Greek Salad with the BEST Dressing

Greek Salad is a fresh, crunchy, vibrant salad with the BEST Greek dressing!  Every bite is packed with color and the best flavors that will keep you digging in for more!

I absolutely can’t get enough of salads with a feta crumble in them.  I find myself poking around in the salad to try to get some in every bite!  For more salads with feta cheese try Grilled Berry Feta Chicken Salad or Italian Avocado Cucumber Tomato Salad.

Greek Salad

Juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumber, and a sweet and savory dressing, with feta crumbles throughout… Wow, when I read the description of a greek salad on a menu recently, I was so ready to go home and make it my own!  This vibrant salad is so full of color and flavor.  It easily compliments any meal or it can stand alone as the main dish.  Packed full of nutrients, it is a must try for any salad lover!

The Greek dressing the girls have been helping me make at home is so perfect on this salad! It brings the flavors of the fresh fruits and vegetables to life!  I love how fresh and light this salad is!  Simply said, this dish is amazing!  It is ready in just minutes and will be a favorite in our house for a while to come!

Greek Salad Ingredients:

All of these fresh ingredients are flavorful and delicious, but need to be washed before tossing together.  The best way to wash them is to fill a clean sink or large bowl with cool water and rinse each item thoroughly.  The dirt and debris will sink to the bottom.  Then, your left with clean fresh ingredients that are ready to combine, toss, and enjoy!

• Romaine Lettuce: Adds a crunch to the texture of this salad.
• Cucumber: Fresh melon flavor.
• Roma Tomatoes: Sweet and colorful addition to the salad.
• Kalamata Olives: Large, dark purple olive with a smooth, meaty texture.
• Large black olives: Soft meaty texture with tart, tangy, slightly acidic flavor.
• Feta Cheese: Crumbly Greek cheese with bright white color and a salty flavor.

We’re Making Salad!

The great thing about salads is they are so easy to make! Simply grab all your ingredients, toss them together with your favorite dressing, and voila a great meal or side dish is ready to go!  I love to wash and prep all the ingredients as soon as I get them home from the market or store and have them ready to go in the refrigerator.  This extra time is so worth it when I can pull all the ingredients out and toss them right away and have a delicious salad in minutes!

1. Combine Ingredients: In a large bowl add the romaine, cucumber, tomatoes, olives , and feta cheese.
2. Make Greek Dressing: Make the recipe for greek dressing.
3. Toss: Toss together ingredients and Greek dressing to evenly coat all ingredients with the dressing.

What are Roma Tomatoes?

A Roma tomato has a thick fruit wall and few seeds.  They have a dense and slightly grainy flesh.  They are oblong and a little heavy for their size.  The are more firm than other tomatoes.  They can be eaten raw or cooked.  They are often used to make tomato paste since they have less water content than most tomatoes.

What is the Difference Between Kalamata Olives and Black Olives?

First of all, Kalamata olives are purple whereas black olives are..wait for it…black.  However, in addition to the obvious color differences, there are some other differences between the two olives as well.  Kalamata olives are known as “Greek black olives” but are bigger and more oblong in shape than a black olive.  The cool thing is they are picked by hand in order to avoid bruising the olives.  They have a stone in the middle and are usually not pitted before being served. They are bitter when they are first picked so they go through a process of “debittering” which can take up to 3 months!  Their flavor is compared to that of a fine wine.

In contrast, a black olive that we would generally find in a jar at the grocery store is actually picked green then pumped with oxygen to turn them black, their new color is kept by adding ferrous gluconate. Both olives are high in sodium, rich in healthy fats and contain a natural antioxidants.  I prefer a mixture of the two in my greek salad because I think together they are just right.

Greek Salad Tips and Variations:

• No lettuce: I know, I know, you’re thinking a salad with no lettuce? But traditionally in Greece, their salads are served with no lettuce.
• Feta Cheese: The crumbles of cheese throughout the salad are a favorite of mine.  However, if you are going for an authentic Greek presentation, place large chunks or blocks of feta cheese on the top of the salad instead.
• Serve with: In Greece you will find this salad served with bread.  (Yes, please!) Also, I love the contrast of pairing this cool, fresh salad with a creamy warm soup.  Something about the yin and yang of that is just so perfect!
• Storing: Eat it up quick because this salad will not last long in the refrigerator. Once prepared, the salad will last a maximum of 2 days, but you will probably experience sogginess.  Instead, I suggest you store the ingredients separately from the lettuce and mix up individual serving sizes as needed.
• Optional Ingredients: Sometimes I love to just keep adding on to this delicious Greek salad.  Capers, lemon or lime juice, shrimp or chicken, red onion (Rinse in warm water and drain before adding to the salad), avocado (weird but good).  Really the options are limitless with this extremely versatile flavor base.
• How to store olives: Unopened your olives can be stored at room temperature up to 2 years. Opened olives need to be refrigerated in their own liquid in a non-metal container.  When stored properly, they will last for 1 to 2 months after opening.

More Delicious Greek Favorites:

• Greek Pasta Salad
• Easy Greek Lemon Chicken
• Greek Spinach Pasta Salad
• Slow Cooker Greek Chicken Gyros
• Greek Chicken Sliders