Greek Cucumber Salad
This Greek cucumber salad is the real deal – no lettuce, just crisp vegetables, salty olives, and creamy feta tossed with olive oil and red wine vinegar. It’s incredibly fresh, balanced, and satisfying whether you serve it alongside grilled chicken or as a light lunch on its own. The secret is using block feta (not crumbles) and knowing how to prep your cucumbers so everything stays crunchy instead of soggy. Ready in 15 minutes with ingredients you can find year-round.
It’s a salad without lettuce! 🥗
I’ll never forget my first authentic Greek salad in Athens nearly 20 years ago – no lettuce, just a huge slab of feta and the most generous pour of olive oil I’d ever seen.
I was hooked on it all – the refreshing and delicious salad, the generousity with the olive oil, block feta cheese, and of course, Greek yogurt. It forever changed how I made Greek salads. It’s…
🥒 Incredibly fresh: Crisp cucumbers and juicy tomatoes make every bite light and refreshing.
🧀 Authentic flavors: Block feta and Kalamata olives bring that real Mediterranean taste.
⏱️ Ready in 15 minutes: Just chop, toss, and serve – perfect for busy weeknights or even a quick lunch.
🥗 No soggy lettuce: Traditional Greek salads skip the greens so it stays crisp.
🍽️ Seriously versatile: Works as a side dish, light lunch, or potluck favorite.
You’ll also want to try my Greek quinoa salad, Greek potato salad, and Greek orzo pasta salad next time.
Ingredient Notes
You’ll need some fresh ingredients and pantry staples to bring this quick Greek salad to the table: English cucumber (or regular cucumber, peeled and seeded), green bell pepper, ripe tomatoes (Roma, cherry, or whatever looks best), thinly sliced red onion, Kalamata olives, and block feta cheese. For the dressing: olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, dried oregano, sea salt, and black pepper.
Emily’s Tips & Tricks
- Pro tip:If your cucumbers have lots of seeds, scoop them out first. Then slice the cucumbers, sprinkle with salt, and let them sit for 10-15 minutes to draw out excess water. Rinse quickly and pat completely dry with paper towels before adding to the salad. This one step makes a huge difference in keeping your salad crisp.
- Variations: Swap the green bell pepper for red, yellow, or orange for a sweeter flavor. Add chickpeas to make it more substantial, or toss in some chopped fresh dill or parsley for extra brightness. You could also add a handful of pepperoncini for tang.
- Additions: Serve this alongside grilled chicken, lamb, or fish for a complete meal. It’s also perfect with pita bread, hummus, or as part of a Mediterranean mezze spread.
Greek Salad Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings (about 1 cup) 1x
- Category: Side
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Description
This authentic Greek salad is fresh, flavorful, and easy! It’s perfect with juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, salty olives, and creamy feta.
Ingredients
Greek Salad Dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- flaky sea salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
Salad:
- 1 English cucumber, sliced into half moons
- 1 green pepper, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup diced tomatoes (slicing tomato or 1 pint grape tomatoes)
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion (about 1/4 red onion )
- 1 cup kalamata olives
- 4 oz. feta cheese, sliced (NOT CRUMBLES)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl or small jar, add olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard, oregano, salt, and pepper. Whisk (or shake if making in a jar) until smooth and set aside.
- Prep salad ingredients. Cut cucumbers into quarters. Dice green peppers and tomatoes. Thinly slice red onion. Dice feta cheese.
- In a medium bowl, add cucumbers, green pepper, tomato, onion, olives, and feta. Drizzle with dressing to taste and gently toss ingredients together.
- Serve with an extra drizzle of olive oil, flaky salt, and freshly cracked pepper if desired.
Notes
Storage: This salad is best enjoyed fresh since the vegetables release moisture over time. If you need to make it ahead, prep all the vegetables and store them separately, then toss everything together with the dressing right before serving. The dressing itself keeps for up to a week at room temperature.
Ingredients: Use the best tomatoes you can find – in summer, that means ripe garden tomatoes or heirloom varieties, and in winter, stick with Roma or cherry tomatoes, which tend to have better flavor year-round. For the olives, Kalamata are traditional, but you could also use a mix of Greek olives for more variety. I highly recommend using block feta cheese if you can find it! It has much better flavor and texture than crumbles. If you find raw onions to be harsh, soak them in cold water for 5-10 minutes to lessen the bite.
Prep ahead: Make the dressing 1-2 days early and dice the peppers and slice the onions a day ahead. Wait to cut the cucumbers and tomatoes until the day you’re serving since they start releasing moisture quickly. If you soak the onions, do that right before assembling.
Serve with: This pairs beautifully with grilled meats like chicken souvlaki, lamb chops, or Greek meatballs. It’s also perfect alongside pasta dishes, roasted fish, or as part of a mezze platter with hummus and pita.
FAQs
Classic Greek salads (called Horiatiki / Xoriatiki) are very simple and made with cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, olives, red onion, and feta cheese. Traditional salads typically don’t include a separate dressing but are simply drizzled with olive oil and a splash of vinegar. This is pretty traditional, but we’re tossing the dressing together to get max flavor on all the veggies.
It depends on the cucumber you’ll be using. I like to use an English cucumber (also known as a hothouse and similar to Persian cucumbers) so that peeling isn’t necessary. If you use a traditional cucumber, I would peel it but leave little strips of green for a nice visual component.
More Mediterranean Recipes
If you also adore the bright and fresh flavors of the Mediterranean, be sure to give these other recipes a try. They are simple, delicious, and nutritious.
- Mediterranean Hummus Platter
- Mediterranean Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Easy Garbanzo Bean Salad
- Greek Lamb Meatballs
About the Author
Emily Dingmann is a recipe developer and founder of My Everyday Table, where she helps busy families take the stress out of weeknight dinners. With a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and almost 20 years of experience, Emily specializes in simple, nourishing recipes and weekly meal plans that actually work for everyday life. She’s a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor who believes delicious food and good nutrition go hand in hand.
Get started: Weeknight Dinners Guide | Weekly Meal Plans | About Emily
Food styling and photography by Loren Runion.
This post may contain affiliate links. They do not add any charge to you, but I will make a very small commission from them. I only link to products I use and recommend. Thank you for your support!