This fresh and healthy Greek salad with avocado is tossed in a flavorful homemade Greek dressing. A perfect no-cook meal for any season, packed with Mediterranean flavors
Standard-staple recipes in and out of the kitchen are what I crave. You know, the simple stuff. Recipes that let the best salad ingredients shine. This Greek salad with avocado is exactly what the doctor ordered. It’s fresh, crunchy, tangy, and above all, delicious. It has the basic flavors of a traditional Greek salad (Horiatiki salad) but with that extra somethin’ somethin’ to make your Mediterranean heart happy and healthy.
What Is Greek Salad Made Of
This salad—and any good-for-you diet—is all about balance. And tomatoes. And cucumber. And kalamata olives. It has all the usual ingredients of a traditional Greek salad but with the healthy-for-you-fats from creamy avocado tossed in. Avvvvvooooocado. I know, I think adding it in is brilliant too. I talk a lot about the healthy benefits of the Mediterranean Diet way of eating and have loads of recipe ideas that follow its formula. But few are as elementary as this one.
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy Greek salad:
- tomatoes
- cucumber (I like using seedless cucumbers for this recipe)
- red onion
- kalamata olives
- Italian flat-leaf parsley
- avocado
- my simple Greek dressing with dried oregano
How to Make Greek Salad
- To add a little visual appeal, peel the cucumbers with this palm held vegetable peeler, leaving part of the peel so their greenness shined through.
- I use medium-size tomatoes like Campari or cocktail tomatoes so I don’t end up with a lot of watery seeds. Cherry tomatoes cut in half work great too.
- Thinly slice your red onion to keep the flavor in check. Or, use my favorite handheld mandoline to do the job.
- Kalamata olives have a special tang that is less briney than regular black olives. I look for olives that have already been pitted, then cut in half so I get more olive bites in each forkful.
- Flat-leaf parsley adds a bit of brightness to this salad. If you’re a fan of curly parsley, sure, go ahead and use it instead.
- When it comes to feta cheese, I always buy my feta in a block. Pre-crumbled feta can taste chalky. I prefer to break it apart myself so I can get big, delicious, salty chunks.
- When it comes to adding the avocado, add it a the very end after combining the other ingredients. I look for a firm avocado so it doesn’t get all mushed up when tossed, and I usually coat the avocado with a bit of the dressing before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.
Greek Salad Recipe Dressing
- Because I use it so much, my favorite Greek salad dressing recipe has its own post you may want to bookmark now. For the sake of keeping things simple to find, I’m sharing it here for this recipe too.
- For this Greek salad dressing, I encourage you to taste test and add a little more of this or that to suit your desires. I prefer a pretty vinegar-y dressing because I think it really accents the fresh veggies with a little puckery tart taste.
- When tossing the dressing with the salad, first add about ¾ of the dressing, then toss to coat. Taste the salad the add more dressing to your liking.
- The salad’s veggies will release their juices as the dressing absorbs, so depending on how long this salad sits out (like at a BBQ) the more juice there will be. But if you plan on eating the salad right away, using all of the dressing at once is fine.
Can You Make Greek Salad Ahead of Time
Because the ingredients are sturdy, Greek salad is great for making ahead of time before serving. It also tastes good the longer the flavors mingle, and is perfect for eating throughout the week since this Greek salad will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Easy Greek Salad with Avocado | Healthy & Fresh Mediterranean Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 English cucumbers peeled in stripes and cut into ½ inch slices
- 1 ½ pounds medium tomatoes (I use cocktail tomatoes), stemmed and quartered
- ¼ small red onion thinly sliced
- 1 ½ cups kalamata olives pitted and halved
- ¼ cup Italian flat leaf parsley chopped
- 2 avocados pitted and cut into chunks
- 1 cup feta cheese broken into large chunks
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon each of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large serving bowl, combine the cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, kalamata olives and parsley. Place the avocado in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a small canning jar, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, oregano, sugar and salt and pepper. Top with the lid and shake well until blended and emulsified. Season with more sugar and salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour 1 tablespoon of the dressing on the sliced avocado and gently mix to coat. Pour the rest of the dressing on the cucumber mixture and toss to coat. Add the avocado to the salad and top with chunks of feta cheese, and serve.
