Traditional Greek Salad (Horiatiki)

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This authentic Greek salad recipe (called "horiatiki") is the way you'll find it served in Greece. Ripe, juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, tangy onions with Kalamata olives and a generous slab of feta cheese on top is the traditional way to serve a delicious Greek salad.

A traditional Greek salad with a slab of feta cheese on top.

❤️ Why you'll love this classic Greek salad recipe

During my recent trip to Greece and Crete, I ate Greek salad every single day! It was on every menu: in tavernas, high-end restaurants, and even beach bars.

And while it only varied a little in terms of ingredients, every salad I ate was absolutely delicious! I learned a lot about how to make a really good authentic Greek salad, and I'm sharing it here today.

Known as Horiatiki Salad, or Greek Village Salad, it's a rustic salad in which the taste is more important than the presentation! There are no fillers like lettuce or leafy greens, no fancy presentation, just simple quality ingredients for the very best flavour.

🛒 Ingredients for a traditional Greek salad

You'll find a complete list of ingredients with amounts in the recipe card below. But before we get to the full recipe for this "horiatiki salad", here are a few notes about the ingredients you'll need to make an authentic, traditional Greek salad.

Labelled ingredients to make a traditional Greek salad: tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, feta cheese, kalamata olives, onion, dried oregano, olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Main ingredients

tomatoes: The star of the salad! Look for vine-ripened medium tomatoes, especially at the height of their season. Perfectly ripe, juicy tomatoes will make all the difference in your salad. Make sure they're at room temperature. We never had it served with cherry tomatoes in Greece as you'll often find in North America.
cucumber: There is no need to peel it. An English or Persian cucumber with tender skin is best.
onion: Here's where there was a little variation. Sometimes our salads came with red onion, other times with mild white onions. Both are delicious. You choose!
green pepper: While it's not my favourite pepper (and I usually add coloured bell peppers to my Greek salad (as in my Greek Chicken Salad and this Greek Chicken Cobb Salad), Greek salads in Athens, on the Peloponnese and on Crete always included thinly sliced green peppers.
feta cheese: Authentic Greek salad is served with a slab of feta cheese on top, never crumbled. Traditional feta is made from sheep's milk or a combination of sheep's milk and goat milk. Those are a little harder to find in North America, as most of our feta cheese is made from cow's milk, but if you find some, snap it up. It's so creamy and delicious! Always purchase feta cheese in brine. It tastes better and will last longer.
Kalamata olives: Traditional Greek salad is always served with olives with pits. Never pitted. And now I know why: their flavour is so much better!

Seasoning ingredients

dressing: None! No "Greek dressing" as we have here at home. Just a generous drizzle of good-quality olive oil and maybe a splash of red wine vinegar.
seasoning: A sprinkle of dried oregano on top of the feta cheese and maybe a little sea salt is all that is needed. Occasionally, a Greek salad came with capers, too (which I love!)
bread: It's traditional to soak up all the juice from the tomatoes, olive oil, and vinegar left in the bottom of your bowl with a good chunk of rustic bread! Because I follow a gluten-free diet, I never ordered bread with my meals, but here at home, a slice of gluten-free bread works just as well! See the note about "papara" below.

🔪 Instructions

Here's an overview of what you'll do to make this healthy Greek salad recipe perfectly. You'll find complete instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Chopped vegetables to make an authentic Greek salad.

Wash all the vegetables.
Using a sharp knife, cut the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. For example, I cut a medium tomato into 8 pieces. Cut the tomato right into the serving bowl so that you don't waste all the juices. They really add flavour to the salad!
Slice the cucumber into half moons. There is no need to peel it.
Thinly slice a white salad onion or a red onion.
Remove the stem, seeds, and white pith from a green pepper and slice it into strips.
Once all the vegetables are in the serving bowl, add the olives, and optional capers. Drizzle with olive oil (don't be shy), a light splash of red wine vinegar, then very gently give the salad a quick toss. Don't toss it too much. Once or twice is enough.
Add a generous slab of feta cheese on top, then drizzle it with more olive oil and a sprinkle of dried oregano. You can add a little fine sea salt if you like, but remember that feta cheese is already quite salty.

🔁 Possible Variations

Greek salads may be different, depending on which Greek island you're visiting. For example, on the island of Hydra, cucumbers are often peeled.

On Crete, a Greek salad is called a Cretan salad. While the vegetable components are the same, your salad is served with dried rusks made of barley. It's topped with the most delicious creamy, milky cheese, like mizithra, a fresh cheese made from sheep or goat's milk.

👍🏼 Helpful tips to make the best Greek salad

Cut the vegetables into large chunks and place them in a large bowl.
Use Kalamata olives with the pits (no canned black olives!) for the very best flavour.
Add slabs or blocks of feta cheese (never crumbled) on top of the salad.
Add a generous glug or two of extra virgin olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar. If you'd like, you can place small bottles of olive oil and vinegar on the table so your friends can help themselves to more if they'd like.
Add a drizzle of olive oil on the feta and top with dried oregano and sea salt.

❓Reader's Questions

What is 'papara'?

The ritual of soaking up the delicious leftovers in the bottom of your bowl of Greek salad is sometimes referred to as 'papara.'

Dipping bread into olive oil is not only a popular custom in Greece, but it's also followed in other countries, like Italy. But dipping a slice of bread into all the "leftovers" in the bottom of your bowl of Greek salad is simply heavenly!

Olive oil mingles with the tomato juices and little bits of feta cheese, just waiting to be sopped up with bread!

Close-up view of an authentic Greek salad.

🍽 What to serve with Greek Salad

A Greek salad has all the makings of a complete, balanced meal. However, if you want to serve it as a side dish, it goes well with a variety of proteins, like chicken, lamb, fish, and shrimp. Here are a few suggestions for recipes that go well with Greek salad:

Greek Lemon Chicken Kabobs: Tender, flavourful grilled chicken marinated in lemon, garlic, and herbs pairs perfectly with this fresh, tangy Greek salad.
Moussaka: A hearty Greek casserole made with layers of eggplant, ground meat (traditionally lamb), and a creamy béchamel sauce. The combination of moussaka and Greek salad creates a tasty balanced meal.
Greek Potatoes: These crispy lemon oven-roasted potatoes make a delicious side dish for a Greek-inspired meal.
Greek Chicken Burgers with Spinach and Feta: Greek salad makes a perfect accompaniment to a casual meal of Greek burgers.
Grilled Lemon Garlic Shrimp: Cooked in your air fryer, these tasty shrimp or prawns can round out your meal.
Souvlaki: Skewered and grilled pieces of marinated lamb, or chicken served alongside Greek salad, create a delicious, traditional Greek lunch or dinner.
Baked Salmon Patties or Air Fryer Salmon Patties go perfectly with this salad.
Vegetarian Dolmades: Grape leaves stuffed with a savory mixture of rice, herbs, and spices. Serve this Greek specialty with your salad for a light but satisfying meal.
Grilled Vegetable Skewers: Skewered and grilled vegetables like zucchini, bell peppers, onions, and cherry tomatoes offer a colourful option that pairs well with Greek salad. It's a great choice for the vegetarians in your group, or as a side dish for any main course.

A Greek salad with a fork breaking apart a block of feta cheese on top.

⏰ Storage Instructions

To store: You can store this salad in an airtight container in the fridge. It will last for 3 days.

Enjoy this colourful, healthy Greek salad recipe!

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