Horiatiki – Traditional Greek Salad

Horiatiki is Incredible, Classic, Fresh Greek Salad Recipe! This traditional Greek salad with creamy-salty feta is perfect for any time of the day. Moreover, we suggest making this easy salad any time of the year, for holiday or any regular day!

Easy Mediterranean salad with fresh summer produce like tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper. The addition of olives and feta completes the vegetable dish perfectly. Delicious summer side dish!

Horiatiki Greek salad with vegetables and feta in a white bowl

Simple salad dressing with extra virgin olive oil and herbs coats everything together. Classic Greek salad is like a holiday on your plate!

Delicious Greek salad is a true summer recipe that we make for almost every holiday. This feta cheese salad is a perfect gluten-free side dish for BBQ party.

Horiatiki salad can be served as an appetizer or light meal, paired with zesty white wine like Sauvignion Blanc from New Zealand or Rose from Greece.

Horiatiki Greek Salad is delicious and easy summer salad made with fresh vegetables and feta cheese.

Where did Greek salad originate?

Greek salad originates from Greece. It is also called Horiatiki salad. It is commonly served as a part of traditional Greek meal.

What is Greek salad called in Greece?

Greek salad is a popular salad in Greece. It is often called Horiatiki or Village Salad. Horio means village in Greek.

What are the ingredients in a true traditional Greek salad?

Easy and fresh Mediterranean vegetables are the base of the salad. The quality of vegetables and season impact the flavor of the horiatiki.

The traditional recipe uses fresh ripe tomato, Persian cucumber, green bell pepper, red onion and Kalamata olives.
Finish the salad with simple dressing of extra virgin olive oil and oregano.

It is optional, but you can add pickled capers as well. They will add pleasantly salty aftertaste. If you don’t like capers, just leave them out.

And the super important ingredient for Greek village salad is good quality feta cheese.

A wedge of feta placed on top of the vegetables in a white plate

How do you make Greek salad dressing from scratch?

Simple and elegant authentic Greek salad dressing is made with just few ingredients. You will need good quality extra virgin olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar.

The perfect dressing for the Greek salad to drizzle it with extra virgin olive oil, that’s it! A little bit of lemon juice or red wine vinegar will be good too.

You don’t want to overpower this fresh produce with spicy and rich dressing. Originally oregano is added to this salad – fresh or dry. Add pepper to your taste. I don’t add salt, because olives and feta give the desired amount of saltiness.

Simple Greek dressing!

How to serve Feta cheese

It is easy to cut feta cheese in cubes and serve on top of the salad. You can crumble it and mix everything together.
Greeks prefer serving thick slices of cheese. Yes, they just put the one whole slice of real feta on top of the salad.

And I get it! When you serve the salad like this, the cheese doesn’t lose its delicious properties. You cut it with the spoon or fork, when served, and everyone can crumble it in their own plates as they like.

But you can also slice it in thick cubes and sprinkle on top, if you like.

I love to serve salad in separate bowls, put a slice of Greek feta for each serving and drizzle the dressing on top. So simple and good!

Horiatiki Greek salad served in a white bowl with wooden tablespoon

How to serve Greek village salad for vegans and vegetarians

Authentic feta is not vegan or vegetarian cheese. But there are some vegetarian version, if it is marked that it is made without rennet. Check the label, before serving it to vegetarians.

Serve with a wedge of tofu for vegans or don’t use any cheese at all. Otherwise, all other ingredients are vegan.

What is feta cheese made from?

Traditional feta is made from 100% sheep’s milk, sometimes it may contain up to 30% goat’s milk. Feta type cheese that is made with cow’s milk is not feta at all and has a different taste and texture.

Which olives to choose for Greek salad

Actually olives are not divided to green or black, it is more complicated. Green olives are picked before they ripen, and black olives are picked while ripe.

By the way, ever wondered why olives are sold only cured? That’s because they are extremely bitter while fresh, so the curing process of both green and black olives transforms the taste a lot. However, green olives are little bitterer than the black ones.

For traditional Greek salad, preferably use purple-black Kalamata olives with the stone in, so that they remain firm and don’t dry out. However, you can use good quality canned black olives with stone removed – mild taste, beautiful color!

Does Greek salad contain lettuce?

Authentic Greek salad never contains greens or leaves, including lettuce. Marouli is the word for lettuce. Marouli salad is another Greek green salad made with lettuce, onion and dill.

Is Greek salad healthy?

Absolutely! Despite the amount of salt you get, it has fresh vegetables like tomato and cucumber that are good for your health.

It is low in calories.

I highly recommend including this easy Mediterranean salad in your diet!

Tips to make the best Greek salad

  • Use fresh vegetables, preferably from farmer’s store.
  • The stars of this salad are vegetables, so the taste depends on the quality of ingredients.Don’t overthink the dressing or spices. It is as good as it is!
  • You can serve a bottle of vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper on the table, so anyone who wants can add to their plate.
  • Choose authentic feta. If possible, use cheese with geographical location symbol or at least use feta cheese that is made from sheep’s milk. There are many similar cheeses made from cow’s or goat’s milk but the taste is totally different.
  • Place a wedge of feta just before serving and don’t cut it in cubes.

