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Bring the flavors of Greece to your table with this traditional Greek Salad Recipe, also known as Horiatiki. This salad is a staple in Greek cuisine, featuring fresh vegetables, feta cheese, and a classic dressing!
Making a Traditional Greek Salad at home is a fantastic way to bring the flavors of Greece to your table. It’s fresh, healthy, and bursting with flavor. Plus, it’s so easy to make! Give this recipe a try, and you’ll see why it’s a beloved classic.
In Greece, this salad is known as Horiatiki Salata, which translates to “village salad”. Probably because there isn’t a place you can go in Greece that doesn’t serve this salad! It celebrates the natural flavors of fresh, simple ingredients everyone can afford. This salad brings together ripe tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, bell peppers, red onion, olives, and creamy feta cheese. All tossed in a luscious blend of olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and garlic.
As I visited Mykonos this summer, I got to try the authentic Greek salad! The bite-sized veggies are served on a plate topped with slabs of fresh feta cheese, capers, and a generous pinch of oregano. Simple yet stunningly delicious and refreshing.
This Horiatiki salad is perfect as a light summer meal or a side dish with almost anything. I especially love enjoying it with homemade pita bread or roasted potatoes.
Ingredients
See recipe card for quantities.
- Tomatoes: Use either ripe, medium-sized tomatoes or plum tomatoes. I find that plum tomatoes are often more flavorful, that’s why I like to add those to my salad. Cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes work too.
- Cucumber: English cucumber but into bite-sized pieces adds a nice crunch.
- Bell Pepper: Green bell peppers are traditional, but I prefer to use mini sweet peppers!
- Onion: While it’s served with white onion in Greece, I prefer to use red onions, which are a bit milder in taste.
- Kalamata Olives: They add a salty punch that enhances the other flavors in the salad. Use pitted olives!
- Feta Cheese: Authentic Greek brined white cheese made with sheep’s milk or a blend of sheep’s and goat’s milk. Cut it into slabs for the authentic way.
- Capers: The traditional version is topped with a good amount of capers.
- Greek Salad Dressing: A blend of extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, dried oregano, pepper, salt, and garlic.
Vegan Version
No need to skip this delicious salad if you’re vegan or lactose intolerant! The good news is, it tastes insanely good even without feta. Plus, you can easily make a dairy-free feta alternative at home. Simply follow my vegan tofu feta cheese recipe. It’s a super simple recipe that tastes delicious, is dairy-free, and 100% plant-based.
Just make sure to prepare the tofu feta at least 24 hours in advance to allow the flavors to meld together beautifully.
Make-Ahead & Storage Instructions
If you want to make this Greek salad ahead of time, keep the dressing separate and store everything in the fridge for up to one day. Toss right before serving.
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Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. It stays fresh for up to 2 days.
Greek Salad Variations
If you love the flavors of this classic Greek salad recipe, make sure to try out my other recipes:
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📖 Recipe
Traditional Greek Salad (Horiatiki)
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Ingredients
Salad
- 2 cups plum tomatoes or grape/cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 English cucumber sliced into thick half-moons
- 2 mini sweet peppers sliced, or 1 green pepper
- 1 red onion thinly sliced into half-moons
- ⅔ cup pitted Kalamata olives
- 7 oz block feta cheese sliced into triangles/rectangles
- 2 tbsp capers
- ½ tsp dried oregano
Dressing
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ clove clove grated or finely minced
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Place the tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, onion, and olives in a large salad bowl or serving platter and toss slightly.
- Arrange the feta triangles on top, then sprinkle the cheese with capers and dried oregano.
- In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients, then drizzle over the Greek salad. Enjoy!
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. It stays fresh for up to 2 days.
- Vegan Version: Follow this recipe to make a dairy-free tofu alternative at home, or skip the cheese altogether.
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