salad dressing! Watch the video below to see how it all comes together.

Video

Ingredients 
 

Salad Ingredients

  • 1 large cucumber, diced
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • ½ red onion, thinly sliced
  • ½ cup Kalamata olives, halved
  • 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Greek Salad Dressing

Instructions 

  • Add the cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, olives, and feta cheese to a large mixing bowl.
    A bowl of Greek salad ingredients
  • In a separate small mixing bowl, add the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Slowly add the olive oil and whisk vigorously while pouring until the dressing is emulsified.
    Making Greek salad dressing in a bowl
  • Drizzle the dressing on the salad and gently stir to combine. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired.
    A bowl of Greek salad next to wooden serving spoons

Lisa’s Tips

  • Also, watch the video above for meal prep ideas and tips on how to add more protein to this salad! 

Nutrition

Calories: 396kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 757mg | Potassium: 537mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1348IU | Vitamin C: 58mg | Calcium: 194mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Greek
Keyword: greek salad, greek salad recipe, greek salad recipe
Did you make this recipe?Mention @downshiftology or tag #downshiftology!

Recipe originally published August 2018, but updated to include new information and tips.

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About the author

Lisa Bryan

Lisa is a bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, and YouTuber (with over 2.5 million subscribers) living in sunny Southern California. She started Downshiftology in 2014, and is passionate about making healthy food with fresh, simple and seasonal ingredients.

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97 Comments

  1. Hi Lisa just wondering is it necessary or helpful to take out seeds from cucumber &or tomatoes, I no you didn’t but some say to

  2. I could eat this every day! I’m pretty sure it’s become my new pregnancy craving too. So glad it’s healthy. Haha
    I add the chicken when I have some left over to make it more of a meal, and lately I’ve just been using it as a side for dinner.
    Thank you again for a simple and DELICIOUS recipe for my whole family.5 stars

  3. Hi, Lisa, tonight I made your Greek Salad with chicken marinated in your Greek Marinade because my kids kindly asked for a Greek salad. It was a hit from start to finish with my two sons (ages 16 and 19) and my husband. The salad dressing is just right (not too acidic, not bland) and the marinade was perfect (and I hadn’t marinated chicken in ages). Thank you!5 stars

    1. Hi Julie – That’s great to hear the whole family enjoyed this Greek salad along with the chicken marinade!