This easy Greek salad recipe is our new favorite summer side dish! Just 7 ingredients + a simple Greek salad dressing make it refreshing & delicious.
I love a good green salad – mixed greens, romaine, and kale are some of my favorite starting points for fresh, healthy meals. But summer is a time when all vegetables are at their peak. Sweet, juicy tomatoes, snappy bell peppers, and crisp cucumbers abound. This Greek salad recipe showcases these veggies, without any greens to get in the way.
And the best past? Because the vegetables are in their prime, this Greek salad recipe is flavorful and refreshing with just a few ingredients. You only need 7 ingredients + an easy homemade Greek salad dressing to make it! It’s been a hit at our family gatherings over the last few weeks – my mom even added it to her regular recipe rotation. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Greek Salad Ingredients
A traditional Greek salad consists of sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, green bell pepper, red onion, olives, and feta cheese. This classic combination is delicious, so I stick to it, just adding a handful of mint leaves for a fresh finishing touch.
My olives of choice are Kalamata olives. Commonly used in Greek food, their salty, briny flavor is delectable alongside the feta and crisp veggies. Instead of slicing large tomatoes, I use cherry tomatoes because they release less water into the salad than larger tomatoes would. I also seed my cucumber to avoid making my salad watery.
A great salad will have a yummy jumble of veggies, olives, and cheese in each bite, so be sure to cut your ingredients into similar-sized pieces. I like to buy pitted Kalamata olives and leave them whole, and I chop the feta into 1/2-inch cubes instead of crumbling it. I aim for 1-inch squares for the bell pepper, cut the cucumber into thin half-moons, and simply halve the cherry tomatoes.
My Greek Salad Dressing
I toss the veggies, olives, and feta cheese in an easy homemade Greek salad dressing. With just 5 ingredients + salt and pepper, it’s super simple to whisk together, and it gives this easy Greek salad recipe a bright, zingy flavor. It’s a simple mix of olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, and dried oregano.
In addition to using them in the dressing, I like to sprinkle my salad with generous pinches of oregano and black pepper for a fresh, peppery garnish.
Greek Salad Serving Suggestions
Because this salad doesn’t have any tender greens, it’s a good one to make ahead for gatherings. If I’m prepping it ahead, I like to save a few fresh mint leaves to add right before serving. It’s also an excellent dinner side. Enjoy it with a summer pizza like this one or this one, pesto pasta, roasted vegetable pasta, or a big veggie lasagna.
If you want to vary this salad recipe, try using use a mix of red, green, and yellow bell peppers, adding some fresh oregano or parsley, or stirring in cooked or roasted chickpeas to make it a full meal. To make it vegan, skip the cheese and add 3/4 cup cooked chickpeas and 1 tablespoon capers in its place.
If you love this Greek salad recipe…
Try my easy pasta salad, broccoli salad, potato salad, or watermelon salad next, or see this post for more of my best summer salad recipes!
Greek Salad
Ingredients
Dressing
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano, more for sprinkling
- ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the salad
- 1 English cucumber, cut lengthwise, seeded, and sliced ¼-inch thick
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
- 5 ounces feta cheese, cut into ½ inch cubes*
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced red onion
- ⅓ cup pitted Kalamata olives
- ⅓ cup fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, mustard, salt, and several grinds of pepper.
- On a large platter, arrange the cucumber, green pepper, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, red onions, and olives. Drizzle with the dressing and very gently toss. Sprinkle with a few generous pinches of oregano and top with the mint leaves. Season to taste and serve.
Notes
I have made this recipe a number of times and my hubby and I love it!
My husband is a fan of potatoes salad, but after I made this, he asked me about the recipe and he told me, save the recipe so you can make it again!
I’m so glad he loved it!
This recipe was such a hit on yesterday family party. I forgot the garlic…yeahhh I know…..but it still turned out so good!
I’m so glad it was a hit!
I followed the recipe to the tee. This is an excellent Greek salad recipe. Really happy with how it turned out. The mint gives the salad a very nice flavor.
What is calorie count for your recipe.
This is seriously one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten. Thanks for the recipe! The addition of the avocado is also such a great move. I love everything in here. So freakin good
Love this recipe. I roasted some mini peppers in a bit of olive oil and balsamic and used those in the salad. Thanks!
Delicious. Just amazing.
Absolutely delicious salad and dressing!
A weekly rotation for the Mr. and me. As good as, or perhaps even better, 😉 than the Greek salad at our friend’s Greek restaurant. I followed the recipe as written- except I had no mint. Thanks for sharing!
Beautiful
Made this yesterday and it was delicious. Kept the feta separate as someone had a dairy allergy but put a little of the dressing on it too when serving. Loved the dressing…this version of Greek Salad will be on our rotation for the summer! (oh and didn’t have the olives I thought I did in the fridge so no olives but still yummy!).
I thought this was exceptional. I made a mistake and used two garlic cloves and it overpowered the red wine vinegar. Note to future self: use one garlic clove and this recipe will be a secret weapon.
Side note. I made the dressing and then tossed the red onion in to it for 30min prior to making the rest to take the edge off. This worked fantastically well.
My husband can’t eat raw onions- I dice them (or slice) and nuke for about 15 seconds- just long enough to tame the bite but still crunchy. Plan a little extra time for them to cool, or keep a jar of them in the fridge if you use onions as much as we do!
Best recipe ever for Greek salad. I have tried many from different restaurants and have made it myself over the years but this is by far the best recipe. And my husband was quick to tell me that! The only thing I did different was use an heirloom tomato because I didn’t have any others and I did use crumbled feta. And bell peppers in it. But what a wonderful delightful addition! That made a big difference in the flavor! Wonderful flavor! We loved it so much we ate it two nights in a row. It will definitely be a regular in our house
I don’t understand what you mean by “platter”. Do you mean large bowl like you would do if you make a large amount of salad and people would serve themselves.
Not a deep bowl, but more of a large serving plate like I have in the photo.
My favorite summer salad (but really, I make it all year long!). The dressing is just perfect, although I leave out the mint because I’m not fond of mint. I like to buy the heirloom cherry tomatoes to make this but if I can’t find them I go for grape tomatoes. A couple times I grabbed crumbled feta because I was feeling lazy but the note above in the recipe is correct, it really is much better with the block of feta that comes in brine. I usually make it as-is and eat it as a side dish but I’ve also used my chopper to cut everything up really tiny into a “relish” and served it as a topping/condiment in pita wraps. Two thumbs up!
Hi Tesee, I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed it!
The relish is such a good idea! Do you include the feta in the processor too or do you crumble that separately? Thanks!
This was awesome. I followed the recipe exactly EXCEPT I left out the mint. Sorry–the idea of adding mint just didn’t appeal to me. I served this salad with greek chicken kabobs. It was fantastic and this will definitely be on rotation here!
I’m glad you enjoyed the salad!
Simply sensational
Hi, if making the salad ahead of time can I mix the dressing in too? Or do I leave that right before serving? Thank you 🙂
Hi Sarah, I’d drizzle it on just before serving.
I didn’t even read all the comments here because I think everyone loved it. I made it yesterday and it was the most bright fresh thing you could imagine. I will be making this regularly from now on. I have made versions of it over the years, for many years but this one really hit the spot.
I am a pretty novice chef, but followed your recipe to the tee, and I must say it looks and tastes amazing! I think it will be a hit at the Greek Easter party I’m going to. (I quadrupled the recipe)!
I loved this! So did my family. Substituted red wine vinegar with 1/2 of the portion in balsamic vinegar, squeeze of lemon juice and some honey.