Updated June 9, 2022
This is the best time of year to make a traditional Greek salad, so if you're looking for your next salad, this is it my friends. All of the ingredients are in season at their peak flavor, and easily found at grocery stores and Farmers Markets. For bonus points, this might also be one of the easiest salads you'll make this year - and for the win, one of your most popular. Seriously.
Make it for dinner, a pot luck, or a picnic. It travels well and is best made a little ahead of time. (And if you're looking for tips on how to put together the perfect picnic, see the linked post I recently wrote for Classical Tahoe - a local music festival here in Tahoe.)
I'd love to tell you how I've labored for months over this salad. Toying with ingredients using the kind of detailed process made popular by Cook's Illustrated, and not stopping until it was perfect. But since I'm being honest, I will admit it's only slightly modified from Ina Garten's Greek Salad on the Food Network. If you've ever made any of her recipes, you'll know that she dials in flavors of any dish perfectly. I probably didn't need to change a thing, but that's how I roll. It's physically impossible for me to make any recipe exactly as written.
I first made this traditional Greek salad for a 4th of July BBQ. It was a hit. In fact, as we were leaving, I saw a guest drinking what was left of the dressing from the bowl. And just so you know, we weren't sitting around in stained t-shirts guzzling beer, days past our most recent shower - we're normally a little more refined in our table manners. It's just that the salad was that good.
More Cucumber Salad Ideas
If you're looking for more ways to use cucumbers in salads, here are some great ideas:
Watermelon, Peach and Cucumber Salad
Cucumber and Tomato Salad with Kefir - Dill Dressing
Greek Cucumber Salad from The Joyous Apron
Traditional Greek Salad
Ingredients
Traditional Greek Salad
- 1 English cucumber
- 1 red OR orange bell pepper, large diced
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup red onion, thinly sliced in half-rounds
- ½ cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese, or more to your preference
Toasted Torn Pieces of Garlic Bread, Optional
- 3 slices 1-inch thick Ciabatta or other sturdy bread
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Greek Oregano Vinaigrette
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup good quality red wine vinegar, I used Cabernet red wine vinegar
- ½ cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
Traditional Greek Salad
- Slice the cucumber in half across its diameter into 2 long rounds. Slice the two pieces in half lengthwise, revealing the seeds. Using a spoon, gently scrape out the seeds. This prevents the salad from becoming too watery. Slice the cucumbers into small diced pieces. Place in a large bowl.
- Add the bell pepper, tomatoes, red onion, and kalamata olives, and lightly toss.
- Dress the salad with ½ of the Greek Oregano Vinaigrette (below), and toss well. Marinate the salad at room temperature in the vinaigrette for at least 30 minutes - longer is even better. Approximately 15 minutes before serving, add the Toasted Torn Garlic Bread (below), if using, and toss with the remaining Greek Oregano Vinaigrette. Add the feta and very lightly toss.
Toasted Torn Pieces of Garlic Bread, Optional
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Tear the slices of Ciabatta into bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl. Whisk together the garlic and olive oil, and pour over the bread pieces. Toss until coated.
- Spread the coated bread pieces on the baking sheet so they don't overlap (it's fine for them to touch). Turn on your oven's broiler, slide the baking sheet into the oven, and bake until toasted, turning the bread pieces as needed. Depending on the size of the bread pieces, this could take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside.
Greek Oregano Vinaigrette
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except the olive oil. Drizzle the olive oil into the vinaigrette while whisking.
Notes
Nutrition
More Summer Salad Ideas
Summertime heat calls for easy salads. If you're looking for more ideas for fresh fruits and vegetables from your garden or the Farmers Market, check out these recipes:
My favorite is this fresh Lemony Romaine and Avocado Salad from my cookbook, Simply Vegetarian. Feel free to add slices of fresh peaches to it.
Or, you may prefer to try another panzanella salad, which just a fancy way of saying Italian bread salad. This Italian Peach Panzanella Salad version adds peaches and lettuce to the traditional recipe of tomatoes, onions, and bread.
For a heartier salad that can double as an entree, this Vegan Asparagus Salad with Potatoes and Lentils totally hits the spot.
Jess
What an amazing greek salad recipe! I am LOVING all of the healthy combination of colors and flavors. This is a must! YUM!
Krissy Allori
I love a good greek salad and this looks great!
Noelle
What a delicious salad!! So simple with great flavors
Natalie
I love Greek salad! Looks so delicious and perfect for a healthy balanced dinner or lunch!
Farah Maizar
One of my favorite salads ever. Thanks for the perfect recipe, we loved this!
Stan
Nothing traditional about this
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Traditional Greek salads include cucumber, tomatoes, red onions, kalamata olives and feta cheese. Many of them also include red peppers. I'd love to hear what a traditional Greek salad is to you.
Ruben
Mostly the way it’s done is not traditional. A traditional greek salad has normal sized tomatoes, sliced into wedges, big chunks of cucumber and green bell pepper. Olives are never chopped up, but whole, with the seed still in. One huge chunk of feta on top. The dressing is no more then dried oregano and a pinch of salt, and then ofcourse huge amounts of olive oil. You can include some red wine vinegar. Bread never goes into the salad.
The culture is as much in the way it is prepared, as in the ingredients themselves.
Having said that, your variation on the traditional salad looks very tasty! I live in Greece and see variations like this sometimes in more modern restaurants, always delicious. Just not “traditional”... 😉