Traditional Greek Salad

4.70 from 13 votes

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

Marinating Time30

Total Time50

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: easy salad, summer salad, traditional Greek salad, easy salad, summer salad

Servings: people

Calories: 297.9kcal

Author: Susan Pridmore

Ingredients

Traditional Greek Salad

1 English cucumber
1 red bell pepper, chopped or orange pepper
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.

Nutrition