How to make Refreshing and Delicious Greek Salad? (Healthier Option)

• Food: Greek Salad
• Writer: Lizzie Green
• Content-Type: Food Blog

This simple Greek salad recipe has quickly become one of our favorite summer side dishes! It’s made with only 7 ingredients and a basic Greek salad dressing, and it’s both refreshing and tasty.

I adore a good green salad – mixed greens, romaine lettuce, and kale are some of my go-to ingredients for quick, healthy lunches. Summer, on the other hand, is when all vegetables are at their best.

There are plenty of sweet, juicy tomatoes, snappy bell peppers, and crisp cucumbers. Without any greens to get in the way, this Greek salad recipe highlights these vegetables.

And what about the best past? This Greek salad recipe is tasty and refreshing with only a few ingredients because the vegetables are at their peak. It’s created using only 7 ingredients and a simple homemade Greek salad dressing.

It’s been a favorite at our family get-togethers in recent weeks, and my mother has even included it in her regular recipe rotation. I sincerely hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients for Greek Salad

Sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, green bell pepper, red onion, olives, and feta cheese make up a traditional Greek salad. I continue to this basic combo since it’s excellent, and I just add a handful of mint leaves for a crisp finish.

Kalamata olives are my preferred olives. Their salty, briny flavor pairs beautifully with the feta and crisp vegetables in Greek cuisine.

I use cherry tomatoes instead of huge tomatoes since they leak less water into the salad than larger ones. To keep my salad from becoming too watery, I seed my cucumber.

Each bite of a fantastic salad will be a tasty jumble of veggies, olives, and cheese, so cut your ingredients into similar-sized bits. I prefer to use pitted Kalamata olives and leave them whole, and instead of breaking the feta, I chop it into 1/2-inch cubes.

I sliced the bell pepper into 1-inch squares, the cucumber into thin half-moons, and the cherry tomatoes into halves.

Dressing for Greek Salad

In a simple homemade Greek salad dressing, I toss the vegetables, olives, and feta cheese. It’s easy to make with just 5 ingredients + salt and pepper, and it adds a vibrant, zingy flavor to this easy Greek salad recipe.

Olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, and dried oregano are combined in a simple dressing.

In addition to using oregano and black pepper in the dressing, I like to garnish my salad with large pinches of oregano and black pepper.

Suggestions for Serving Greek Salad

Because there are no tender greens in this salad, it’s a wonderful one to prepare ahead of time for parties. I prefer to keep a few fresh mint leaves to add immediately before serving if I’m making it ahead of time.

It’s also a great dinner side dish. Serve it alongside a summer pizza like this or this, pesto spaghetti, roasted vegetable pasta, or large veggie lasagna.

Use a mix of red, green, and yellow bell peppers, add some fresh oregano or parsley, or throw in cooked or roasted chickpeas to make it a complete meal.

To make it vegan, leave off the cheese and replace it with 3/4 cup cooked chickpeas and 1 tablespoon capers.

Greek Salad

Our tasty, refreshing summer side dish is made easy with this quick Greek salad recipe! Save a few mints leaves to add immediately before serving if you’re making it ahead of time for a party.

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
• ⅓ cup thinly sliced red onion
• 5 ounces feta cheese, cut into ½-inch cubes
• ⅓ cup pitted Kalamata olives
• ⅓ cup fresh mint leaves

Instructions

1. To make the dressing, combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, mustard, salt, and a few grinds of pepper in a small bowl.
2. Arrange the cucumber, green pepper, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, red onions, and olives in a big dish.
3. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and stir gently. Add a couple of large pinches of oregano and the mint leaves to finish. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then serve.

Note

• For this dish, feta in brine is ideal.