One of my favorite things in the world is to eat is an Authentic Greek Salad, essentially a bowl of Mediterranean goodness that never gets old! With the salty and creamy feta cheese, oregano, kalamata olives, cucumber, crisp peppers and sweet tomatoes, your taste buds will be jumping for joy!
I was pumped to eat all the Greek salads when I was in Greece, and I did with almost every meal! But I was stunned to learn Greek salads are not the same as what I had been eating for years in the States.
What I Learned Traveling to Greece
In Greece, Greek salads don’t include salad greens. No romaine lettuce, spinach or arugula in this salad!
You’ll be served a bowl filled with all the freshly chopped veggies, which are chopped into huge chunks, not diced. To top it all off, a beautiful giant block of the finest feta cheese you have ever tasted is placed as the crown, sprinkled with oregano and drizzled with olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar….isn’t your mouth watering!
Fun fact: In Greece, there’s no Greek salad dressing just good old olive oil and red wine vinegar! Since olive oil is the main part of the “dressing,” I highly recommend using a high quality olive oil.
Nothing beats eating a traditional Greek salad in Greece, but I’m gonna do my best to transport your taste buds abroad with this recipe!
Traditional Greek Salad Ingredients
Green Peppers: Not red, orange or yellow – only green I’ve learned! Cut the pepper horizontally to get wavy rings and then cut in half to make smaller.
Tomatoes: The freshest tomatoes chopped in large wedges.
Kalamata Olives: Not sliced just thrown in whole.
Red Onion: Chopped into large thin slices.
Cucumber: Cut into bite sized chunks.
Feta Cheese: I usually buy feta crumbled, but in Greece it always came in a large chunk, usually a square or triangle shape.
Oregano: Sprinkled generously over the masterpiece!
Olive Oil: Europeans don’t go skimpy on the olive oil, so bring on the heart healthy fats 🙂
Red Wine Vinegar: A splash of this and you’re good to go!
Serving Suggestions
The best part is that this takes little time to put together! I sometimes change up the recipe by adding lemon juice, garlic, or other herbs like parsley, but nothing beats authentic! Pair the Greek salad with my za’atar tofu wraps for lunch or my spinach and feta turkey burgers for dinner and your taste buds will be transported to the Mediterranean!
Authentic Greek Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 green peppers
- 4 medium vine ripe tomatoes
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 cucumber
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives
- 1 block of feta cheese
- 1 tbsp dried oregano (or to your liking)
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 2.5 tbsp red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Chop all the veggies into chunks and toss in a large bowl.
- Add the kalamata olives in whole not chopped.
- Place the block of feta cheese on top of the veggies.
- Sprinkle the dried oregano over the salad.
- Drizzle the olive oil and red wine vinegar when ready to serve.
Notes
- I use a 2:1 olive oil to red wine vinegar ratio since olive oil is the main emphasis.
- Peppers – Cut horizontally to get wavy rings and then cut in half to make smaller.
- Tomatoes – Cut into thin wedges.
- Red Onion – thinly sliced.
- Cucumber – Cut into bite sized pieces.
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