This Greek salad recipe is easy, authentic, fresh, and absolutely delicious! A handful of simple ingredients, extra virgin olive oil, oregano, and a splash of vinegar is all you need.
This simple Greek salad was inspired by a trip to the islands of Patmos and Kos, where every little family-run taverna served their own version. It opened my eyes to how uncomplicated a true Greek salad should be! That’s exactly what I have recreated for you.
Horiatiki, or Greek village salad, is served most often from early spring through summer and up until mid fall. Like Bulgarian Shopska or Italian Caprese, the classic table salad uses just a few humble ingredients, yet has become an iconic dish that’s beloved around the world. It’s truly the best use of the season’s produce, like crunchy cucumbers, sweet tomatoes, and earthy green bell peppers. I know you’ll love it as much as I do!
What is in Traditional Greek Salad (Horiatiki)?
This easy recipe stays true to the traditional Greek salad, with easy-to-source ingredients and a no-whisk dressing.
- Tomatoes: Use Roma tomatoes or vine-ripe tomatoes. They stay somewhat firm, which works well with the crunchy bell pepper and onion.
- Cucumber: English cucumbers as they tend to be sweeter. If standard slicing cucumbers are all that’s available, fully peel their waxy skin.
- Onion: Red onion is sweet and mild enough serve raw. To further take the edge off, a quick soak in ice water and a dash of vinegar does the trick.
- Olives: Briny Kalamata olives are my favorite for a traditional Greek salad, but any high-quality olive you have on hand will work.
- Bell pepper: An authentic Greek salad only uses green bell pepper, but of course you can use whatever bell pepper you like.
- Feta cheese: Whole blocks of Greek sheep’s milk feta packed in brine is ideal, as you’ll get those satisfying large pieces that make a Greek salad so special. That said, crumbled feta can of course work in a pinch.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Use a full-flavor Greek olive oil, like our Private Reserve from Kyparissia.
- Red wine vinegar: Adds a dash of acidity to make an easy vinaigrette with no whisking necessary. Though untraditional, you can substitute with lemon juice, white wine vinegar, or lime juice.
- Seasoning: This salad is seasoned simply with a sprinkle of kosher salt and dried Greek oregano.
How to Make Greek Salad
This Greek salad recipe couldn’t be easier to make. Simply grab a serving bowl and get started:
- Shock the onion (optional). Halve and thinly slice one red onion into half moons. If you’d like to mellow its raw taste, fill a small bowl with ice water. Add about 1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar to the water, then add the onion slices. Set aside to soak for 10 minutes or so while you prep the veggies.
- Prep the veggies. Slice 4 medium tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. Partially peel a cucumber into a stripe pattern, then slice into half moons. Slice 1 green bell pepper into rings.
- Season. Place all the veggies in a large serving dish, along with a handful of pitted Kalamata olives. Remove the onions from the ice water and add to the platter with the rest of the veggies. Sprinkle on 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried oregano and a pinch of kosher salt.
- Dress. Pour in 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil and 1-2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Give everything a very gentle toss.
- Finish and serve. Break off or slice large pieces of feta and add to the top of the salad. Finish with a final sprinkle of 1/4 tablespoon of oregano. Enjoy!
What to Serve with Greek Salad
You can serve this simple Greek salad as a first course or side dish to just about any entree. But why not go Greek? Try:
- Meat: Chicken gyros, pork souvlaki, or lamb Kleftiko.
- Fish: Shrimp Saganaki
- Vegetarian: Gigantes Plaki (Greek Baked Beans), Greek Chickpea Soup (Revithosoupa), or Greek Tomato Fritters
- For Dessert: Portokalopita (Greek Orange Cake)
- To Drink: Ouzo, of course!
