Greek Salad with Zesty Lemon Dressing
This Greek salad is a must try! It is one of the healthiest salads around; chock-full of fresh, raw veggies and served with a healthy (and super easy) zesty lemon dressing. So delicious and guilt free!
I could eat this all day and not get tired of it. It kind of reminds me of the Olive Garden salad but it’s 100x better! You’ll be making it again and again. Seriously folks, go to the grocery store soon. 😉
One of my readers, Ella Z. shared this recipe with us and I’m so glad she did. Here is her story of how this salad was born:
“The person that taught us this recipe was here on a visit from Israel, we kept cooking different kinds of dishes and he said “please stop cooking for me and take me to the market” lol He bought all these ingredients and made this salad and we have never been the same since! This is how they eat in Israel, all fresh ingredients…. “From the land of milk and honey”
Here are some great salad tips that Ella shared:
1. Don’t add salad dressing until ready to serve.
2. You can prep most of your salad up to a week in advance and when you are ready to serve, add tomatoes, and avocados and drizzle with the zesty salad dressing. What a great way to eat healthy salad during the week!
3. If prepping the salad in advance for a larger crowd and you want to get all the legwork done earlier in the day, you can arrange things separately on a platter and cover with plastic wrap, then just before serving, add the dressing and a generous sprinkle downpour of feta.
4. You can add different veggies that are in season. Other veggies Ella has used include cauliflower and even fresh mushrooms.
Greek Salad Ingredients:
1 head romaine lettuce, washed, chopped and completely dried
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
1/2 red, orange or yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (or slice heirlooms when in season)
1 medium cucumber, diced
1 avocado, cubed
1/2 cup kalamata olives (about 20 olives), sliced into thirds, optional
1 oz feta cheese, or to taste
Zesty Greek Salad Dressing:
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil
Juice from 1 lemon, freshly squeezed (about 2 1/2 Tbsp)
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
Pinch of Black pepper
How to Make Greek Salad:
1. To keep lettuce crisp: rinse your romaine lettuce in cold water, then use a salad spinner to dry completely. Refrigerate until ready to use. Note: if you refrigerate salad that is wet, it will get mushy.
2. Place your chopped and dried romaine in a large salad bowl along with sliced red onion, sliced bell peppers, halved tomatoes, diced cucumber, diced avocado and kalamata olives if using.
3. Just before serving, add the dressing and sprinkle with feta. Toss the salad to combine and serve right away
Greek Salad with Easy Zesty Dressing
Ingredients
Greek Salad Ingredients:
- 1 head romaine lettuce washed, chopped and completely dried
- 1/2 medium red onion sliced
- 1/2 red orange or yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes halved (or slice heirlooms when in season)
- 1 medium cucumber diced
- 1 avocado cubed
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives about 20 olives, sliced into thirds, optional
- 1 oz feta cheese or to taste
Zesty Greek Dressing:
- 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil
- Juice from 1 lemon freshly squeezed (about 2 1/2 Tbsp)
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
- Pinch of Black pepper
Instructions
-
To keep lettuce crisp: rinse your romaine lettuce in cold water, then use a salad spinner to dry completely. Refrigerate until ready to use. Note: if you refrigerate salad that is wet, it will get mushy.
-
Place your chopped and dried romaine in a large salad bowl along with sliced red onion, sliced bell peppers, halved tomatoes, diced cucumber, diced avocado and kalamata olives if using.
-
Just before serving, add the dressing and sprinkle with feta. Toss the salad to combine and serve right away.
Recipe Notes
Here are some great salad tips that Ella shared:
1. Don't add salad dressing until ready to serve.
2. You can prep most of your salad up to a week in advance and when you are ready to serve, add tomatoes, and avocados and drizzle with the zesty salad dressing. What a great way to eat healthy salad during the week!
3. If prepping the salad in advance for a larger crowd and you want to get all the legwork done earlier in the day, you can arrange things separately on a platter and cover with plastic wrap, then just before serving, add the dressing and a generous downpour of feta.
4. You can add different veggies that are in season. Other veggies Ella has used include cauliflower and fresh mushrooms.
So good! My husband and son loved it too! Can you imagine yourself eating this? I want this in my mouth now!
natashaskitchen
Tomato Cucumber Feta Salad Recipe 
Caesar Salad Recipe 
Mexican Salad with Lime Dressing 
Broccoli Salad Recipe with Creamy Lemon Dressing (VIDEO) 
Cucumber Feta Salad Recipe 
Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe 
Here you'll find classic Ukrainian food and other favorite recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Hi! Where can I buy Kalamata olives?
