Greek Salad

Greek Salad – Easy and flavorful. The perfect summer salad for a picnic or BBQ. You can serve with your favorite grilled meats, and you have a complete meal that will transport you to a Greek Island. 

Last summer, we went to Greece for my birthday. I always plan a big international trip for my birthday. I like to gift myself a passport stamp every year. No trip happened this year; unfortunately - I’m actually supposed to be in Northern Ireland right now :(.

Since we can’t travel, I’ve decided to make and share some of my favorite foods from our trips - starting with this Greek Salad.

We had a Greek Salad every day while in Greece. It was so hot the week we were there; it made the perfect light meal. Light and refreshing, plus we did not feel overly full or heavy after eating. {We also went to Rome on that same trip, and people were eating giant bowls of hearty pasta when it was 90 degrees outside.}

What is Greek Salad?

A traditional Greek salad will have tomatoes, cucumber, green bell peppers, onion, kalamata olives {with the pits!}, and feta. The mixture is served with an effortless dressing of olive oil, vinegar, salt, and oregano. That’s it! Some of the restaurants we went to left the vegetables in big chunks with a large slice of feta on top. Some chopped it into bite-size pieces.

How to Make a Greek Salad

Because this recipe is so simple, you will want to use good quality ingredients. Try to find the freshest tomatoes and good olive oil and vinegar.

1. Wash and chop all the vegetables into the desired size. You can dice everything to bite-size pieces or leave the tomatoes and cucumber in large chunks. I recommend thinly slicing the onion and peppers as they can overpower the flavor of the dish.
2. Combine all the ingredients into a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, salt, oregano, and garlic powder. You can use fresh minced garlic - I prefer powdered garlic in this dish. It doesn’t overpower the salad or make you smell like garlic after). Whisk together the dressing and pour over the veggies.
4. Toss the mixture to evenly coat in the dressing and serve.

Seasoning

All the salads we had in Greece were made with oil, vinegar, salt, and oregano. That was it! I like to use a Greek or Italian blend for my salad. Any brand will work. 

Variation

This salad is so versatile. You can add or subtract any of the ingredients you like. A few examples of items you can include:

• Colorful bell peppers can be substituted for the green peppers as you can see in the photos 😊
• One 12 or 16 oz box of cooked pasta (gluten-free, chickpea, or regular) for a Pasta Greek Salad - double the dressing.
• Feta cheese - Omit if Whole30/Paleo or dairy-free.
• Add one 15.5 oz can of chickpeas to the salad to make it a meal – we do this a lot. It’s my favorite meal for a picnic at the beach or park. It’s also a great meal to make ahead for lunch at work or on-the-go.

Storage and Make Ahead

When making this salad ahead of time, chop the veggies, make the dressing, and store in separate containers. The vegetables can be stored in the refrigerator and olive oil mixture at room temperature - preventing the oil from solidifying in the fridge. The salt will start to draw out more moisture from the veggies, which can increase the liquid in your salad.

Once prepared, store the mixture in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.

Olive Oil to Vinegar Ratio

The olive oil vinegar ratio is always a big debate in our house. I personally like my salad dressings to have a 1:1 ratio of oil to vinegar. I love the extra bite. Huck prefers 2:1. The recipe below is 2:1, but you can always adjust to meet your taste. If you want more vinegar, add a little extra until you achieve the desired flavor.

Recipes to Serve with the Greek Salad

You can serve this with any grilled meats – try grilled salmon or shrimp or our Oven Roasted Spatchcock Chicken. Adding chickpeas or pasta, as mentioned above, makes this salad a complete meal.

Like this recipe? Don't forget to Pin it! Also, check out our Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube Channel for cooking demos and more. Plus you can also see what I am pinning on Pinterest for more Whole30 and Paleo recipe ideas!

Greek Salad

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Sloan
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x

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Description

Greek Salad – Easy and flavorful. The perfect summer salad for a picnic or BBQ. You can serve with your favorite grilled meats, and you have a complete meal that will transport you to a Greek Island. 

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 cups Cherry Tomatoes - Halved {or 4-6 Roma Tomatoes - Quartered or Diced}
• ½ English Cucumber - Sliced or Quartered
• ½ Small Red Onion - Sliced
• 1 Bell Pepper - Sliced {green, red, orange, or mix}
• Kalamata Olives - Optional
• ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil + extra to drizzle on before serving
• ⅛ cup Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Greek Island Blend

or

• 1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1.5 teaspoon Sea Salt
• Feta - Optional {Omit if Whole30 or dairy-free}

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Instructions

1. Chop the cleaned tomatoes, cucumber, onion, peppers, and olives and place them in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, and spices and whisk together to thoroughly combined. {You can use our Greek Island Blend or make your own using the dried ingredients listed above. Both will work great!}
3. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat thoroughly.
4. If using feta, crumble the cheese over the salad or top with a thick slice.
5. Drizzle with additional olive oil and serve.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Category: Salad
• Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keywords: salad, greek salad, tomato salad

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