This Greek Salad recipe makes horiatiki, a traditional Greek village salad made with Greek feta, tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums, onions, and Kalamata olives, doused in a simple dressing of Greek extra virgin olive oil and wine vinegar, and a shower of dried oregano. It’s fantastic with everything from grilled seafood to keftedes (Greek meatballs) and souvlaki (meat skewers).
If you’re a fan of Mediterranean food, make this easy Greek salad recipe for a light yet filling lunch. It’s also fantastic served with an array of Greek mezedes (dips, snacks or appetisers). Or if you’re looking for ideas for a simple but really delicious weekend meal for a casual gathering, make this salad, some Greek meatballs, and serve it with tzatziki (Greek yoghurt cucumber dip) and a stack of warm pita bread. Perfect.
This Greek salad recipe makes a classic horiatiki, a traditional Greek village salad with feta – and when I say ‘with’ feta, it’s not that feta cheese is an addition. In fact, Greek feta cheese is the star of a classic Greek salad, so much so that it should have been called a Greek feta salad, as all the other ingredients play a supporting role.
Now having said that, that doesn’t mean that you should buy a good quality Greek feta and purchase inferior ingredients for the rest of the salad. What makes these simple village salads or farmer’s salads so great is using the freshest best quality produce you can find, from vibrant red, sweet and juicy vine-ripened tomatoes to cucumbers so crunchy that they taste just-picked.
If you love a Greek salad, try Terence’s Greek salad bruschetta made with his homemade olive sourdough bread with rosemary, thyme and red capsicum. Now let me tell you more about this Greek salad recipe – or you can click on the button above to jump straight to the recipe. More recipes here if you’re looking for cooking inspiration.
Greek Salad Recipe for Horiatiki – Traditional Greek Village Salad with Feta
Like a lot of recipes I’ve shared so far this year during my time spent taking care of my elderly mother in Australia, I decided to share this Greek salad recipe after looking through old photos with mum and reminiscing about a summer holiday we spent island-hopping in Greece many years ago.
I use that activity of concentrated remembering to help reignite precious memories – before they’re lost to her forever. First, I choose some photos of a moment or experience we shared – which is not hard, as mum has pulled so many photos out of albums and stuck them all over the fridge and walls; framed photos fill every other surface of shelves and tables.
After selecting a few pics, I recount what I remember from the moments captured in the images and events surrounding them, hoping that will trigger some memories for mum. And then, as the preparation of food and the sharing of meals has always been such a big part of our family’s life – some of my most treasured memories were formed around a dining table – I’ll cook some dishes from the time.
In recent days, reminiscences have focused on Greece and photos on the Greek islands; images of mum and I suntanned after a day on the beach or by the hotel pool, sitting in blue-painted chairs against whitewashed walls at a seafront taverna table at Mykonos, the ocean splashing up around us.
There’s a Greek salad on the table, a bowl of pale pink taramosalata, a basket of pita, what looks like a plate of calamari, and small glasses of milky ouzo. It was one of the happiest times I spent with my mother – even though we were still mourning dad who’d died six months earlier. Mum couldn’t really remember it.
So I made this Greek salad and a batch of keftedes because there are few things that transport you back to a place like food does, especially the quintessential dishes of places. If you’ve been to Greece and you’ve tucked into a Greek salad within splashing distance of the sea, this recipe will take you right back.
Just a few tips to making this easy Greek salad recipe, as it’s a cinch to make and comes together quickly.
Tips to Making a Greek Salad Recipe for Horiatiki
This Greek salad recipe couldn’t be easier. It’s one of those recipes that you won’t need to look at again after making this salad a couple of times – maybe you’ll only need to take a glance so you don’t forget any ingredients. I suggest that as a warning…
I forgot the Kalamata olives when I made this salad for the first time in a long time recently… and yet a beachside taverna in the city of Kalamata on the Peloponnese peninsula is where Terence and I had the most memorable Greek salad of all our travels in Greece. I won’t make that mistake again.
My first tip is to buy the best quality ingredients you can afford and can source, especially when it comes to Greek feta cheese – and you do want Greek feta, not the northern European style white cheeses often labelled as ‘feta’. Especially if you’re having a Greek friend over, as few things make them madder.
