This authentic Greek salad is packed with fresh tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, salty feta cheese and pickled olives: just like in Greece!
After our recent trip to Santorini, what better inspiration than the ubiquitous Greek salad? Almost every restaurant we’ve come across in Greece serves this salad. And under the hot Greek sun, nothing is more refreshing than the combination of tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, Kalamata olives and salty feta cheese. During our stay in the countryside, we learned a bit about how an authentic Greek salad is made. Do you have fresh ripe tomatoes? This is the recipe for you. Read on for all of our “secrets.”
Related: 25 best salad recipes
How to make a Greek salad… Greek style
There are many versions of the Greek salad here in America, and many of them aren’t that “authentic.” First: Greek salad is not served with lettuce. I grew up thinking Greek salad was a salad made with romaine lettuce served with sliced black olives and some crumbled feta cheese. Oh, and usually mealy pink tomatoes too. Not in Greece!
Here are the elements of an authentic Greek salad:
- Ripe tomatoes, quartered
- sliced cucumber
- Thinly sliced red onion
- Kalamata olives
- Feta cheese, usually served in a large block over veggies
- olive oil
- red wine vinegar
- Dried oregano
For our version of the classic salad, we crumble or dice the feta. While it’s traditional to serve feta on top in a large block that’s broken up with a fork, we find it easier to serve to multiple people when the cheese is broken up. You can use both methods for the feta: both are delicious!
Find the best tomato quality
As with any simple recipe, you will find that Greek Salad is 100% dependent on the quality of the ingredients. So for this simple salad you will need ripe tomatoes in season! Bonus points if they are grown locally – or if you grew them yourself! Buying local tomatoes helps support your local farmers, so if you have the opportunity, we heartily recommend it. If the call you can find is out of season, floury pink tomatoes, don’t even think about making this salad! The taste here depends 100% on the quality of your tomato.
Related: The 15 best recipes for fresh tomatoes
Buy the best feta cheese
Equally important is the feta cheese you buy. Skip the pre-crumbled stuff and grab a whole block of feta cheese. Alex and I have found that this type of feta tastes the best and most closely resembles the feta served in Greece. You should also avoid cow’s milk feta as it is not real feta. It crumbles more easily, which isn’t what you want.
If you can find it Greek feta cheese (Feta made in Greece) has an amazing taste; We found it at our local grocery store. We’re also fortunate here in Indianapolis to have feta made locally by an artisan cheesemaker (Caprini Creamery). So if you have access to local feta, this is a great option too.
How to serve Greek salad
I have a confession to make: I’m a former tomato hater. Maybe you know one or are one yourself. These off-season pink tomatoes put me off until I was almost a quarter of a century old. It wasn’t until I discovered the ripe, red tomatoes at the local farmer’s market that I was able to overcome my disgust. If you’re undecided or want to get some tomato courage, this Greek Salad with Ripe Summer Tomatoes is a great place to start.
We often eat this Greek salad in summer as an accompaniment to a grilled dish on the terrace or take it with us as a starter. It’s also delicious as a simple lunch with crusty bread and olive oil. Alex and I made this version using local tomatoes and cucumbers, and it was divine.
Ways to transform this Greek salad
There are many variations of the salad (like our Shepherd’s Salad recipe). Some Greek salad recipes are made with green pepper or a block of feta instead of crumbled. As we mention below, you can also add capers. Feel free to change up this Greek salad as many times as you’d like – omit the olives if you’re not a fan, or use cherry or heirloom tomatoes. It is easily customizable to your liking.
Fancy more with cucumbers? Check out the best cool pickle recipes.
Looking for more Greek recipes?
Aside from this Greek salad, here are some other recipes inspired by our trip to Greece:
This recipe is…
This Greek salad is vegetarian and gluten-free.
The description
This authentic Greek salad is packed with fresh tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, salty feta cheese and pickled olives: just like in Greece!
- 4 large ripe tomatoes
- 1/2 big red onion
- 2 big cucumbers
- 1 cup Kalamata olives
- 4 oz quality feta cheese: crumbled, cut into squares or blocks (Greek feta if you have it!)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons capers (optional)
- Kosher salt
- Cut the tomatoes into large pieces; Remove and discard seeds. Place the tomatoes in a large bowl and add a few pinches of kosher salt.
- Finely chop the red onion. Peel the cucumbers alternately in strips and create a stripe pattern with the skin (or remove the skin completely). Cut the cucumbers in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds; Then cut them into ½ inch pieces.
- In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, red onion, and cucumbers with the Kalamata olives, feta crumbs, olive oil, and red wine vinegar. Add dried oregano and capers, if desired. Mix gently to combine.
- Serve immediately or let sit at room temperature for a few minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
- Category: salad
- Method: Raw
- Kitchen: Greek
