This Mediterranean salad is recent, crunchy, and filled with daring, Greek-style flavors. Made with crisp veggies, feta, herbs, and a zesty, lemony French dressing!
If there was a salad recipe I’d make day-after-day, it’s this one! I nonetheless keep in mind the primary time I ordered a traditional Greek salad on a visit to Greece with Alex. The mixture of crisp veggies with salty feta and olives was some of the refreshing issues I’d ever tasted.
Right here’s a inexperienced salad that’s based mostly on these flavors! This Mediterranean salad recipe is a recent inexperienced salad with Greek-style flavors (with romaine lettuce, not pasta or grain-based), with crunchy greens, briny olives, salty feta, and a vivid lemony French dressing. It’s excellent as a lightweight lunch or aspect dish that takes simply 20 minutes: or, you’ll be able to high it with rooster, salmon, shrimp, or tofu for a satisfying dinner concept!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Listed here are a number of causes I feel you’ll love this recipe:
- Daring flavors: The selfmade Greek French dressing with the salty feta cheese, briny olives, and recent herbs make scrumptious layers of taste
- Fast prep time: With a prep time of simply 20 minutes and no cooking required, it’s a quick and simple choice
- Customizable: Serve it as a aspect inexperienced salad, or high it with protein to make it into dinner!
Substances You’ll Want
There are a lot of methods to make a Mediterranean salad, and right here’s my spin! It’s one in every of my favourite Mediterranean weight-reduction plan recipes that pairs with virtually any meal. Right here’s what you’ll want:
- Romaine lettuce: I just like the crunch of romaine. If it’s important to substitute, use butter lettuce.
- Cucumber, onion, and tomato: These greens additionally star within the well-known Greek salad.
- Kalamata olives: Kalamata olives are key, however you’ll be able to swap in different varieties like Castelvetrano.
- Feta cheese: Feta is vital right here for the briny salty taste, and it’s evocative of a Greek salad. You possibly can omit it for vegan diets (or use vegan feta, bought or selfmade).
- Recent Herbs: I’m obsessive about recent dill on this salad: it provides this vivid, barely candy taste. Recent parsley, basil, or cilantro all work too.
- Dressing: I like this salad with our Greek salad dressing, however you can even use Italian dressing or tahini sauce.
Easy methods to Make a Mediterranean Salad
This Mediterranean salad recipe takes about 20 minutes to make. Listed here are the essential steps (or soar to the recipe):
Step 1: Chop the greens into bite-sized items. I prefer to maintain the whole lot roughly comparable in measurement so that you get a little bit of the whole lot in every forkful.
Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk the crimson wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, oregano, non-compulsory garlic, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Step by step whisk within the olive oil.
Step 3: Add the recent components to a plate or bowl, topping with feta cheese and recent herbs. Prime with dressing and serve.
Professional Tip: The important thing to avoiding a soggy salad is all about timing. Add the salad dressing simply earlier than you’re able to eat, not earlier than. If you happen to costume it too early, the lettuce will wilt and launch water.
Variations & Substitutions
Easy methods to combine up this Mediterranean salad recipe? First, you’ll be able to add totally different greens or swap in several dressings. Listed here are a number of concepts:
- Chickpeas or white beans: So as to add vegan protein, add drained and rinsed chickpeas or white beans
- Veggie swaps: Add recent chopped crimson or inexperienced bell pepper and even sliced roasted bell peppers. Chopped artichokes add a tangy aptitude. You may as well combine in a little bit of uncooked broccoli florets, and even steamed cauliflower.
- Grains: Including cooked quinoa makes a heartier salad.
- Dressing: Attempt Tahini Sauce, Italian Dressing, our primary French dressing Recipe, or Lemon French dressing as a substitute.
Protein Add-Ins
This Mediterranean salad pairs nicely with lean proteins to make it right into a wholesome dinner concept: the intense, acidic French dressing and recent veggies completement a protein completely. Right here’s how I usually add protein to make it an entire meal:
- Rooster: Think about topping with grilled rooster or pan seared rooster
- Salmon: Attempt baked salmon or seared salmon.
- Shrimp: Go for sauteed shrimp, grilled shrimp, or shrimp kabobs.
- Tofu: Make baked tofu or crispy tofu. I like tofu on a salad: in the event you salt it sufficient it virtually tastes like feta!
- Canned Tuna: For a fast lunch, add some canned tuna to show this right into a Mediterranean tuna salad.
Serving Concepts
This Mediterranean-style salad may be very versatile. Right here’s when and the way I serve it:
- As a Aspect Dish: This can be a nice salad to serve with lasagna or any pasta dish. It’s additionally incredible alongside grilled rooster, grilled salmon or grilled shrimp at summer time barbecues.
