This Traditional Greek Salad with Homemade Greek Dressing is so bright and delicious. Every bite conjures up feelings of sunshine and summer. The best part about this recipe is that it is so easy to put together.
In Greece, this salad is called Horiatiki or Village Salad. It always has tomatoes, cucumbers, green bell pepper, kalamata olives, onion, and feta. The dressing from place to place varies a bit as people adapt the dish to their taste.
In the United States, ordering a Greek Salad will usually get you all of the traditional ingredients and a red wine vinaigrette served with lettuce.
Table of Contents
Make this Recipe!
The big upside of serving this salad in the traditional way, is that it will last for a few days in the fridge. Tomatoes and cucumbers take up more flavor and don’t break down in the dressing the way lettuce does, so it is a great salad for healthy meal prep.
It is very easy to prepare, and all of the ingredients are readily available all year long.
The homemade dressing is made with red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and olive oil spiced with very simple garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. It is perfect for the salad, but it also makes an awesome pork and chicken marinade.
Ingredients
Cucumbers- There are two common types of cucumbers that you will find in the grocery store in North America. The first is the English Cucumber. It does not need to be peeled or seeded. The other is the Garden Cucumber and it does need to be peeled and seeded. Either will work very well for this salad, just make sure to clean them appropriately.
There are other varieties of cucumbers you may find in your local store or farmers market. Check out this Guide to Cucumbers from TheSpruceEats.com.
Instructions
Step 1
- Combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in a small mixing bowl and stir.
- Wash tomatoes, cucumber, and green bell pepper by rinsing under cool water. Rub them gently as you rinse to remove any dirt and pat dry on a paper towel or clean dish towel.
- Cut cucumbers into thin half-moon pieces.
- Cut grape tomatoes in half.
- Remove the seeds and ribs from the green bell pepper and slice into thin strips.
- Peel onion and cut into very thin half circles.
Step 2
- Place the tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and onions into a mixing bowl.
- Add crumbled cheese, drained olives, and dressing. Toss the salad until everything has a nice even coating of Homemade Greek Dressing.
- Place in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.
Serve Traditional Greek Salad cold alongside Mediterannean Chicken Kebabs and Easy Rice Pilaf for a simple but delicious Greek Dinner.
FAQs
You will always find cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, green bell pepper, Kalamata olives, and feta cheese in a traditional dish.
Expert Tips
Let salad marinate in the dressing for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Store salad in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Cut the onion slices as thin as you can manage so that they soften in the dressing and distribute evenly.
Try out this great Tzatziki Sauce Recipe from House of Nash eats and Lemon Chicken Soup Recipe called Avgolemono for more authentic Mediterranean Flavors.
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Traditional Greek Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Cucumbers Peeled and diced
- 1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes Roma or grape will also work. Choose what is best looking at the store.
- ½ Cup Green Bell Pepper About Half of a large pepper.
- ¼ Cup Red onion Thinly sliced. About ¼ of a large red onion
- ½ Cup Pitted Kalamata Olives
- ½ Cup Feta Cheese Crumbled
Dressing Ingredients
- ¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ¼ Cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice Juice of 1 Lemon
- 1 Tsp Salt
- ½ Tsp Pepper
- ½ Tsp Oregano
- 1 Tsp Granulated Garlic
- 1 Tsp Granulated Onion
Instructions
Dressing Instructions
- Combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in a small mixing bowl and stir.
Greek Salad Instructions
- Wash tomatoes, cucumber, and green bell pepper by rinsing under cool water. Rub them gently as you rinse to remove any dirt and pat dry on a paper towel or clean dish towel.
- Cut cucumbers into thin half-moon pieces.
- Cut grape tomatoes in half.
- Remove the seeds and ribs from the green bell pepper and slice into thin strips.
- Peel onion and cut into very thin half circles.
- Place the tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and onions into a mixing bowl.
- Add crumbled cheese, drained olives, and dressing. Toss the salad until everything has a nice even coating of Homemade Greek Dressing.
- Place in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.
Notes
- Let salad marinate in the dressing for at least 15 minutes before serving.
- Store Traditional Greek Salad in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Cut the onion slices as thin as you can manage so that they soften in the dressing and distribute evenly throughout the salad.
Nutrition
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This salad looks so refreshing! I tend to forget about Greek salads too. Wish I had a big bowl of this for lunch today. ?? Love your photos!