Greek Salad - a Guide to Making This Classic (Authentic Recipe) (2024)

Published: Feb 16, 2015 · Updated: Jul 25, 2020 by Peter G · This post may contain affiliate links · 14 Comments

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Greek salad is a dish favoured by many. But how many actually get it right? I'll show you how easy it is to create this classic Greek dish.

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If there were ever a Greek dish which summed up "the Greek experience" – it would definitely have to be horiatiki salata.

This is a humble dish. (It translates as a village salad). It's simple to prepare and relies on the freshest summer produce to do it justice. Although it is simple, I have seen many versions which claim to be the "real deal" but aren't.

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Don't mess with the classics

Now don't get me wrong. I'm all for "playing with your food". Add whatever you like to your salads… But if you set out to recreate this classic Greek dish, please do it a favour and don't add lettuce!!! My father will refuse to eat in restaurants that don't reproduce a real horiatiki salata! People get funny when it comes to this dish!

Related: See my Greek Lettuce Salad or Greek lentil salad for further inspiration.

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WhenDodoni Fetaapproached me here in Australia, to work with them on some recipes, I was beside myself.

Here was a brand that I had grown up with all my early life in inner suburban Melbourne.

All the Greeks knew theDodoni brand, and I can guarantee you, it was in most Greek households along with a Kelvinator fridge!

It was almost legendary!

Just like this Greek salad.

I thought it would only be fitting to start off this working relationship with a classic dish.

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Keep your Greek salad simple

And like I explained earlier, it's about simplicity. All you need is tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, Kalamata olives, onions and Dodoni Feta Cheese.

And let's not forget how I rave about simplicity in Greek cooking. From "patates sto fourno" to "kotosoupa"…you don't need a lot to make your dishes tasty.

Dress your Greek salad with some golden Greek olive oil, a little red wine vinegar and finish it off with some dried Greek oregano. You may notice that the cheese is quite a large chunk. That's ok. The more cheese, the better the salad!

But you know me! I couldn't help myself.

I made a "variation" on this classic dish, keeping the original ingredients but presenting them on toasted bread.

It makes a great light lunch and works well as a starter at a bbq or dinner. Think of these morsels as "Greek-style bruschettas" …whatever, that means!

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I'm happy to present to you this Greek salad today. And I look forward to sharing some other creative recipes using Dodoni cheeses.

Cheers!

📋 Recipe

Classic Greek Salad

Author: Peter G

A recipe for a classic Greek salad with traditional ingredients. It's the feta that makes this complete.

4.75 from 4 votes

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Ingredients

▢ 4 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
▢ 1 green capsicum, sliced thinly
▢ 1 cucumber, sliced
▢ ½ red onion, sliced
▢ 6 Kalamata olives
▢ 200 g feta cheese

FOR THE DRESSING:

▢ 60 ml olive oil, extra virgin
▢ 30 ml red wine vinegar
▢ 1 tablespoon oregano, Greek
▢ 1 pinch sea salt

Instructions

Combine the tomatoes, capsicum, cucumber and onions on a plate or bowl.
Scatter the olives around the ingredients.
Top with Dodoni feta cheese
Sprinkle the dried Greek oregano over the whole salad.
Whisk the olive oil, vinegar and salt and pour over the salad and serve immediately.

Notes

The amount of ingredients is a guide. If you're only making for 2 people, adjust accordingly.
To make the bruschettas, dice one tomato, ¼ cucumber, 1-2 capsicum rings, 3-4 sliced onions, 3-4 Kalamata olives and 50g of Dodoni feta cheese.
Combine these ingredients in a bowl, drizzle with a good amount of olive oil, add a few "splashes" of red wine vinegar and a pinch of oregano and salt.
Scoop onto toasted bread and serve immediately.

Nutrition

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

Made this recipe?Let me know how you went and tag @souvlakiman on Instagram!

Greek Salad - a Guide to Making This Classic (Authentic Recipe) (8)

More Easy Greek Side Dish Recipes

Greek Bread Recipe (Horiatiko Psomi)
Greek Lentil Salad
Taramasalata Recipe (Greek Fish Roe Dip)
Greek Lemon Rice Recipe

Reader Interactions

Comments

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Bernice AKA Betty Bake
February 16, 2015 at 8:19 pm
See Also
Easy Steak Diane Recipe - Good Life Xplorers
Your photos are gorgeous
Reply
The Fidgety Foodie
February 16, 2015 at 9:40 pm
It also drives me crazy when I see lettuce in horiatiki! If it ain't broke don't fix it ☺️
Reply
john | heneedsfood
February 16, 2015 at 9:46 pm
Just as I remember eating it in Greece - with a slab of feta weighing it all down. Yum!
Reply
Tori Cooper
February 16, 2015 at 10:43 pm
What a way to bring on the feta! This salad is calling my name with its beauty and deliciousness!
Reply
supal {chevrons & éclairs}
February 16, 2015 at 11:56 pm
Greek salad is my absolute favorite! Sweet and salty and tangy all in one. I love the idea of a bruschetta too... thank you so much for breaking it down for us 🙂 x
Reply
Millie | Add A Little
February 17, 2015 at 3:27 am
Yum! One of my favourite simple, fresh salads!
Reply
AmandaChewTown
February 17, 2015 at 1:21 pm
Love the big slab of feta on top - Looks wonderful.
Reply
KimNB
February 18, 2015 at 9:19 am
I see a lot of "authentic" recipes for the dressing also based on lemon juice or a mix of lemon and red wine vinegar. I believe Greek food uses lots of lemon but does it traditionally show up in the dressing?
Reply
- Remon_Kewl
  February 19, 2015 at 10:59 pm
  Nope, as Peter writes here only vinegar is used.
  Reply
Merryn Galluccio
February 18, 2015 at 12:04 pm
Simple is best and your father is perfectly right, it if isn't done properly then it is not alright. I love your plates, the Greek Salad looks delightful on top 😀
Reply
Simon @ the heart of food
February 18, 2015 at 1:41 pm
Ah, it has a proper name other than just "Greek". Have loved the salad and Dodoni feta since I was even a kid. Nice 🙂
Reply
Sara (Belly Rumbles)
February 18, 2015 at 11:12 pm
How could you not love an awesome Greek salad, done the right way, with a massive block of feta sitting on top.
Reply
Remon_Kewl
February 19, 2015 at 11:03 pm
There is a form of your bruschetta already here, ntakos from Crete. It uses barley paximadi as the base, and a lot cretan mizithra, which is sweeter than regular, instead of feta.
Reply
Xandrios
June 02, 2015 at 10:56 pm
Your bruschetta is actually very close to an existing, and awesome, recipe: Dakos! Generally without peppers and cucumber, but over the top delicious.
Reply