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    Home » SALADS

    Best Ever Greek Salad

    August 8, 2019 8 Comments

    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:

    Grilled Fattoush Salad

    Watermelon, Peach and Cucumber Salad

    Cucumber and Tomato Salad with Kefir - Dill Dressing

    Greek Cucumber Salad from The Joyous Apron

    This super-easy traditional Greek salad is my current favorite for picnics, BBQ's, potlucks, and quick weeknight dinners.
    Print Recipe
    4.67 from 12 votes

    Traditional Greek Salad

    Best ever traditional Greek salad with cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, red onion, kalamata olives and feta cheese. This easy salad is dressed with a oregano vinaigrette, and offers an option to add torn pieces of toasted garlic bread, panzanella style.
    Prep Time20 mins
    Marinating Time30 mins
    Total Time50 mins
    Course: Salad
    Cuisine: Greek
    Keyword: easy salad, summer salad, traditional Greek salad, easy salad, summer salad
    Servings: 4 people
    Calories: 387kcal
    Author: The Wimpy Vegetarian

    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

    The total calories calculated do not include the optional garlic bread. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 387kcal

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    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.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jess

      August 31, 2019 at 3:25 pm

      5 stars
      What an amazing greek salad recipe! I am LOVING all of the healthy combination of colors and flavors. This is a must! YUM!

      Reply
    2. Krissy Allori

      August 31, 2019 at 4:03 pm

      5 stars
      I love a good greek salad and this looks great!

      Reply
    3. Noelle

      August 31, 2019 at 8:12 pm

      5 stars
      What a delicious salad!! So simple with great flavors

      Reply
    4. Natalie

      August 31, 2019 at 9:30 pm

      5 stars
      I love Greek salad! Looks so delicious and perfect for a healthy balanced dinner or lunch!

      Reply
    5. Farah Maizar

      August 31, 2019 at 10:53 pm

      5 stars
      One of my favorite salads ever. Thanks for the perfect recipe, we loved this!

      Reply
    6. Stan

      January 04, 2020 at 8:10 pm

      1 star
      Nothing traditional about this

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        January 05, 2020 at 3:13 pm

        5 stars
        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.

        Reply
        • Ruben

          January 19, 2020 at 1:36 am

          5 stars
          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”... 😉

          Reply

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    Susan at The Wimpy Vegetarian

    Hi there! I'm Susan.

    A mostly vegetarian married to a mostly carnivore, living in the mountains with our doodle, on Lake Tahoe. My cookbook, Simply Vegetarian, was named #1 best cookbook for new vegetarians. Come join me in simplifying life, starting with dinner!

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