Name: Classic Greek Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 English cucumber, cut into ¾-inch pieces; 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved; 1 bell pepper (red, yellow, or orange), cut into ¾-inch pieces; ¼ cup red onion, thinly sliced; ½ cup kalamata olives, pitted; 6 oz feta cheese, cut into chunks (not crumbled); 3 tbsp fresh herbs, chopped (flat-leaf parsley or fresh oregano); ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil; ¼ cup red wine vinegar; Salt and black pepper to taste

Last Tuesday I put a greek salad on the table at 6:15 and my daughter ate two full bowls without once asking what was in it.

That’s the thing about this salad. There’s no lettuce, no croutons, nothing to wilt or go soggy in the ten minutes between the counter and the table.

It’s just crisp cucumber, sweet cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, briny olives, and big chunks of feta, all tossed in a simple red wine vinaigrette.

I make it every summer, and I’ve started making it in fall too, when the tomatoes at the store are still decent and I need something fast on a school night.

The trick is cutting everything to about the same size, roughly three-quarters of an inch, so every forkful picks up a little of everything. Small detail.

Big difference.

Prep: 15 minutes · Cook: 0 minutes · Total: 15 minutes · Serves: 6

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How do you make a greek salad that doesn’t get watery?

Cut the vegetables to a similar size and dress the salad right before serving. The dressing keeps separately for up to 7 days in the fridge, according to Natasha’s Kitchen, and the chopped vegetables keep up to 2 days, so you can prep everything ahead and toss it together at the last moment.

What Makes It Work

Cutting every vegetable to roughly three-quarters of an inch means each bite carries cucumber, pepper, tomato, and feta at the same time, instead of one thing dominating the fork.
Dressing at the last moment keeps the cucumbers crisp and stops the tomatoes from flooding the bowl with liquid before it even hits the table.
A 2:1 ratio of olive oil to red wine vinegar, the ratio used by Natasha’s Kitchen, coats the vegetables without making the salad sharp or acidic.

The first time I made this I tossed it a full hour early and the bottom of the bowl was basically a puddle. Dress it late.

That’s the one thing I’d tell a first-timer.

Why This One’s Worth Making

Ready in 15 minutes with zero cooking, which makes it a real weeknight option.
Every ingredient comes from a regular supermarket, no specialty store needed.
The dressing and the chopped vegetables keep separately in the fridge, so you can build lunches from the same prep all week.
It holds its own as a main dish or sits happily next to grilled chicken or fish.

The Ingredient List

1 English cucumber, cut into ¾-inch pieces
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 bell pepper (red, yellow, or orange), cut into ¾-inch pieces
¼ cup red onion, thinly sliced
½ cup kalamata olives, pitted
6 oz feta cheese, cut into chunks (not crumbled)
3 tbsp fresh herbs, chopped (flat-leaf parsley or fresh oregano)
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
Salt and black pepper to taste

Picking the Right Ingredients

English cucumber is the right call here. It has thin skin you don’t need to peel, very few seeds, and it stays crisp longer than a regular slicing cucumber.

If you can only find a regular cucumber, peel it and scoop out the seeds with a spoon before cutting.

Block feta packed in brine is worth the extra dollar. It’s firmer, saltier, and holds its shape in chunks instead of turning to paste when you toss the salad.

Pre-crumbled feta is drier and tends to disappear into the dressing. Buy the block, cut it yourself.

For the dressing, use the best extra-virgin olive oil you have on hand. This dressing has four ingredients total, so the oil flavor comes through.

Red wine vinegar is the right acid here. White wine vinegar works in a pinch, but it tastes thinner and the salad loses some of its depth.

