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Authentic Greek Salad (Horiatiki) Recipe

After tasting Greek salads across villages, islands and city cafés, we picked up a few secrets to making them just right.

This version sticks to tradition with no lettuce, no vinegar, just quality ingredients layered simply and finished with a slab of feta. It’s fresh and full of the flavours we fell in love with in Greece.

We recently returned from a trip to Greece, where we visited a mix of cities and villages and sampled Greek salads in nearly every region we explored. Along the way, we chatted with locals about what truly defines an authentic Greek salad, and it turns out, simplicity, quality ingredients, and a few key techniques make all the difference.

This salad stays true to its Greek origins: chunky-cut tomatoes, sliced cucumber and onion, green pepper, all simply layered and topped with a slice or two of brined feta. No feta cubes or crumbles, only slabs of feta, allowing you to take just enough cheese with each bite, keeping the balance just right. Whole Kalamata olives are added unpitted, as they often are in Greece, and the only dressing is a generous drizzle of high-quality extra virgin olive oil, dried oregano and a pinch of salt. Traditional Greek salads do not use vinegar or lemon; the natural juices of the vegetables mix with the oil to create a simple but delicious dressing. It’s unfussy, fresh, and exactly what you’d be served at a seaside taverna in Greece.

Authentic Greek Salad (Horiatiki) Recipe
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Authentic Greek Salad (Horiatiki) Recipe

Visit local European and Italian markets, and local Farmers’ Markets to source the best ingredients for your salad.
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 3 large ripe tomatoes
  • 1/2 large English cucumber
  • 1/2 small red or white onion
  • 1/2 large green bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup dried black olives or kalamata olives with pits
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin Greek olive oil
  • 1 tsp dried oregano, Greek if you can find it
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 6-8 oz block of authentic Greek feta cheese (sheep or goat is traditional, however cow feta will do)
  • 1 tsp small capers, roughly chopped

Instructions

  • Cut the tomatoes into large, rustic chunks. Add to a salad bowl.
  • Wash the cucumber and cut lengthwise. Slice crosswise into half-moons about ½-inch thick and add to tomatoes.
  • Peel onion and slice into half rings. Add to bowl.
  • Core and seed the bell pepper and cut into strips. Add to bowl. Toss in the olives.
  • Drizzle on a little of the extra virgin olive oil.  Sprinkle with oregano and a pinch of salt. Toss again.
  • Slice a piece of feta and cut into two triangles. Carefully lay them on top of the salad.
  • Drizzle over more olive oil, and another pinch of oregano. Sprinkle the capers over the top and serve.