This Chopped Greek Salad recipe is loaded with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, and herbs. With a lemony-bright, flavorful Greek dressing, it’s a salad you’ll turn to again and again!
When summer is bursting with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, there’s Chopped Greek Salad on the menu – on the regular! This chopped salad recipe is heavy on the cucumbers, with a dressing that’s light and tangy and lemon-bright. I throw in a big handful of fresh herbs from the herb garden (my favorite summer salad flavor booster!), plus the salty, briny goodness of Kalamata olives and feta cheese. Our whole family calls this a win!
(Like chopped salads? I have a couple more for you to try! This Italian Chopped Salad has pizzeria-style flavor, and my Mediterranean Chopped Salad is another salad that’s awesome for making ahead.)
Why This Salad Will Earn a Place in Your Regular Rotation
Even though this is a light summery salad, it’s so delicious that my family requests it year-round. It’s a perfect fresh side for Thin Crust Pizza, cheesy Skillet Lasagna, or cozy Stuffed Shells with Meat!
- Perfect for making ahead. Just assemble this Greek chopped salad and keep in the refrigerator, to be eaten over a few days’ time. I rely on fresh chilled salads like this for easy lunch meal prep.
- Big flavor. The beauty of a Greek salad is that it’s loaded up with flavor-packed ingredients like Kalamata olives, feta, and a bright, tangy dressing. These heavy hitters mean you don’t need a whole lot to make a mouthwatering salad.
- Awesome textures, too. This salad is crisp (hat tip to those fabulous cucumbers!), juicy, and creamy as the feta breaks apart and mixes into the dressing.
What You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on the ingredients you’ll need to make this chopped Greek salad. Scroll down to the printable recipe card to find the exact ingredient quantities and full recipe instructions.
- Cucumber – English or Persian cucumbers are best, as they have thin skins. But your typical garden cucumbers work well too, and are especially delicious if you can run out to your own garden and grab them! I recommend that if you find the skin to be unpleasantly thick, to simply peel them for this recipe.
- Grape tomatoes – Halved cherry tomatoes will also work. I like to use smaller tomatoes because dicing a large tomato can leave your salad a bit soggy.
- Green bell pepper – A classic addition to Greek salads and a nice contrast to the sweet tomatoes, green bell pepper has a grassy bite to it.
- Red onion – The bright, acidic dressing helps to mellow the sharpness of the raw onion. Another way to mellow the onion is to cut it so thin, it’s practically shaved – I like to use a mandoline to do this.
- Kalamata olives – Meaty, briny, and with a complex tangy quality, Kalamata olives are the star of a Greek salad—well, alongside the feta, at least!
- Greek dressing – Use my Greek Salad Dressing recipe – so good!
- Fresh herbs – Oregano, parsley, and mint make my version of Greek salad herbaceous and extra flavorful.
- Feta – Dice a block of feta or use a fork to break it up into crumbles. You can also buy pre-diced or crumbled if you like.
How to Make Chopped Greek Salad
This fresh salad delivers maximum deliciousness. Here’s what you’ll need to do.
- Combine vegetables and olives. Add cucumbers, tomatoes, green pepper, red onion, and olives to a bowl; fold to combine.
- Make the dressing. Whisk it together or shake it in a jar.
- Add some of the dressing, then chill. Drizzle about 2/3 of the Greek Salad Dressing over the salad mixture and fold a few times to coat well. Cover and refrigerate, folding again after 30 minutes. This step helps all the flavors meld and makes the salad crisp and cool, which I love on a hot day!
- Finish assembling. When ready to serve, add more Greek Salad Dressing to the salad ingredients if needed, and fold again to incorporate. Then fold in the herbs and feta. Season with ground pepper and serve with additional dressing, as needed.
A Few Variations to Try
Salads are almost always flexible. Here are some tweaks you can make to this chopped Greek salad recipe, but don’t hesitate to try your own ideas.
- Add lettuce. If you like your Greek salad with lettuce, some crisp chopped Romaine would be a great addition.
- Make it a meal. Add hearty protein and serve this salad as a main dish. Try chicken, beef, or salmon – grilled, roasted, or however you prefer to prepare it. Lemon Pepper Chicken would be excellent. Or keep it meatless and fold in a can of rinsed and drained chickpeas.
- Try a Greek fattoush salad. Fattoush is a Middle Eastern salad made with stale or toasted pita. You can do the same with this Greek salad by adding pita bread or pita chips.
- Swap out the olives. If you’re not a fan of Kalamatas, marinated artichoke hearts or roasted red peppers are tasty alternatives.
What to Serve With Chopped Greek Salad
We enjoy this salad with main dishes like Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken Skewers, Grilled T-Bone Steak, and really anything we can toss on the grill! It’s also a great side for sandwiches and burgers, like my Ground Turkey Burgers or my family’s favorite Herby Turkey Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Sun-Dried Tomato Spread.
How to Store
Because there’s no lettuce that will wilt, this salad stands up well to being stored in the fridge. It will keep well for at least 3 days once it’s dressed, or if you store it without the dressing (as described in the make-ahead instructions below), it will last even longer.
More Flavor-Packed Salad Recipes
Greek Chopped Salad
Ingredients
- 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
- Greek Salad Dressing
- 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 or cut into cubes
Instructions
- 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.
- Make the Greek Salad Dressing.
- Drizzle about 2/3 of the Greek Salad 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 Greek Salad 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 Greek Salad 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 Step 1 in the recipe card Instructions.
Nutrition Information:
This post was originally published in 2014, then updated in 2025.
This is THE BEST Greek salad I have ever made! I’m throwing out all my other recipes.
Made this for a 4th of July picnic yesterday. The colors were beautiful and the lemon dressing was bright and delicious. Everyone loved it. On a table full of starches, this salad was the star! :)
I substituted basil in place of the parsley.
Thank you for the recipe!
This is wonderful to hear, Beverly. Thank you so much for coming back to let me know. Have a great rest of your summer!
This salad is full of flavor-the fresh herbs take it over the top-absolutely delicious!
I am so happy you liked this! And now I am so wishing it was summer and I had my herb garden!!
Very nice salad but it’s not a Greek salad.
Greek salad has only Olive oil, salt and pepper. No mustard or mint.
This recipe is simply a rendition that I love to make. Every time I serve it, people always ask for the recipe. It’s delish!
This salad could be the cover model for my summer – LOVE this!
Perfect for summer!
Yes! Flavorful and filling, while still being light.
Looks amazing! Adding to my supper menu…. Thanks!
What a fresh and healthy side dish for any summer night!
Sounds like you had a great weekend! and greek salad is always welcome ;-)
I bet your garden will look just like all your food, picture perfect! This salad looks amazing and I love all the flavors!
I’m wishing you luck, Brenda, but I’ sure you don’t need it. It will be lovely.
Thanks, Liz. ;)
Gorgeous and bright and so delicious!
I love Greek salads – this one looks so appetizing!!!
My favorite!
What a perfectly lovely weekend and such a gorgeous salad!
In fact the food of southern europe, mediterranean diet are excellent very nutritious and delicious. Cases such as Italy and Greece Portugal Spain are where the cuisine is excellent, light salads are very good. We love Greek food. And you recepi looks amazing. Kiss. I take the chace to invite you to visit our website where you can find various recipe.
Sounds like the perfect weekend! And this salad sounds perfect too. I love greek flavors!
Now that is my kinda salad.
Sounds and looks amazing – the more cucumbers the better in my books!
Yes!! :)
This salad looks absolutely delicious! I love the ingredients and all the fresh vegetables. What a great idea…thanks for sharing!