Making Greek Salad, Step by Step

Make the dressing. Whisk together ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil and ¼ cup red wine vinegar in a small bowl or jar. Season with salt and black pepper. The dressing should look glossy and fully combined, with no oil pooling on top. Set it aside or refrigerate it for up to 7 days.
Prep the cucumber. Cut the English cucumber into ¾-inch pieces. Don’t go smaller or they’ll turn soft fast. You want pieces sturdy enough to hold up to the dressing, so they stay crisp when you bite into them.
Halve the tomatoes. Cut each cherry or grape tomato in half through the equator. Halving them lets the cut side soak up the dressing and keeps them from rolling off the fork. If they’re on the larger side, quarter them.
Cut the pepper and onion. Slice the bell pepper into ¾-inch pieces to match the cucumber. Slice the red onion thin. If raw onion is sharp in your kitchen, soak the slices in cold water for five minutes, then drain them, and they’ll mellow out noticeably.
Assemble the salad. Combine the cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, red onion, olives, and feta in a large bowl. Scatter the fresh herbs over the top. Everything should look roughly the same size, with the feta chunks sitting on top rather than buried.
Dress and toss right before serving. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently so the feta doesn’t break up completely. You want some chunks to stay intact. The salad is ready when every piece is lightly coated and the dressing has pooled just slightly at the bottom of the bowl.

What I’ve Learned Making This Greek Salad

Don’t skip halving the tomatoes. Whole cherry tomatoes roll around and don’t absorb the dressing the way halved ones do, and you lose half the flavor.
There’s no lettuce in a traditional greek salad, and that’s the point. This is a chopped vegetable salad, and it’s better for it.
If you’re prepping ahead, Natasha’s Kitchen confirms the chopped vegetables keep up to 2 days in the fridge and the dressing keeps up to 7 days. Store them separately and toss right before you eat.
I honestly don’t measure the fresh herbs. A small handful is fine. Flat-leaf parsley keeps it mild, fresh oregano makes it taste more like the real thing.
Feta is already salty, so taste the finished salad before you add any extra salt to the dressing.
Red onion can be sharp raw. Soaking the slices in cold water for a few minutes takes the edge off without losing the crunch.

How to Store It

Once the salad is dressed, it’s best eaten the same day. The cucumbers start releasing water and the feta softens.

Natasha’s Kitchen puts the dressed salad at about 3 hours before it starts to go, and that’s been my experience too. Don’t count on next-day leftovers from a dressed bowl.

The good news is that the parts keep well on their own. Chopped vegetables in an airtight container last up to 2 days in the fridge.

The dressing in a sealed jar keeps up to 7 days. So if you want this for weekday lunches, prep the vegetables on Sunday, keep the dressing in a jar, and dress each portion right before you eat it.

This salad doesn’t freeze. The cucumbers and tomatoes would turn to mush.

What Goes With Greek Salad

Grilled chicken thighs or a simple roast chicken, because the bright acid in the dressing cuts right through the richness of the meat.
Warm pita bread, which gives you something to scoop up the dressing pooled at the bottom of the bowl.
Hummus on the side, since the flavors are already in the same neighborhood and it rounds out the plate into a full meal.
Grilled salmon, because the olives and feta stand up to the fish without competing with it.

What I Use to Make This

A large mixing bowl, wide enough to toss everything without the tomatoes flying out over the edge.
A sharp chef’s knife, because clean cuts on the cucumber and pepper matter more than you’d think for keeping the pieces from getting mushy at the edges.
A small jar with a lid for the dressing, so you can shake it to combine and store the leftover dressing without dirtying a second container.
A cutting board with a little size to it, so you can cut the whole cucumber without crowding yourself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does greek salad have lettuce? No. A traditional greek salad is a chopped vegetable salad made with cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, olives, and feta. There’s no lettuce in it, and that’s what makes it hold up so well without wilting.

What kind of feta is best for greek salad? Block feta packed in brine is the best choice. It’s firmer and saltier than pre-crumbled feta, and it holds its shape in chunks when you toss the salad instead of turning to paste.

Can I make greek salad ahead of time? You can prep the vegetables and the dressing separately up to 2 days ahead. Keep them apart in the fridge and toss them together right before serving, or the cucumbers will go soft and the bowl will fill with liquid.

What dressing goes on greek salad? A simple red wine vinaigrette made with extra-virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar. Natasha’s Kitchen uses a 2:1 ratio of oil to vinegar, which gives the dressing enough body to coat the vegetables without tasting sharp.

Can I use regular cucumber instead of English cucumber? Yes, but peel it first and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. The skin on a regular cucumber is thicker and can taste bitter, and the seeds hold more water, which will make the salad watery faster.

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