Authentic Greek Salad Tips & Recipe

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After a visit to Greece I came away with the best tips for making an authentic Greek salad from the many we tried. Lettuce or no? Peppers or no? What type of dressing? All the answers!

tips to make authentic greek salad_plate

We pretty much had a love affair with Greek salad during our visit to Greece.

We ordered it every time we ate at a taverna. And even if we were trying other Greek specialties, there were two things that we always ordered: a Greek salad and tzatziki with pita.

But do we even need a recipe for Greek salad when you basically pile tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives and feta with a light dressing?

It's not complicated, and in fact I never used a recipe for the salads I made before going to Greece.

But I did learn some new things about the salads they served us in Greece and I thought I'd share how we can get that same authentic salad with these tips no matter where we live.

Even though it's not a standard recipe, you can still find a printable recipe below with the steps and the tips included, so it will be easy to remember (if you're like me and need reminding, a-hem...).

Note: I personally do not like cucumbers - not the smell, juice all over things it touches, or the flavor, so our family's 'authentic' Greek salad doesn't include them. Just a reminder to do what works for you. (And yes, we asked for my salad without cucumbers and got very odd looks, lol.)

Tips For An Authentic Greek Salad

authentic Athens taverna greek salad on plate — Greek salad I was served in an Athens taverna - as you can see without cucumbers!

To make authentic Greek salads:

It is always a composed salad, meaning never mixed or tossed together (this was the first surprising thing to me).
The first layer is a small amount of shaved lettuce or cabbage - really. I've read so many things online that say there isn't any lettuce, but there was always a bit of lettuce in our taverna salads. Mostly it was lettuce, but one taverna served it on a bed of cabbage. And the amount is so small that you don't see it until you start digging into it (unlike the salad I made at home for these photos - our daughter only likes lettuce and I want to encourage vegetable eating!).
The main ingredients should be equal amounts of tomato and cucumber, cut into large chunks.
The salad is always topped with thinly sliced red onion - only red onion, never white or yellow.
Occasionally there would be sliced sweet peppers (green or red) like the photo above, but not all the time so I consider them optional.
The olives are left whole - and there are only a handful (second surprising thing...).
The feta is added on top and is sliced into large pieces, never crumbled (...and third surprise). There was usually one to two pieces per person.
The 'dressing' is a simple mixture of olive oil and either vinegar or lemon juice - salt and pepper are added at the table.
Most tavernas included a sprinkling of oregano on top - one included a sprig of mint and another a sprinkling of capers (like the photo above).

So follow these tips - and what your family likes - to make an authentic Greek salad anytime you want, just like we do now.

In the salad I made above, you can see the changes: extra lettuce on the bottom, the lack of cucumbers, and the slightly smaller chunks of feta, since the blocks we find in the US are typically smaller than in Greece. It's all good in the end!

Note: I also learned that brined feta is the staple in Greece and if I can find it here I always buy it, since it makes a more moist cheese. It's MUCH better than dry crumbles - I encourage you to try it if you can.

I can. not. wait for fresh tomatoes from our garden - I'm not sure I will be making any other salad when I can use our home-grown tomatoes!

Serve with pita bread, either store bought or made with this easy whole wheat pita recipe, and a bowl of tzatziki for a light lunch or vegetarian dinner - or add some grilled meat to wrap in a flat pita for a gyros meal.

(Since you know I don't like cucumbers, you can guess I don't do tzatziki, but I do like a simple yogurt-lemon-garlic mixture which is basically tzatziki without the cucumbers!)

Ingredients & Steps for an Authentic Greek Salad

Ingredients

Use amounts you need for how many you're serving (two tomatoes and one larger cucumber will serve about 2-3, depending on what else you're serving).

Small amount of thinly sliced lettuce or cabbage (unless you have picky eaters and need to provide more lettuce...)
Large amounts of tomatoes and cucumbers, cut into large chunks
Thinly sliced red onion (and optional sweet pepper if desired)
Block feta cheese, sliced into enough pieces for each person to have one
10-12 Kalamata olives (or other brined olive)
Olive oil
Lemon juice or red (or white) wine vinegar
Oregano - fresh or dried
Salt and pepper

How do you make a Greek salad?

Compose in layers on a platter or in a large, shallow bowl.

On a medium-to-large platter, spread a layer of sliced lettuce or cabbage.
Top with cucumbers and then tomatoes.
Add the sliced onion evenly over the top (add peppers here if using).
Space the feta slices around the salad and toss the olive on top of everything.
Mix the olive oil with your choice of lemon juice or vinegar - a ratio of about 1/3 cup oil to 2 tablespoons lemon/vinegar is good - and drizzle over the top of the salad.
Sprinkle with a bit of oregano.
Serve with salt and pepper.

Greek Salad FAQs

Does Greek salad contain lettuce?

This is probably the biggest question I get! While I mentioned it above, I'll say again that every taverna we ordered salad from included either a small bit of shaved lettuce or cabbage as the first layer. It's definitely not a tossed salad, but a composed one of various layers.

Is feta cheese healthy?

Feta cheese is a good source of vitamins and minerals and contains more calcium than many other cheeses- and it has less calories than many, too. It does have more salt, though, so if you're limiting that I'd go more sparingly with the feta.

Is Greek salad good for weight loss?

Since it's made of up mostly vegetables and just lightly drizzled with oil and vinegar, it's a good choice for a weight loss salad.

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5 from 2 votes

Authentic Greek Salad + Tips

How to make an authentic Greek salad like the kind you'd find in an Athens taverna.

Prep Time20

Total Time20

Course: Salads

Cuisine: Greek

Diet: Vegetarian

Yield: to 3

Author: Jami Boys

Ingredients

2-3 leaves of lettuce (or cabbage), thinly cut
2 tomatoes, cut in large chunks
1 large cucumber, cut into large chunks
1/2 sweet pepper, thinly sliced (optional)
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced
2 oz. feta cheese, block style cut into slices
10 kalamata olives, pitted
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped)
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Compose in layers on a platter or in a large, shallow bowl:

Start with a layer of sliced lettuce or cabbage.
Top with cucumbers and then tomatoes.
Add the sliced onion evenly over the top (add peppers here if using).
Space the feta slices around the salad and toss the olives on top of everything.
Mix the olive oil with your choice of lemon juice or vinegar and drizzle over the top of the salad.
Sprinkle with a bit of oregano.
Serve with salt and pepper so each person can add their own seasoning.

Nutrition

Did you make this recipe?Mention @anoregoncottage or tag #anoregoncottage!

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