Classic Greek Salad

5 from 43 votes

Enjoy a refreshing and easy-to-make Greek salad with crisp cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, tangy olives, colorful peppers, and creamy feta cheese.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

A traditional Greek salad is so much simpler that you might think. It’s a classic salad served in Greece that’s also called Horiatiki salad. It’s made up of tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, onions, feta cheese, and olives and drizzled with olive oil. It’s refreshing, simple and full of so much flavor!

Greek Salad in a large shallow serving bowl.
Want to save this recipe?
Just type your email below and I’ll send it to you. And as a bonus you’ll get delicious new recipes from me!

What’s in a Greek salad?

Traditional Greek salad comes with very few ingredients and you might be surprised, there’s actually no lettuce in the salad. Here are the only 6 ingredients you’ll need, plus a super basic vinaigrette.

  • Tomatoes: I like to use cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes as they tend to be the sweetest. But of course you can use regular tomatoes…got for ripe and juicy ones since they lend flavor to the dressing.
  • Cucumbers: English cucumbers are best for a classic Greek salad, but you could also use Persian cucumbers instead.
  • Red onions: Red onions add a great color to the salad and an important part of the recipe. They are also milder than yellow or white and can be eaten raw.
  • Green peppers: The green bell peppers add a slight bitterness to the salad. You can use red, yellow or orange of you prefer. Get my tips for how to cut bell peppers.
  • Feta cheese: A Greek cheese made from sheep’s milk, feta cheese has a wonderfully crumbly texture with a salty taste to it – a crucial part of any Greek salad. Go for blocks of feta cheese instead of crumbled to keep it more authentic.
  • Kalamata olives: These are larger than green or black olives and slightly more mild. You can use black olives if you can’t find kalamata.
  • Vinaigrette: This is simply a combination of oil and vinegar with basic seasoning. To make it simpler, you don’t even have to whisk the dressing ingredients together. You can simply drizzle the oil and vinegar and then season with salt, pepper and the dried oregano.
Ingredients for recipe: green pepper, tomatoes, onion, kalamative olives, cucumber, feta, oil, vinegar, and spices.

How to make a Greek salad

Chop the ingredients and place in a large bowl. The mix together the ingredients for the salad dressing and pour into the bowl .Lightly toss together the Greek Salad and serve or refrigerate.

Tips for making Greek salad traditionally

  1. Use feta cheese from Greece if you are able. It is so much better than pre-packaged feta and you should be able to get it at the deli counter.
  2. Use the freshest ingredients you can. Use the ripest tomatoes and firm cucumber and bell pepper.
  3. Chop the veggies into similar sizes. They will combine more evenly and it will be easier to eat.
  4. Toss the salad gently so that you don’t bruise any of the ingredients. It’s not a salad that needs to be emulsified with the dressing, so even just drizzling it on top will do.

Frequently asked questions

What do you serve with Greek salad?

A classic Greek salad is a great appetizer or serve it as an accompaniment to any main dish. It works great with meat, fish, chicken and veggie dishes.It’s perfect to take on picnics or to serve as part of a cookout. Try it with:
Grilled Chicken Gyros
Salmon Burgers
Grilled Lemon Chicken
Beef Shawarma

Can you make it ahead of time?

Because there are no greens in this salad that can wilt, you can make this salad a couple of days ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge. It’s a great dish to take to potlucks and picnics during the summer.

Can this be served as a main dish?

A classic Greek salad is best served as an appetizer or side dish, but if you want to turn it into a fuller meal then you can easily ad some protein to it. Shredded chicken works really well, or you can keep it vegetarian by adding some chickpeas.

It’s so quick and easy to make this wonderful fresh and vibrant salad at home. It’s full of flavor and it’s such a great dish to serve throughout the summer.

More salad recipes

 If you try this healthy-ish feel good Authentic Greek Salad recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then please come back to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!

This Greek salad recipe was originally published on May 23, 2020 and has recently been updated with new photography and clearer recipe instructions.

preorder MY book

The Feel Good Foodie Cookbook is now available everywhere books are sold!

Classic Greek Salad

Enjoy a refreshing and easy-to-make Greek salad with crisp cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, tangy olives, colorful peppers, and creamy feta cheese.
5 from 43 votes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 204
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients
  

For the Salad

  • 3 vine-ripened tomatoes chopped
  • 1 English cucumber peeled chopped
  • ½ small red onion chopped
  • ½ green pepper chopped
  • 4 ounces black kalamata olives
  • 1 (8-ounce) block feta cheese cut into cubes

For the Dressing

Instructions

  • Place the tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, green peppers and olives in a large serving bowl. Stir to combine.
  • Mix the ingredients of the salad dressing together in a small bowl and drizzle over the salad ingredients. Add the feta cheese on top.
  • Lightly toss to combine, being careful not to over-mix or break up the feta cheese too much.

Notes

Make Ahead: You can make the dressing up to 7 days in advance and you can prepare most of the salad up to 1 day in advance. 
Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 2cups, Calories: 204kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 13g, Cholesterol: 0.2mg, Sodium: 599mg, Potassium: 395mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 1020IU, Vitamin C: 28mg, Calcium: 47mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

Cuisine Greek
Course: Appetizer, Salad, Side

Rate and comment

Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. This is quick and easy salad but best of all it’s delicious!!! The dressing makes the salad love this recipe

  2. I made this salad as a side dish for a potluck dinner with our new neighbors who made Vegetarian Indian Rice. It was a perfect perfect pairing. Thank you Yumna.

  3. I love all your recipes!! I’m Greek and honestly, you are the only non-Greek that makes a real authentic Greek salad!!! Thank you for making the real deal!! You’re awesome Yumna😊

  4. Is probably the first time that someone refers to Greek Salad, and is actually a Greek Salad. Congrats, that’s exactly the way we prepare this dish (I’m Greek lol) . A small comment -we almost never use cherry tomatoes in this salad (unless we have no access to any other). Btw I love your recipes. They are always simple, close to the original dish and delicious.

    1. Aww I’m really glad to hear it! Do you use regular tomatoes or no tomatoes at all? I actually created this recipe during the early pandemic days and I remember thinking I need regular tomatoes and didn’t want to go to the store! haha

      1. We use regular tomatoes. Basic ingredients for Greek salad is Tomato-Cucumber-Feta-Onion-Olive oil. All the others is about personal taste. I do love green pepers and oregano. Some others love capers, and red smoked peppers in little pieces. Since the oil in a well-prepared Greek salad is enough, but also due to the tomato juices, the plate remains a quantity of oil and juices. This amount is received with the help of bread, which is dipped by the accomplices and is commonly called papara or ladobouki. This practice is not considered in accordance with the “good manners”, but it is very common in Greece …….lol !!!!

  5. Nothing beats classic and simple salad as your Greek salad. I make all your no-lettuce salads. Healthy and refreshing.Thanks