The Classic Greek Salad, gluten-free
- Margaret Pahos
- Aug 23, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 15
Bursting with ripe tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, sharp red onion, creamy feta, and a generous drizzle of golden extra virgin olive oil, the classic Greek Salad is a summer staple. Known in Greece as Horiatiki Salata (Village Salad), this vibrant dish is all about simplicity—and yes, that means absolutely no lettuce! When made the traditional way, it's one of the most refreshing and delicious salads you'll ever prepare. Let’s get started!
What is Greek Salad?
A traditional Greek Salad is simple but scrumptiously delicious! It combines ripe and juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumber, green capsicum, red onion, Kalamata olives, Greek oregano, salty and creamy feta, and finally, Greek extra virgin olive oil. In Greece, you can visit hundreds of restaurants and they all have these ingredients as the basis.
Watch How To Make It
How Do You Make Greek Salad
Chop up the salad ingredients into small chunks - not too large and not into small diced pieces. Place into a wide base bowl.
Using a fork, break up the feta into chunks and add to the bowl.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients, including the extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, and garlic.
Season with sea salt and Greek oregano and then pour the dressing over the salad. Toss well to combine and serve.
Helpful Tips & Ingredients
Feta
Making sure you use Greek feta from Greece is VERY important. In Australia we have quality Australian Made feta but it tastes NOTHING like the feta in Greece. In the case that you are dairy free, then, of course, a dairy-free alternative is used.
These are some of my favourite feta companies which you can find in most countries
And my personal favourite:
DAIRY-FREE: If you are dairy-free then this is my favourite alternative to feta
(it is also made in Greece): My Life Bio
Traditionally, the feta is served in a block on top of the salad and then a fork is used to break off pieces when serving yourself. Here is an example:
However, I prefer to break up the feta with a fork before serving as this allows the feta to combine in and amongst the salad, creating a juicy, full-flavoured taste. In saying this, the most important thing to understand is that the feta must not be cubed but naturally broken up with a fork. This simple process makes a whole lot of difference.
Tomatoes
Vine-ripened tomatoes are ideal but if you can't find any, buy what you can find and leave them to ripen on your kitchen bench for about 4-5 days. Buy enough so that you can make this Greek Salad a few days in a row (trust me, you'll want to). And more importantly, remember, tomatoes should never (and I mean never) be refrigerated (even in summer). They never taste the same once they go into the fridge and it is a fact that their taste and texture change (for the worst).
A side note: During the summer months I grow tomatoes in my garden and once picked, I can leave them on my kitchen bench in a wide base bowl for up to 2 weeks (away from any sunny area). That's without any refrigeration. Therefore, if you are able to grow tomatoes in your garden, or if you have a balcony, grow them in pots as it's definitely worth it, not only for the taste but because they last so long!
Kalamata Olives
Pitted or unpitted is perfectly fine but they must be Kalamata olives - not green olives or Spanish black ones - only Kalamata.
Capsicum
Traditionally only green capsicum is used but yellow, orange and red are fine too. In saying this, I often add 1/2 green capsicum and 1/2 yellow one as I love the colours in the salad.
Lettuce
It is important to point out that a traditional Greek Salad has NO LETTUCE. By all means, throw in lettuce if you want, but then it's not a Greek Salad.
What do I do with Leftovers?
Store it in an airtight container in the fridge and the next day you can create the following leftover lunch ideas:
Pasta Greek Salad (stir through gluten free spiral or penne pasta)
Quinoa Greek Salad (stir through gluten-free couscous, millet or quinoa)
Potato Greek Salad (stir through boiled potatoes and add juice from lemon)
Wraps (add chicken or beef and tzatziki along with leftover salad to a wrap.
Recipes to serve with a Greek Salad
Greek Salad
Serves 4-6 as a side
Prep 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS
For the Salad:
2 Lebanese cucumbers, halved lengthways and sliced
5 ripened tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 small green capsicum, sliced
½ yellow capsicum, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
¾ cup kalamata olives (optional, pitted)
200g good quality Greek Feta (crumbled into thick chunks, not diced, or left as a whole slice over the top and broken up with a fork when serving
Optional: for an authentic taste add a few capers
For the Dressing:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Greek oregano, dried
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 small garlic clove, finely grated (no more than 1/2 teaspoon)
METHOD
1. Make the dressing: Whisk together with a fork the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar and garlic.
2. Prepare all the vegetables: Combine in a wide base bowl the salad ingredients and then sprinkle over the salt and dried oregano.
3. Bring it together: Pour over the salad dressing, and using large serving spoons, combine well. Serve alongside the main meal and with bread to mop up all the juices!
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Recipe and Photography Margaret Pahos @CreateCookShare
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