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What Is a Greek Salad?
Also known as horiatiki (Greek for “peasant salad” or “village salad”), this rustic dish is a chunky assemblage of tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives, red onion, and a substantial amount of feta—many traditional recipes are crowned with thick slabs of it. Anointed with a bright, herby dressing of lemon juice, red wine vinegar (sometimes), dried oregano, and extra-virgin olive oil, it’s a marvelous, Mediterranean way to celebrate summer produce.
How To Make Greek Salad
Ingredients
• Cucumber: I love Persian cucumbers for this recipe. They’re easy to prep, requiring no seeding or peeling, and mild flavor plays well alongside tomatoes and feta.
• Red Onion: Slice thinly to ensure it remains a supporting character. If you’re sensitive to raw red onion, you can mellow it out by soaking the slices in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes. Just rinse under cold water and pat dry before adding to the salad.
• Grape or Cherry Tomatoes: I prefer grape or cherry tomatoes because they're reliably sweet and juicy and seldom mealy. But ultimately, you should use whatever type of tomato looks best at your market—a salad this simple rises and falls on the quality of its ingredients.
• Olives: Briny, savory, and slightly fruity Kalamatas really shine here and are worth seeking out. If you can't find them, most any other black olive will work well too—just be sure remove the pits if needed!
• Feta: Tangy feta is the centerpiece of any Greek salad. Look for it in block form, packed in brine.
• Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: This salad will (and should) taste of olive oil, so use an olive oil you like the taste of.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Sharpen your chef’s knife and prep those ingredients! If you’re going to soak the red onion (to reduce its pungency), now’s the time to do it. Be sure to cut the feta into large cubes so it doesn’t wind up as crumbles. The tomatoes and olives should stay chunky—just halve them and move on. Now combine everything in a large bowl and admire all those colors.
On to the dressing: To get a good emulsion you want to combine the water-based ingredients (the lemon juice and vinegar) first and then to gradually whisk in the oil until the dressing is slightly thickened and completely homogeneous. A well emulsified dressing won’t separate and will wrap the salad ingredients in a loving embrace rather than run right off them. When seasoning the dressing, bear in mind that the feta is quite salty.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently, trying not to break up the feta. Now dig in. I told you this was simple!
Recipe Tips
• Can I make Greek salad ahead of time? Absolutely! One of our favorite parts of this dish is that it can be prepped ahead. Just pack all the prepped vegetables into a separate airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. The dressing is sturdy enough to hold up for 2 weeks in the fridge.
• How to customize Greek salad: Want to add a little something extra? Roughly chop up some pita chips for a bit of crunch, or add some capers or whole anchovies for briny, salty punch. Want to zhuzh up the dressing? A small clove of garlic, finely grated, is just the thing.
Greek Salad Variations
Greek Orzo Salad
Greek Salad Skewers
Greek Pasta Salad
What To Serve With Greek Salad
• Chicken Souvlaki: You can’t go wrong by keeping things Hellenic. This classic Greek
street food is well worth firing up the grill for, and the tzatziki sauce is so good you’ll want to eat it with a spoon.
• Lamb Burger: One of my go-to summer cookout mains, these burgers are imbued with Greek flavors like mint and lemon. All they need is a salad—a Greek salad!
• Scrunch Bread: Thought phyllo was tricky to work? Well, not in this recipe! Think of scrunch bread as spanakopita gone slightly (and wonderfully) bananas.
Storage
This salad is best eaten fresh, but if you have any leftovers, store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Made This?
Let us know how it went in the comments below!
