Greek Food Salads

Greek Salad (Horiatiki): The Authentic Village Salad Recipe

Name: Greek Salad (Horiatiki)
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 4 ripe tomatoes (about 600 g); 1 cucumber (about 300 g); 1 small red onion; 1 green bell pepper (or 2 long Greek peppers); 16 Kalamata olives; 1 tbsp capers (optional); 200 g Greek feta (one block); 1 tsp dried Greek oregano; 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 1 tbsp red wine vinegar (optional); flaky sea salt (to taste)

Sweet ripe tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives and a slab of feta with oregano and good olive oil. No lettuce.

Serves

Calories

330 kcal

Cuisine

Greek

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Authentic Greek salad with tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, green pepper, olives and a whole slab of feta with oregano

On this page: What is it · History · What you need · Step by step · Serving & storage · Recipe card

If one dish sums up Greece for us, it is the Greek salad. Not the version with lettuce and crumbled feta, but horiatiki: chunks of ripe tomato, cucumber, red onion, green pepper and olives, topped with a thick slab of feta, dried oregano and plenty of olive oil.

What made it unforgettable in Greece were the tomatoes. Sun-ripened, deep red and as sweet as sugar, they turned a simple salad into the best thing on the table. We ordered one with almost every meal, and the best part was always mopping up the oil and tomato juice at the bottom of the bowl with bread.

This recipe is all about choosing good ingredients and then leaving them alone. Ten minutes of chopping, and you have a salad that is a meal in itself.

What Is a Greek Salad (Horiatiki)?

Horiatiki salata (χωριάτικη σαλάτα) translates as ‘village salad’. It is a rustic summer salad of tomato, cucumber, red onion, green pepper and olives, finished with feta, dried oregano and extra virgin olive oil. Some versions add capers or a splash of red wine vinegar.

There is no lettuce and no dressing whisked in a jar. The juices from salted tomatoes mix with the olive oil at the bottom of the bowl to make their own dressing.

It is a perfect example of healthy Greek food and the Mediterranean diet in practice: fresh vegetables, olives, olive oil and a moderate amount of cheese, eaten with bread and shared at the table.

A Little History

Greek salad with a block of feta shared at a seaside taverna table with bread and white wine

Tomatoes only arrived in Greece in the 19th century, and the village salad as tavernas serve it today is generally traced to the mid-20th century, when it became a summer staple and a fixture on menus for visitors.

Its ingredients, though, are as old as Greek farming: olives, olive oil, cheese from sheep and goat milk, onions and wild oregano picked from the hillsides. The salad simply brought them together in one bowl.

Feta, the crumbly brined cheese at the centre of it, has had Protected Designation of Origin status in the EU since 2002. Real feta is made in Greece from sheep’s milk, or sheep’s milk mixed with up to 30% goat’s milk.

At a glance

Serves

Calories

330 kcal

Protein

9 g

Course

Salad, Side

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Why it works

01 Ready in 15 minutes, no cooking

02 Ripe tomatoes make their own dressing

03 Fresh, filling and naturally vegetarian

Authentic Greek village salad with feta, olives and oregano seen from above

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What You Need

Exact amounts are in the recipe card

For the Vegetables

ripe tomatoes, about 600 g
cucumber, about 300 g
small red onion
green bell pepper, or 2 long Greek peppers
Kalamata olives
capers, optional

To Finish

Greek feta, one block
dried Greek oregano
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar, optional
flaky sea salt, to taste

Ingredients for Greek salad: tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, green pepper, Kalamata olives, capers, feta, oregano and olive oil

Step-by-Step Instructions

There is no cooking here, so the work is in the cutting. Keep the pieces chunky and rustic, and let the tomatoes sit with a little salt before everything goes together.

Cutting ripe tomatoes into chunky wedges and salting them for Greek salad

1. Cut and salt the tomatoes

Cut the tomatoes into wedges or large irregular chunks and put them in a wide bowl. Sprinkle with a pinch of flaky salt and leave for 5 minutes while you prepare the rest.

Tip: Salting draws out the juices, which become the base of the dressing. Use the ripest tomatoes you can find; this salad depends on them.

Sliced cucumber half-moons, red onion rings and green pepper rings for Greek salad

2. Prepare the vegetables

Peel the cucumber in stripes, halve it lengthways and cut it into thick half-moons. Slice the red onion and green pepper into thin rings.

Tossing cucumber, onion, pepper and olives with tomato wedges in a wide bowl for Greek salad

3. Assemble the salad

Add the cucumber, onion, pepper, olives and capers to the tomatoes and toss gently once.

Placing a whole block of feta on Greek salad and sprinkling it with dried oregano

4. Add the feta

Place the block of feta on top in one piece. Sprinkle the oregano over the feta and the salad.

Tip: Keep the feta whole and let everyone break off what they want at the table. That is how it is served in Greece.

5. Dress and serve

Drizzle generously with olive oil, add a splash of vinegar if you like, and serve straight away with bread.

Serving & Storage

Serving

Serve the Greek salad as a starter, a side for grilled fish, chicken souvlaki or moussaka, or as a light lunch on its own with crusty bread to soak up the juices.

It sits naturally in a meze spread with tzatziki, saganaki and spanakopita.

Storing Leftovers

Greek salad is best eaten fresh. Once dressed, the cucumber softens and the onion turns sharp.

Dressed salad	eat the same day
Chopped vegetables, undressed	up to 1 day
Feta in brine	up to 1 week

If you want to prepare ahead, cut the vegetables and keep them chilled, then bring them back to room temperature and add the feta, oregano and oil just before serving. Cold tomatoes lose most of their flavour.

Greek Salad (Horiatiki)

Sweet ripe tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives and a slab of feta with oregano and good olive oil. No lettuce.

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine Greek

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Prep Time 15

Total Time 15

Servings servings

Calories 330

Equipment

Sharp knife
Chopping Board
Wide, shallow serving bowl

Ingredients

Vegetables

4 ripe tomatoes about 600 g
1 cucumber about 300 g
1 small red onion
1 green bell pepper or 2 long Greek peppers
16 Kalamata olives
1 tbsp capers optional

To Finish

200 g Greek feta one block
1 tsp dried Greek oregano
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar optional
flaky sea salt to taste

Never refrigerate the tomatoes before making this salad; they lose sweetness and flavour.

Buy feta in a block in brine, not pre-crumbled.

Instructions

Cut the tomatoes into wedges or large irregular chunks and put them in a wide bowl. Sprinkle with a pinch of flaky salt and leave for 5 minutes while you prepare the rest.
Peel the cucumber in stripes, halve it lengthways and cut it into thick half-moons. Slice the red onion and green pepper into thin rings.
Add the cucumber, onion, pepper, olives and capers to the tomatoes and toss gently once.
Place the block of feta on top in one piece. Sprinkle the oregano over the feta and the salad.
Drizzle generously with olive oil, add a splash of vinegar if you like, and serve straight away with bread.