Delicious, colourful, and refreshing Greek Cucumber Salad is a perfect side dish made with healthy ingredients such as cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, olives, and feta cheese. This simple dish is ready in 15 minutes and packed with lovely Mediterranean flavours.
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This light and fresh Greek Cucumber Salad makes the perfect side to many Mediterranean dishes. You can also serve it on its own as a light meal or supper. It is made with a few good quality ingredients and doesn't need much preparation or fancy presentation.
Why This Recipe Works?
- It is healthy, colourful, refreshing and extremely delicious.
- You can make it in just 15 minutes, no cooking required.
- It is a great side to many dishes or summer BBQs but also can be served as a light meal on its own.
- This Greek Cucumber Salad is not only delicious, but is a refreshing mix of vegetables, tangy feta cheese and a light dressing.
Ingredients and Substitutes
- Cucumbers - You can use half of a large cucumber if you can't find mini Persian cucumbers. If using large cucumbers, you might want to remove the seeds before cutting them.
- Tomatoes - I prefer cherry tomatoes but you can use any firm, salad tomatoes you have in hand.
- Lettuce - Although traditional Greek Salad doesn't contain any lettuce, I prefer adding it for extra crunchiness. Omit it and add extra cucumbers if you prefer.
- Peppers - You can use any type of peppers you have in hand or leave it out.
- Feta - For the best flavor, I highly recommend using a good quality full-fat Feta cheese. You can also use grilled halloumi.
- Olives - Traditional Greek Salad use kalamata olives but I prefer black olives. You can omit it or use your favourite type!
- Olive oil - Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil for the best results.
- Vinegar - Red wine vinegar is traditionally used for the dressing but white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar works perfectly fine too.
- Mustard - It is optional, I love the sharpness it adds to the Vinaigrette but you can leave it out.
How to Make Greek Cucumber Salad?
This is a very simple, straightforward recipe and to achieve the best results, you need to follow a few simple steps:
- Prepare the Vegetables - Cut your vegetables the same size for a more impressive presentation or simply cut them in large chunks for a rustic look. Try and use fresh vegetables while they are still at their best.
- Prepare the Vinaigrette - The most important ingredient of a salad is the dressing. To prepare the vinaigrette for Greek salad, in a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar and oregano. Slowly add the olive oil while still whisking until it forms a thick creamy sauce.
- Gently Combine the Vegetables with the Vinaigrette - In a large bowl or a plate, place the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, bell pepper, half of the feta cheese and herbs. Drizzle the vinaigrette on the vegetables and lightly toss using 2 wooden spoons or your fingers just to combine. Sprinkle the rest of the feta on top before serving.
Related Recipes
For more delicious & healthy Mediterranean flavours why not try:
This salad is not only extremely delicious but also full of nutrition. And one generous portion of this healthy salad has only 273 kcal.
You can pair this refreshing salad with almost everything, especially with Mediterranean food. Why not try it with Islim Kebabi (Aubergine Meatball Wraps), Baked Prawns (Karides Guvec), Slow Cooked Lamb Ragu, Dutch Oven Roast Chicken or Baked Turkish Meatballs.
A simple Greek Salad dressing is made with only red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and dried oregano. I prefer using Greek Vinaigrette for my Greek salad which is made with dijon mustard, red wine or white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, dried oregano and a pinch of sugar to balance the acidity.
Top Tip From the Chef
You can make the Greek Salad dressing ahead and keep it in the fridge for up to a week. Bring it to room temperature before using it for your salad.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this colourful Greek Salad as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!
Greek Cucumber Salad
Equipment
- 1 Peeler
Ingredients
For the vinaigrette
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar/apple cider vinegar)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- pinch of sugar
- pinch of salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Salad
- ½ iceberg lettuce or roman lettuce (washed and sliced)
- 10 cherry tomatoes (cut in halves)
- 1 small cucumber (cut in 2 cm dices or sliced ½ cm thickness)
- ½ red onion (sliced)
- 1 red bell pepper (cut in 2 cm dices)
- 150 g feta cheese (cut in 2 cm dices)
- 10 pitted olives
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped mint
Instructions
- For the vinaigrette, in a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, and oregano.
- Slowly add the olive oil while still whisking until it forms a thick creamy sauce.
- In a large bowl or a plate, place the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, bell pepper, half of the feta cheese, pitted olives, and herbs.
- Drizzle the vinaigrette on the vegetables and lightly toss using 2 wooden spoons or your fingers just to combine.
- Sprinkle the rest of the feta cubes on top before serving.
Nutrition
FOOD SAFETY
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don’t leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
Ayla
Super delicious