This Greek Chopped Salad recipe is loaded with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, and herbs. With a bright, flavorful dressing, it’s a salad you’ll turn to again and again!
Coming off this past three-day weekend, I am tired, my muscles are achy, and my cheeks are flushed pink from the sun. And it feels so wonderful. We actually had a whole weekend that felt like summer and we took full advantage of it!
Last fall, we started building a new fenced in raised beds garden area, and it just got completed this past week with the addition of a walking path and soil in the boxes. So I was antsy to get the garden planted, of course. The girls love sowing seeds and digging the plants into the ground each spring, and it was just that much more fun with our new garden space. We’re trying out strawberries for the first time…wish us luck!
Besides a bunch of other yard and house projects (our main level now has clean windows, yay!!), we also fit in plenty of fun time. Our girls squeezed in a sleepover here with a girlfriend to kick off the weekend. And a conversation out in the new garden with our next door neighbors prompted a gathering on our deck the next evening. We went out to one of our favorite breakfast spots on Sunday morning, followed by an afternoon of watching live horse racing. Our youngest daughter is horse crazy, and the local racing venue reserves Sundays for family days. The afternoon left plenty of smiles and lots of happy chatter on the lips of our daughter.
Besides being tired and achy, I’m also stuffed with so much wonderful food from the weekend. One of my favorite dishes was this Greek Chopped Salad. It’s full of fresh ingredients, perfect for the summer ahead!
I know that when our garden is ready for its harvest, we’ll be enjoying this chopped salad in a whole new way. My mouth is watering just thinking about those sweet fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes!
Fresh chilled salads are my go-to meal all summer long. There is just nothing better on a hot day than knowing you have a salad already mixed up in the refrigerator, or the fresh makings to do so.
This chopped Greek salad is heavy on the cucumbers. Because I love them so! If you like your Greek salad with lettuce, some crisp chopped Romaine would be a great addition. The dressing is light and bright and tangy, consisting of lemon juice, white balsamic vinegar, and plenty of fresh garlic. I’ve thrown in a big handful of fresh herbs from the back yard (my favorite summer salad flavor booster!), plus some salty briny love from Kalamata olives and feta cheese. It’s so good!
Looking for more awesome summer salads, loaded with fresh produce? These salads can be assembled and kept in the refrigerator, to be eaten over a few days’ time. Here’s to summer. Enjoy!
- Mediterranean Chopped Salad
- Italian Chopped Salad in a Jar {with creamy Caesar dressing}
- Chopped Chicken and Couscous Salad with Sweet Basil Dressing
- Chinese Chicken Salad
Greek Chopped Salad
Ingredients
Greek Dressing (makes about 3/4 cup)
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons lightly packed, finely grated lemon zest (use a microplane zester)
- 2 large garlic cloves, finely grated (use a microplane zester)
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Salad
- 3 cups ½"-diced seeded English or Persian cucumber (Do not peel. To seed, slice cucumber in half lengthwise, then use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and discard.)
- 2 cups halved grape tomatoes
- 1 cup ½"-diced green bell pepper
- ½ cup thinly sliced red onion
- ½ cup pitted, halved Kalamata olives
- ¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
- ¼ cup chopped fresh oregano leaves
- 6 ounces block feta, roughly crumbled with a fork into ¼"-½" pieces
Instructions
Greek Dressing
- Place all dressing ingredients in a pint jar and add a tight-fitting lid. Shake vigorously for 15-20 seconds to combine and emulsify. Or whisk together all salad dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
Salad
- For the most flavor and a crisp, cold texture, about 1 hour before serving, add the cucumber, tomatoes, green pepper, red onion, and kalamatas to a large bowl. Fold gently to combine.
- Drizzle about 2/3 of the dressing over the salad mixture and fold a few times to coat well. Cover and refrigerate, folding again after 30 minutes. Place chopped herbs in a small bowl with a lid and refrigerate. Place feta in a small bowl with a lid and refrigerate.
- When ready to serve, add more dressing to the diced/sliced salad ingredients if needed, and fold again to incorporate. Then add the herbs and feta, and gently fold again. Add a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper over the top, if desired.
Notes
- Shake up the dressing, cover, and refrigerate.
- Slice and dice the fresh vegetables, and add them to a large bowl. Slice the kalamatas and toss them on top of the veggies. Cover the bowl and refrigerate.
- Chop the herb leaves and place them in a small bowl with a lid. Refrigerate.
- Crumble the feta and place in a small bowl with a lid. Refrigerate.
- An hour before serving, begin with the “Salad” Instructions in the recipe card above.
We love this salad! Thanks for the recipe. We make this recipe on Sundays, divide 8 ways, and take for lunch. When in a hurry, we just use balsamic vinaigrette with it and it’s fantastic as well. Thanks again!
So awesome to hear – I love that you make it for your lunches in the week ahead!!
Made this salad for a party. it was so good i’m pretty sure it’s going in the regular rotation. There’s actually one marinating in the fridge right now! thanks.