Americans typically think traditional Greek salad starts with romaine lettuce and ends with tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumbers, olives, feta and maybe some red onions. Here's the thing; you will never see a Greek salad in Greece that includes lettuce. Traditional Greek salad is a simple platter of tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, onions, kalamata olives topped with a big slab of fresh feta (never crumbled) and an oil and vinegar dressing that is seasoned with oregano. No lettuce is included, ever!

Likewise, traditional Greek salad is served on a platter, not in a bowl.

My Slight Variations on Traditional Greek Salad

While I encourage authenticity, I also am a big believer in modifying to personal taste. My version of Greek salad is nearly authentic, with a couple small twists. I love sweet red, orange and yellow bell peppers, but not so much bitter green peppers. So I use red, orange and yellow in my traditional Greek salads.  

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I also love fresh herbs, so in addition to oregano I often add fresh mint or dill. I don't always have kalamata olives on hand, so sometimes I deviate and use my favorite Italian Castelvetrano olives, which I always have on hand. I also sometimes add capers or caper berries, something I never saw in Greece. I also sprinkle with a few crushed red pepper flakes for a little contrasting heat. If I'm making a big platter, I will cut the feta slabs into the number of portions I am serving, as opposed to one big slab.

Use Great Olive Oil

Traditional Greek salad is a very simple dish. To let the flavors shine through and to boost the nutrition of this classic Mediterranean dish use great olive oil. Here is a quality Greek olive oil I recommend.

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Use Good Fresh Feta

Good feta will be sold in brine, not wrapped in plastic. Trader Joe's has a great fresh Greek feta sold in brine. Middle Eastern markets are a great place to purchase feta as they often sell fresh feta from large crocks. Many will allow you to taste before buying. Feta can be very different. Some feta cheeses are more crumbly, some are creamier, some are saltier and some have a grassy flavor.  Feta can be made from sheep, goat or cow's milk. Authentic Greek feta is made primarily from unpasteurized sheep's milk, although Greek feta imported to the U.S will likely be pasteurized. Israel, France, Bulgaria and the U.S. also make feta cheese. So check out a few to find your favorite.

Quantities

There is no need to get hung up on recipe quantities when making traditional Greek salad. Use this guideline as a rule of thumb to calculate per person quantities:

• 1/2 large tomato
• 1/2 bell pepper
• 1 small Persian cucumber
• 1 thin slice of red onion
• 5 - 6 kalamata olives
• 2 ounce slab of fresh feta

Make Traditional Greek Salad a Couple Hours Ahead

The beauty of no-lettuce traditional Greek salad is you can, and in fact should, make it ahead of time. Authentic Greek salad should be served icy cold. So prepare your platter a few hours ahead of time, cover it and refrigerate it. When you are ready to serve remove the platter from the fridge, drizzle your salad dressing over the platter, garnish with some herbs, salt and pepper and serve. Print