This delicious, lettuce-free Greek salad, inspired by the classic Horiatiki, celebrates fresh ingredients. It’s incredibly simple to prepare and features fresh tomatoes, cucumber, and generous slabs of feta cheese. I love serving it with crusty bread, soft and fluffy pita bread, or quick flatbread. For a little extra creaminess, add a spoonful of homemade tzatziki! This salad is one of the quickest, simplest salads you can make, and we love it for that! It’s so much of a favorite around here that it inspired our Greek pasta salad! For more easy salads, explore our collection of salad recipes!
Key Ingredients
Tomatoes and Cucumbers: For the best flavor, use the freshest produce you can find. Ripe summer tomatoes are ideal! I prefer thinner-skinned cucumbers (like Hothouse or Persian varieties). If the skins are thicker, you should peel some or all of them away. For more crunch, in addition to tomatoes and cucumbers, you can also add sliced green bell peppers. Red Onion: I love the color of red onion, but sweet onion works 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 them, the raw onion flavor is much milder, but they retain their crispness. Olives: I use Kalamata olives with the pits, just like Greek chefs have served it to me. However, pitted olives are lovely 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. Best Greek Salad Dressing: We don’t pre-make a dressing for this salad. Instead, we add everything to taste right before serving, sometimes even at the table! The only thing I add ahead of time is the dried seasonings (salt, pepper, and oregano). Seasoning the veggies at least 5 minutes before serving allows them to release their own flavorful juices, which mingle with the vinegar and olive oil when added.
How to Make Greek Salad
Greek salad is one of the quickest, simplest salads you can make, and we love that! Chop or slice the freshest cucumber, tomatoes, and onion you can find, and then add to a bowl with big hunks of feta cheese, olives, salt, oregano, pepper, a splash of red wine vinegar, and a drizzle of really good olive oil. Easy! 1/2 large English or hothouse cucumber, sliced into half moons, 6 ounces 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced, 2 ounces 1 medium green bell pepper, sliced, optional 3/4 cup Kalamata olives, 4 ounces 3/4 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 2Combine the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, bell pepper, olives, oregano, 1/4 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.