If you like Greek recipes as much as we do, check this awesome Moussaka recipe to serve as main dish and Mediterranean quinoa salad. Hope these recipes will inspire you to make Greek party at your own home! These are really delicious ideas to include in Mediterranean diet.

Greek cuisine is so good! This salad is perfect side dish for pork chops or beef.

And if you are looking for a good summer salad, we highly recommend Italian Panzanella salad.

Don’t forget to follow us on Pinterest External Link , Instagram External Link , Twitter External Link and Facebook External Link to receive up-to date healthy recipes and wowing desserts! And if you make this easy summer salad or one of our other recipes, tag us to let us know. We love to see what you are making!

Horiatiki Greek salad served in a bowl, view from top

Horiatiki - Traditional Greek Salad

Recipe AuthorCooking Journey Blog
5 from 5 votes
This incredible, classic, fresh salad with creamy-salty feta is perfect for any time of the day, any time of the year, for holiday or any regular day! The best way to use fresh vegetables.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Salad
Cuisine Greek, Mediterranean
Servings2


Ingredients
  • 1 red onion small
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1 cucumber small
  • ½ green bell pepper
  • 1 tomato medium
  • 10 kalamata olives
  • 3 tbsp olive oil extra virgin preferred
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • ¼ tsp black pepper to taste
  • tsp salt to taste
  • 4 tsp capers for serving (optional)
  • 2 wedges feta cheese thick, square slices for serving

Making this recipe?Mention @cookingjourneyblog or tag #cookingjourneyblog!
 

Instructions
 
  • Cut onion in half, then thinly slice it.
    1 red onion
    Cut onion in half, then thinly slice it.
  • Mix water with white vinegar in the bowl. Add onion slices in a bowl and marinate for 15 min.
    1 tbsp white vinegar, 1 cup water
    Mix water with white vinegar in the bowl. Add onion slices in a bowl and marinate for 15 min.
  • Cut cucumber in quarters lengthwise. Chop it, add to the large bowl.
    1 cucumber
    Cut cucumber in quarters lengthwise. Chop it, add to the large bowl.
  • Cut green bell pepper lengthwise into stripes. Cut stripes in half. Add to the bowl.
    ½ green bell pepper
    Cut green bell pepper lengthwise into stripes. Cut stripes in half. Add to the bowl.
  • Chop tomato into thick slices.
    1 tomato
    Chop tomato into thick slices.
  • Squeeze liquid from onion rings and add to them to the bowl.
    1 red onion
    Horiatiki Traditional Greek Salad
  • Add kalamata olives.
    10 kalamata olives
    Add kalamata olives.
  • Make dressing. In a small bowl combine olive oil, red wine vinegar and oregano. Mix to combine. Leave out couple teaspoons for serving.
    3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp dried oregano
    Make dressing. In a small bowl combine olive oil, red wine vinegar and oregano. Mix to combine. Leave out couple teaspoons for serving.
  • Add dressing to the salad and mix together with salad servers or two tablespoons. Let it sit 5 min*
    Add dressing to the salad and mix together with salad servers or two tablespoons. Let it sit 5 min*
  • Add salt and pepper to taste and mix again.
    ⅓ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper
    Add salt and pepper to taste and mix again.
  • Serve salad on the plate, add 1-2 tsp of capers per serving.
    4 tsp capers
    Serve salad on the plate, add 1-2 tsp of capers per serving.
  • Add a thick slice of feta on top of each serving.
    2 wedges feta cheese
    Add a thick slice of feta on top of each serving.
  • Add a tsp of leftover dressing on top of feta.
    Add a tsp of leftover dressing on top of feta.
Rate this recipe and leave a comment

Notes
*At this point you can cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge up to 2-3 days before serving.
Nutrition Facts
Horiatiki - Traditional Greek Salad
Amount per Serving
Calories
281
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
25
g
38
%
Saturated Fat
 
4
g
25
%
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
3
g
Monounsaturated Fat
 
18
g
Cholesterol
 
1
mg
0
%
Sodium
 
837
mg
36
%
Potassium
 
512
mg
15
%
Carbohydrates
 
14
g
5
%
Fiber
 
5
g
21
%
Sugar
 
7
g
8
%
Protein
 
3
g
6
%
Vitamin A
 
838
IU
17
%
Vitamin C
 
41
mg
50
%
Calcium
 
82
mg
8
%
Iron
 
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Keyword easy, fresh, gluten free, quick, summer

Comments COMMENTS

  1. 5 stars
    Such a light and refreshing salad! Looks absolutely amazing with that feta. I love how easily it all comes together too.

  2. Jessica Formicola

    5 stars
    I love a good, classic Greek salad! So many fresh and delicious ingredients, and the placement of the feta in the photos is amazing!

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