When you want a light refreshing side dish for a quick summer dinner, this greek salad is a great go-to recipe. It's simple enough to throw together for an average weeknight dinner, yet elegant enough to serve to company.
This greek salad recipe calls for English or seedless cucumbers. But if you can't find them, it's fine to substitute with whatever cucumbers you have on hand.
Use the best quality feta cheese you can find. It really makes a difference in this salad. Any kind of black olives are okay, including kalamata olives, though small pitted black olives seem to really make this recipe pop.
This salad is delicious in its simplicity. In a way, it's really just a dressed up cucumber salad recipe (without the sweet and sour dressing, of course). But if you want something more elaborate, feel free to play around with the ingredients. If you like tomatoes, go ahead and add them. Diced red onion would also make a nice addition to this salad. As would garbanzo beans or cannellini beans.
If you can find low-fat bottled Greek salad dressing, that's your best bet for this recipe. But Caesar salad dressing works fine, too. You can even use Italian salad dressing in a pinch.
Serve this salad with tomato soup with roasted red peppers and a big slice of Sally Lunn bread made in the bread machine for a satisfying lunch that's special enough for entertaining.
Or make this greek salad a first course when serving baked chicken and mushrooms with make ahead mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli and cauliflower.
Easy Greek Salad Recipe
- 1 English (seedless) cucumber, diced into one inch chunks
- 4 oz. pitted black olives
- 4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
- 1/4 cup your favorite low-fat Greek or Caesar salad dressing
Toss the cucumber chunks, black olives, feta cheese and salad dressing in a large mixing bowl. Allow flavors to marinate 15-30 minutes before transferring the salad to a serving bowl.
Makes 4 servings.
Per serving: 140 calories, 10 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 25 mg cholesterol, 10 g carbohydrate, 1.5 g fiber, 5 g protein, 7% Vitamin A, 6% Vitamin C, 19% calcium, 8% iron
For more easy and delicious salad recipes, see also:
- Broccoli Salad
- Carrot Raisin Salad
- Pea Salad
- Pasta Salad
- Paella Salad
- Christmas Salad Recipe (it's not just for Christmas)
- Panzanella (bread salad)
- Fuji Apple Walnut Chicken Salad (just like the one they serve at Panera Bakery)
- Cool Whip Jello Salad
- Quinoa Salad