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Ingredients
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced into half moons
- 4 medium juicy tomatoes, sliced into bite-sized pieces or wedges
- 1 English cucumber, partially peeled to make a striped pattern and sliced into half moons
- 1 green bell pepper, cored and sliced into rings
- 1 handful pitted Kalamata olives
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- Kosher salt
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 (7 ounce) block Greek feta cheese in brine, torn into slabs
Instructions
- Shock the onion (optional). If you’d like to mellow the onion’s raw taste, fill a small bowl with ice water. Add about 1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar to the water, then add the sliced onion. Set aside to soak for 10 minutes or so.
- Combine the veggies. Place the tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, and olives in a large serving dish. Remove the onions from the water and add to the dish with the rest of the vegetables.
- Season. Sprinkle the vegetables with 3/4 teaspoon of oregano and a pinch of kosher salt. Add the oil and vinegar (to your liking) then give everything a gentle toss.
- Finish and serve. Top the salad with slabs of feta and sprinkle with the remaining 3/4 teaspoon of oregano and enjoy!
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Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil and oregano used in this recipe.
- Leftovers? Cover and refrigerate them for up to 2 days.
- For a punchier lemon and garlic flavor, try this salad with another classic Greek Salad dressing: Ladolemono.
Nutrition
Try Our Greek Oregano!
This dried herb straight from Greece is lemony, fragrant, and perfect for everyday use.
*This post has recently been updated with new information for the readers’ benefit.
A delicious and classic recipe – this is a real hit in my household! We could eat it everyday 🙂
greek salads are such a classic. i love it!
Agreed!
This is my all time favorite salad!
This was the perfect summer lunch! I’m going to make it again when I put kebabs on the menu!!!
Wow, this is so good, and so fresh! Loving it!
What a cool and refreshing salad for summer! Saving this recipe to serve all season long!
This was amazing! I love how fresh and simple this salad is!!
Wonderful, Echo! Thanks for giving it a try!
We love traditional greek salad! This is such a great recipe!!
This is one of my favorite salads!
LOVING this gorgeous greek salad – so tasty and fresh!
Hole-in-the-wall restaurants are the best! I always love to eat local which is where I have had some of the most delicious food. This salad sounds so fresh and light that I could eat it as a side every night!
Are greek salad and salad from arabic countries the same recipe?
Similar, but there are some differences. There are a couple of salads that are very much signature arabic salads like Tabouli and Fattoush. Tabouli: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/tabouli-salad/ Fattoush: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/fattoush-salad/
This salad looks great, but I was surprised with the sodium content 1139 mg. Is that mainly from the Feta and probably the Kalamatas
Dick, thanks for catching that error! We went back and looked through the nutrition calculator, and somehow, the wrong ingredient was used instead of fresh tomatoes. We’ve made the correction.
Hi. I need to make a traditional Greek Salad for kids’ elementary school’s Teacher Appreciation luncheon that’s coming up and have never made one before…eaten plenty but never made-made one. Found this recipe of yours and am so happy! Now a quick question…I need to feed 45 a total of 45 teachers and staff members. I have Chicken Souvlaki skewers on order along with rice pilaf and roasted potatoes…if this recipe really only serves 4 people then I need to make 10X the recipe amount?? Is this a very generous portion amount or do I really need to multiply your recipe 10X?
Please help!
Hi Frankie! Thanks for reaching out. I would say you can get away with making 8X this recipe since there will be other things to serve along.
Good authentic recipe. As an American, the Greek restaurants here usually add a couple pepperoncini peppers, so that’s the one addition I like.
You can sure make the addition here, Chris! Thanks so much for sharing
After visiting Corfu for 10+ years, this was always a favourite of ours to make back in the UK,usually we have to make lots as “Wifey” is a lover of salads.We had to explain to friends when they asked “Why no lettuce?”..We retired to Corfu in May 2014,so you can understand that we eat a lot of this salad. Some fresh bought but in the summer we use home grown ingredients.So good to see an “authentic” recipe that has not been messed about…ps I also receive your newsletter,so many yummy recipes.thank you so much and keep up the great work..
Thanks so much for sharing, Mel! I appreciate it.