This Greek salad recipe is fresh, authentic, and so easy to make, with crisp vegetables, creamy feta, and a flavorful homemade dressing.
Inspired by the traditional Horiatiki, this salad is made with tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives, and feta, all tossed in a tangy Greek salad dressing. For extra creaminess, try serving it with tzatziki.
Quick to prepare and full of Mediterranean flavor, this healthy Greek salad is perfect as a side dish or light meal. It’s a staple in our kitchen and even inspired our Greek pasta salad.
Key Ingredients
- Tomatoes and Cucumbers: For the best flavor, use the freshest produce available. Ripe summer tomatoes are ideal. I prefer thinner-skinned cucumbers, such as Hothouse or Persian, but if yours have thicker skins, peel some or all of them. For extra crunch, add sliced green bell pepper along with the tomatoes and cucumbers.
- Red Onion: I love the color of red onions, but sweet onions work well too. Since I’m sensitive to raw onions, I slice them and soak them in cold water for 10 minutes. After draining and rinsing, they’ll taste milder but still crisp.
- Olives: Kalamata olives are my go-to, and I often buy them with the pits for the best flavor. If you aren’t a fan of leaving the pits, pitted olives work well, too.
- Feta Cheese: The cheese is key to this salad, so I try to buy the best quality feta I can find, which is always sold in blocks, not crumbles. I love adding big pieces to the salad. I do the same for this cherry tomato salad with feta.
- Best Greek Salad Dressing: Instead of pre-mixing a dressing, season the salad just before serving. I sprinkle salt, pepper, and oregano over the veggies at least 5 minutes ahead so they release their juices, which combine with the vinegar and olive oil for an authentic and delicious dressing.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make the Best Greek Salad
Build the salad in your bowl. I don’t premix my dressing for Greek salad. Instead of pre-mixing a dressing, season the salad just before serving. I sprinkle salt, pepper, and oregano over the veggies at least 5 minutes ahead so they release their juices, which combine with the vinegar and olive oil for an authentic and delicious dressing.
Serving Suggestions
Because the tomatoes and cucumbers release so much flavorful liquid, this salad is perfect with a side of crusty bread, homemade pita, or our easy flatbread.
For a heartier meal, serve it alongside protein such as grilled chicken marinated in our Greek chicken marinade or pork chops marinated in our easy pork marinade. I also love this lemon dill baked salmon or simple poached shrimp. Whatever you add, keep it fresh, simple, and full of Mediterranean flavor.
More Easy Salads
Perfect Greek Salad
- PREP
- TOTAL
Our traditional Greek salad recipe is simple to make and filled with some of our all-time favorite ingredients. Cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, olives, and feta come together for a seriously good salad. For the best Greek salad, use the freshest ingredients you can find.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
8 ounces ripe tomatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces or sliced
½ large English or hothouse cucumber, sliced into half moons, 6 ounces
½ small red onion, thinly sliced, 2 ounces
1 medium green bell pepper, sliced, optional
¾ cup Kalamata olives, 4 ounces
¾ teaspoon dried oregano, plus more for serving
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, plus more to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to taste
4 ounces feta cheese, cut into generous slices
Directions
1Optional: Add the sliced onions to a bowl filled with cold water. Set aside for 10 minutes, drain, and then rinse. This tones down the raw bite of the onions while keeping them crisp.
2Combine the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, bell pepper, olives, oregano, ¼ teaspoon of fine sea salt, and a generous amount of fresh ground black pepper in a large salad bowl. Toss well, and then set aside for five minutes.
3Toss the salad once more and drizzle over the red wine vinegar and olive oil.
4Nestle, the feta into the top of the salad, add an extra sprinkle of oregano and serve.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Greek salad can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. As it sits, the tomatoes may become softer, but they will still taste great. If the olive oil in the dressing solidifies in the refrigerator, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before using.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
This is really good. It reminds me of a salad I used to get in Tarpon Sorings, FL. This city has the largest Greek population in the United States. There’s a restaurant famous for their Greek salad and they would add a dollop of potatoe salad. It was so good.
It’s very hard for me to find a good salad, but i’ve been making this 2/3 times a week for lunch and i just love it so much. I occasionally add prawns to it and it taste even better. Thank you for the recipe.
I’ll try this as soon as I can. Does anyone know how long this would keep in the fridge?
Hi Dave, The salad should keep (covered) for a day or two in the fridge.
Made, this it’s very good. big serving too. i love how simple and easy it was to make
please add me to your free newsletter. you food looks delicious!!
Thank you for getting it right. This truly is a Greek Salad. Us Greeks NEVER add lettuce to it. Thank you for being culturally aware of a true recipe, and not bastardizing it with a new, U.S. version of it.