Horiatiki salad is a traditional Greek dish with green bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, raw red onion, olives, a whole bunch of feta, olive oil and oregano. When Jared and I were in Greece, we ate horiatiki salad every day with our lunch or dinner. We were in Greece for 12 days, I have 11 pictures of horiatiki salad on my phone. I am not kidding when I said we ate it every day! It’s such a refreshing dish that honors the ingredients and is so simple to make at home. The best thing is that you can customize it to your own tastes. Want to add more feta? I always do!! Maybe you don’t want to risk onion breath at work, so leave those raw onions out. I often do that too! Maybe you prefer capers to olives, or don’t like either. You can change this dish to accommodate your personal preferences.
First you will mix together 1 thinly sliced green bell pepper and 3 thinly sliced mini cucumbers. You can use 1 regular size cucumber but I think the mini ones are usually crunchier and sweeter and they are more bite size. But that’s just one person’s preference. If you are adding raw red onion, you can thinly slice that as well and add it now. Then slice your 3 medium tomatoes in half and squeeze some of the juices over the cucumber and bell pepper. Then roughly chop your tomatoes and add to your mix. Then add 1/4 cup feta, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/4 tsp salt, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp red wine vinegar, and your olives (if using). Mix it all up and top with more feta crumbles. I really like to mix the feta into the dressing because it ensures you have some salty, creamy feta goodness in every bite. It’s more traditional to get a block of feta and serve that on top of the salad after it’s been mixed. But do what makes you happy!
This is great as a side dish to grilled fish or meat, but it’s also a great lunch topped with your favorite protein. I personally love to eat it with my Buffalo Chicken Burgers because I love the mix of the spicy burger with the creamy feta and crunchy veg.
Greek Horiatiki Salad
Ingredients
- 1 green bell pepper thinly sliced
- 3 miniature cucumbers thinly sliced
- 3 medium tomatoes
- 1/2 medium red onion chopped
- 1/4 crumbled French feta (like Valbreso)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- Pitted kalamata olives or capers (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the green bell pepper and miniature cucumbers in a large bowl. I usually omit the onion, but add that here if you prefer it.
- Slice your tomatoes in half and gently squeeze the juice out over the cucumbers and peppers. The acid from the tomato will serve as part of the dressing.
- Roughly chop the tomatoes and add them to the bowl.
- Add the feta, salt, oregano, olive oil, and vinegar. Toss to combine.
- Top with more feta and olives/capers, if desired.
I like to eat it with my Buffalo Chicken burgers – recipe here. The spiciness of the burger with the crunchy veggies and creamy feta is a winner!
