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There is nothing like a classic Greek Salad with Homemade Greek Salad Dressing in the middle of the summer heat – or any time of year, for that matter. This salad is so easy to make that my kids whipped it up one evening for our supper! This is a great recipe to get kids in the kitchen and learning how to cook – or in this case, learning how to prepare a cold, healthy salad for supper!
Greek Salad For a Healthy Supper
This Greek Salad was supper for everyone ( except the Rose of course who hasn’t yet accepted olives into her list of foods she’ll eat) but both kids made this while Mike and I sat outside and relaxed on the deck. So forgive the fact that the slices of vegetables aren’t perfect, or that the dressing might not have been perfectly mixed. The kids might have only fought 6-7 tines, dropped olives on the floor and generally made everything more hilarious, but they DID end up making the salad and it was great!
How do you make a real Greek Salad?
Real Greek salad is far simpler than we make it here in America. An authentic Greek salad has a simpler dressing than I tend to make, it’s simply olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper. I have also seen the oregano left out. Like most Mediterranean foods that we make here in North America, we seem to make them over complicated than they really are. I could expand on that, but let’s settle for the fact that we tend to take recipes from the Old World and add all sorts of changes.
Do you use lettuce in Greek Salad?
NO! You don’t use lettuce and that’s why a good Greek Salad is my favourite! The basic ingredients in a Greek Salad are:
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Red/purple onion
- Black Olive
- Feta Cheese
That’s it! Now yes, I put green pepper in my Greek Salad, I like to mess with ingredients and that’s why I don’t call this an authentic Greek salad by any means. I add things here and there depending on what’s in season and more importantly, what’s in my fridge at the time!
This is an excellent recipe to get kids started in the kitchen with their knife skills. There is a lot of dicing, draining of the tomatoes, de-seeding a green pepper, the list goes on with the kitchen skills that can be learned from your kids making this recipe for you – important kitchen skills that this generation is sorely lacking. Yes, I sounded really “old-timer” there, but seriously, I was cooking by 12 and proficiently helping out for dinners at my house. With two working parents, dinner fell to the kids to help with, excepting my brother who managed to learn no cooking skills at all with two older sisters. Don’t make the same mistake – ALL kids need to learn how to cook, boys included!
There, that was my lecture for the day. Get the kids in the kitchen.
Now we eat this Greek Salad as a meal, like I had mentioned, but you can also serve this as a side dish. It’s a salad that is higher in calories, but oh those calories are packing a punch with their nutritional value. Have a piece of chicken breast with it for extra protein and call it dinner!
If you want a carbolicious salad, try my Fast and Easy Greek Pasta Salad!
Happy not cooking!
Love,
Karlynn
Greek Salad with Homemade Greek Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Greek Salad Ingredients
- 1/2 red/purple onion, sliced thinly into half circles
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 4 large tomatoes
- 1 large English Cucumber
- 1 green pepper
- 1/2 cup diced feta cheese ( crumbled)
- 4-5 leaves basil, chiffonade
Greek Salad Dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon dried basil (only If you don’t use fresh in the salad)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Place the thinly sliced red onion into the water and vinegar. Let soak for 20-30 minutes while you are prepping the other ingredients.
- Dice the tomatoes into small bite sized pieces, cleaning out the seeds. Place in a colander over your sink to drain, and if wanted sprinkle with a tsp of salt to draw out more moisture. Toss, then leave in the colander to drain while you prep the other vegetables.
- Wash then slice the English cucumber into 1 centimeter cubes ( think less than bite size.) Place in the bottom of a large salad bowl. Stir the tomatoes to get more moisture out. and leave them in the colander again.
- Wash then cut the top out of the green pepper. Take a knife and cut around the top stem like you carve a pumpkin, then pull the top off (again, like a pumpkin). Remove the seeds from the inside, then cut green pepper in half, then keep cutting into thin, long slices. Add into the salad bowl.
- In a lidded mason jar or similar jar that has a sealing lid, combine all of the Greek salad dressing ingredients. Shake to combine.
- Add the tomatoes, basil and the feta to the salad bowl. Pour the desired amount of dressing on top, then lightly mix the ingredients until everything is coated with the salad dressing.Serve to your parents.
Notes
Nutrition
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Trish says
I eat Greek salads all summer as I grow tomatoes and cucumbers in the summer. Kalamata olives are a must though. Can’t wait to try your Greek dressing. Sounds yummy!
KAREN E MCMICHAEL says
I see the greek/black olives in the picture but they’re not in the ingredient list. I love the olives in a Greek Salad – I usually use Kalamata olives.
Lourdes says
I really didn’t find the taste to be vert tasty. What I should’ve done was add the lemon slowly, I found that the lemon overtook the taste of the other ingredients. I will try it again with that small twist.
Amelia says
Love this recipe, so easy and it taste amazing 👌🏻 A healthy Greek salad on point 👌🏻👌🏻 Thank you for the recipe
Kimberly says
I’ve made this several times, I love it. I use red, yellow and green peppers because it’s pretty and I leave out the olives because I detest them.
Kim says
You’re right, simpler is better with a Greek salad! But I do want to point out that Kalamata olives should always be used instead of black olives. They’re authentic to a Greek salad and full of flavor!
Nancy says
Just a question. Why do you soak the red onion in vinegar and water first?
Margo Haynes says
It takes the “bite” out of the onion
Michael B Douglas says
you forgot to list the olives in the recipe5
April says
Great recipe, had it for dinner! Thanks! The idea of cubing the cucumbers makes it so easy to eat!