We purchased them in a store called Rosauers. They should have them in the major grocery stores like FredMeyer, Albertsons. Maybe at Walmart. Which stores have you checked?
I made this on a recent trip with friends and everyone loved it! It was a side dish and people got seconds of only salad and asked me for the recipe. It’s sooo yummy. Didn’t change a thing. Thank you Natasha!
Awesome!!! I am happy to hear you loved it Ema! 🙂
Regards for helping out, excellent information.
Great salad i added honey and balsamic vinegar to the dressing and it was a hit!!
Thanks sis, I’m so happy you liked it! 🙂 How was your party?
Hello Miss Natasha, This recipe looks absolutely delicious and Its perfect for our weekend family dinner.. Thanks for the share and I must try this!
Hi Rog and thank you! I hope you love the salad. It’s a family favorite in our home 🙂
This salad is addicting. Bought all the ingredients yesterday to make it again and again. I made it 4 times last week. I can eat it nonstop! I am a big fan of a Greek salad, and this recipe is the best!
Inna, thank you for such a great review :). Reading your comment tells me that you are definitely addicted to it :D.
I’m eating a giant bowl of this salad as I am typing this up. 🙂
For the past year or so I’ve been making this salad per this recipe:
http://greek.food.com/recipe/kittencals-famous-greek-salad-66596
It’s pretty much identical to yours except for the dressing which includes a few more (probably in your pantry already) items that I feel like make the dressing even more flavorful!
Beautiful photos!..and I loved reading the blurb on the origin of this recipe as well.
If you haven’t tried this simple dressing, I hope you give it a chance. It’s amazing how a few simple ingredients make for one amazing dressing! Thanks for sharing the link; I love trying new things. And thanks for the compliment! I enjoyed photographing this salad 🙂
My husband and I had this salad for a late night dinner recently and loved every bite. I also added some shrimp sauteed with cayenne pepper, fresh squeezed lemon, salt, and a bit of pepper and this was an outstanding addition 🙂
Great recipe, Natasha!
Oh my goodness that sounds bomb with shrimp! I want that so bad now! Thanks alot! 😉
Btw, that was meant to be 5 stars, my fingerwork wasn’t very graceful 😉 LOL
Thanks Elina! 🙂
You can add it to the dressing i guess 🙂 i dont make mine as fancy as yours:) so i just cut and mix all the veggies…press garlic and pour dressing over: )
Thanks Kristina! I’ll try it for our next adults only gathering. My son yells “spicy!” When he tastes fresh garlic 🙂
Yep:) i make this salad all the time!!! Love it!! Try adding couple cloves of garlic:)) so so good! It could replace a meal:)
Do you add garlic into the dressing?
Just add some pressed garlic into the dressing it takes it to the next level.
Thanks Dina! 🙂
This looks delish! We love greek salads in our households 🙂 I like the avocado and bell pepper addition.
It was so nice. I’m so in love with avocados and the sweet bell peppers were a great compliment to this salad!
People from Israel differently know how to make Greek salads. I make exactly the same one that my husband taught me.:) THis looks divine and I love the colours and the blue bowl!
I need to try more recipes from that part of the world, both from Israel and Greek recipes. I think I just need to travel more 😉
Where do you buy your Kalamata olives? I cannot seem to find any here in Philly.
We purchased them in a store called Rosauers. They should have them in the major grocery stores like FredMeyer, Albertsons. Maybe at Walmart. Which stores have you checked?
Just Made this yummy salad for dinner today! It was amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe!! 🙂
You are quick and you’re so welcome. I love to share good things and I’m so glad Ella shared the recipe with me 🙂 Good things are meant to be shared!
Photos are gorgeous. I love Greek salad.
Norma, thank you so much 🙂 me too! It’s just a feel-good (and taste-good) food!
Norma, thank you so much 🙂 me too! It’s just a feel-good (and taste-good) food!
This salad looks like Summer! So bright and fresh! I love the simple vinaigrette and the story behind it!
Isn’t it a great story?! It totally makes me want to go to the market and eat salad for the rest of the week 😉
Ella always makes a bigger portion when I come over. Absolutely the best and healthiest salad ever!
You already know it’s good! 🙂 I’m so happy she shared this little treasure with us 😉
:))) Thanks Lena!
It is my favorite salad! I eat it all the time!
I just bought more ingredients for today again :).
I love Greek Salad from Panera. I think I would like this one too! Will give your recipe a try 😉
I haven’t tried theres; I don’t think we have a Panera around here 🙂 Maybe we will one day!