Traditional Greek Salad Recipe

A plate of Greek salad, a glass of rosé wine, some tomatoes, a gold fork, and a striped towel surround the plate.

Traditional Greek Salad Recipe

Course: Salad

Cuisine: greek

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Keyword: Greek salad ingredients, traditional Greek salad

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 0

Total Time: 10

Servings:

Calories: 368kcal

This easy traditional Greek Salad recipe (horiatiki) has classic ingredients like real feta cheese and Kalamata olives for the best Mediterranean flavor!

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Equipment

Ingredients

Traditional Greek salad dressing

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Greek oregano
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Greek salad

1 red onion
1 English cucumber
2 green bell peppers
2 large ripe tomatoes
1 cup Kalamata olives
8 ounces feta cheese in a block

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Instructions

Slice the red onion thinly, transfer to a bowl of cold water to soak while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. See note.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, Greek oregano and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
Slice the cucumber into ⅛-inch rounds, slice the tomatoes into wedges (or in half if using cherry tomatoes), and cut the green pepper into wide strips or rings.
Drain the onions. Add the cucumber, onion, and green pepper to the bowl with the Greek salad dressing and toss to coat. Transfer the vegetables to a serving plate. Reserve the remaining dressing in the bowl.
Add the tomatoes and olives to the plate with the other vegetables, then top with a block of feta or cubes of feta if you prefer.
Drizzle the salad with the remaining Greek dressing, top with freshly ground black pepper and serve!

Notes

- Soak those onions: This is one of the best secrets I learned from working in restaurants for 20 years. Soak the onion in water while prepping the rest of the ingredients and the sharp flavor will mellow.

- Leave the vegetables chunky: The fun part about a traditional Greek salad is that everything is in big chunks! It's an interactive experience breaking up the feta, deciding if you'll slice off some green pepper to go with some tomato or grabbing a crisp cucumber to pair with the briny bite of a kalamata olive!

- Don't toss the tomatoes in dressing: The tomatoes are too delicate to get tossed in the dressing with the other vegetables, and they'd get their seeds and juice all over everything. Just add them to the serving plate, then drizzle dressing on top.

- Serve on a cold plate or in cold bowls: A Greek salad should be crisp and crunchy! Serving it in a cold bowl keeps all the veggies cold so they maintain their crisp texuture. And it's so refreshing!
- Try some ingredient variations: This recipe is what you'll commonly find throughout Greece, but ingredients can vary by region. Add capers, swap tomatoes for watermelon, or top with fresh parsley.

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