By the same token, use a good Greek extra virgin olive oil if you can find one, and if you can’t, any great quality extra virgin olive oil. It makes such a difference to a Greek salad, as you’ll want to drown the salad in the stuff if you’re anything like me.
Which is where I should point out that while this recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 2 tablespoons of vinegar, note that it says ‘or more to taste’. I use far more extra virgin olive oil when I make this salad, so pour in a few more glugs of the stuff if you like.
My preference is a good white wine vinegar, as that’s what was used in the Greek salads I remember, especially on the Peloponnese where the local white wine vinegars are excellent, clear and crisp, and mainly made from Corinthian grapes grown on the peninsula. Although I note some recipes call for red wine vinegar, I think it’s too strong.
Use a big salad bowl so you can toss the salad properly. Add thick slices of vine-ripened tomatoes (or tomato quarters or wedges if you prefer); wide slices of crunchy cucumbers chopped into quarters; green capsicum rings cut into slices (I think they’re easier to eat that way), likewise, red onion or purple shallot slices; pitted juicy Kalamata olives; and fresh dill sprigs and dried oregano.
Pour in the extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar (you could stir them together separately to create a dressing if you like), add the salt and pepper, and toss the lot together. Traditionally, Greek cooks use their hands, but I use a wooden spoon or salad spoons. Try the salad – a piece of tomato is a good indication of whether there’s enough salt and pepper – and adjust the seasoning to suit your palate.
Lastly, arrange the blocks of feta on top of the Greek salad – it’s not a true Greek salad until you pop that Greek feta on top! Then drizzle a little more extra virgin olive oil over the feta, sprinkle on more fresh dill sprigs and dried oregano, and grind on a little cracked black pepper.
Serve immediately. I don’t share the opinion that a Greek salad is best after being refrigerated for a while, and even better the next day. For me Greek salads taste best when just made. Greek salads are fantastic with grilled seafood, keftedes (Greek meatballs), souvlaki (skewers), tzatziki (yoghurt cucumber dip), and heaps of pita bread to soak up all that heavenly extra virgin olive oil.
Greek Salad Recipe for Horiatiki
Greek Salad Recipe for Horiatiki – Traditional Greek Village Salad with Feta
This Greek Salad recipe makes horiatiki, a traditional Greek village salad made with Greek feta, tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums, onions, and Kalamata olives, doused in a simple dressing of Greek extra virgin olive oil and wine vinegar, and a shower of dried oregano. It’s fantastic with everything from grilled seafood to keftedes (Greek meatballs) and souvlaki (skewers).
- 6 vine-ripened tomatoes – thickly sliced
- 1 large cucumber – sliced, quartered
- 1 green capsicum – (bell pepper), de-seeded, sliced
- 1 small red onion – or purple shallot, sliced
- 12 Kalamata olives – whole, pitted
- 2 tbsp fresh dill – sprigs torn off stems
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp salt – or to taste
- ½ tsp cracked black pepper – or to taste
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil – or more if you like, preferably Greek and the best quality you can find and afford
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 200 g Greek feta cheese block – sliced in half
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To a large salad bowl, add the thick slices of vine-ripened tomatoes, cucumber slices cut in halves or quarters, green capsicum slices, red onion or purple shallot slices, pitted Kalamata olives, fresh dill sprigs, and dried oregano.
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Add the extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and toss the lot together – traditionally, Greek cooks use their hands, but you could use a wooden spoon or salad spoons. Taste, and adjust the seasoning or dressing to suit your palate. (I always add more extra virgin olive oil at the table, so much so that my Greek salads end up being drowned in the stuff.)
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Arrange the feta blocks on top of the salad, drizzle on a little more extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle on more fresh dill sprigs and dried oregano, and grind on a little cracked black pepper.
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Serve immediately with crusty bread and more extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper on the table. Greek salads are fantastic with grilled seafood, keftedes (Greek meatballs), souvlaki (skewers), tzatziki (yoghurt cucumber dip), and pita bread.
Calories: 307kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 10gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 1066mgPotassium: 682mgFiber: 4gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 1985IUVitamin C: 54mgCalcium: 301mgIron: 2mg
Please do let us know in the Comments section below if you make this Greek salad recipe as we love to hear how our recipes turned out for our readers.