- For Weeknight Dinners: I make this typically as a straightforward aspect for easy proteins. It pairs with baked rooster thighs, baked tilapia, or perhaps a frittata.
- At Potlucks and Events: That is nice for bringing to a celebration! Serve it alongside hummus and heat pita bread.
- With Wine or Non-Alcoholic Pairings: A crisp white wine like Sauvignon Blanc or a dry rosé is ideal right here! Or pair with glowing water with lemon or iced inexperienced tea.
Storage & Make-Forward Ideas
If you wish to make this Mediterranean salad forward, you’ll be able to chop the greens upfront and make the dressing, storing each in separate containers. It’s greatest to chop the tomato as near serving as potential. When serving, permit the dressing to come back to room temperature, then assemble the salad.
For storing leftover salad, leftovers with dressing final for as much as 1 day refrigerated (dressed salads do turn out to be soggy over time).
Dietary Notes
This Mediterranean salad is vegetarian and gluten-free. For plant-based, vegan and dairy-free, omit the feta cheese.
Incessantly Requested Questions
A conventional Greek salad (or Horiatiki) doesn’t embrace lettuce: it’s simply chunky tomatoes, cucumbers, crimson onion, olives, and a big slab of feta cheese with olive oil and oregano.
A Mediterranean salad, then again, often begins with a lettuce base (typically romaine) and consists of comparable veggies however in a chopped format. It’s extra of an Americanized interpretation of Greek and Mediterranean flavors.
Sure! This Mediterranean salad recipe is full of nutrient-dense components. The veggies present fiber, nutritional vitamins, and minerals. The additional virgin olive oil is wealthy in heart-healthy fats (see Olive Oil vs Vegetable Oil). The primary issues to observe are sodium from the olives and feta, and you’ll management that by adjusting quantities.
The largest mistake is including the dressing too early, which makes the whole lot soggy. At all times costume proper earlier than serving. Additionally, don’t skip the recent herbs! Dried simply doesn’t offer you that very same vivid, vibrant taste. Lastly, be certain your lettuce is totally dry after washing: extra water makes the whole lot soggy.
The traditional alternative is a lemon French dressing made with crimson wine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, and dried oregano (just like the one on this recipe).
Different nice choices embrace a tahini-based dressing for creaminess, a Greek yogurt dressing with lemon and garlic powder, or a easy Italian dressing. I’ve even used my Greek salad dressing interchangeably.
Mediterranean Salad
This Mediterranean salad is recent, crunchy, and filled with daring, Greek-style flavors. Made with crisp veggies, feta, herbs, and a zesty, lemony French dressing!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Prepare dinner Time: 0 minutes
- Complete Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Class: Salad
- Methodology: Uncooked
- Delicacies: Salad
- Food plan: Vegetarian
Substances
- 8 cups lettuce, chopped into chew sized items
- ⅓ cup olives, sliced in half
- 1/2 English cucumber, chopped
- 2 small tomatoes or 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup feta cheese
- ¼ cup sliced crimson onion
- 1 handful chopped or torn recent herbs (dill, basil, cilantro or parsley)
- 1 recipe Greek Salad Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon crimson wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or za’atar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
- Chop the recent greens as famous above.
- In a medium bowl, whisk collectively the crimson wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, oregano, kosher salt and black pepper. Step by step whisk within the olive oil, including 1 tablespoon at a time and whisking till it incorporates, till an emulsion types. Serve instantly. Retailer refrigerated and convey to room temperature earlier than serving (retains at the very least 2 weeks). The dressing might separate after sitting which is okay; merely whisk once more earlier than serving.
- To serve, place the greens on a plate. Prime with the greens, then feta crumbles and herbs. Drizzle with the specified quantity of dressing and serve.
Notes
Substitutions: Add drained, rinsed chickpeas or white beans for additional protein. Chopped bell peppers, roasted crimson peppers, or artichoke hearts all work fantastically. For a grain-based model, add cooked quinoa. You possibly can substitute the lemon French dressing with Tahini Sauce or Italian dressing.
Protein Add-Ins: Prime with grilled rooster, baked salmon, sautéed shrimp, or crispy tofu to make this an entire meal.
Make-Forward Ideas: Retailer the chopped greens and dressing individually in hermetic containers for as much as 5 days. Wait to chop the tomatoes and add the dressing till proper earlier than serving to keep up the most effective texture and keep away from sogginess.
Vegan Choice: Omit the feta cheese or use a vegan feta various.