Greek Village Salad, also known as Horiatiki, is one of those recipes that proves that simple is best. Made with crisp cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, briny olives, and thick slices of feta, it comes together in just 10 minutes with a simple olive oil and vinegar dressing. If you love fresh, no-fuss Mediterranean salads like this Chickpea Cucumber Feta Salad, this is one you'll come back to all summer.
Greek Village Salad At A Glance
- 🕒 Total Time: 10 minutes (no cooking required)
- 🍽️ Servings: 4
- 🌍 Cuisine Type: Greek / Mediterranean
- 🥗 Flavor Profile: Fresh, crisp, and briny with juicy tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, salty feta, and a simple olive oil vinaigrette
- 🥄 Dietary Info: Naturally gluten-free, vegetarian, low carb, Mediterranean diet-friendly
- 🧊 Storage Notes: Best enjoyed fresh; can be refrigerated for up to 2-3 days, though vegetables will soften and release liquid
- ⭐ What Makes This Special: A true Horiatiki salad skips the lettuce and relies on just a handful of high-quality ingredients for bold, authentic flavor
Save And Summarize This Recipe
What makes a Greek Village Salad truly authentic is its simplicity. There's no lettuce here, just fresh vegetables, good olive oil, and a block of feta that softens slightly as it sits. The dressing is as classic as it gets, similar to what you'll find in this Cauliflower Tabbouleh Salad or the Mediterranean Lentil Salad, where high-quality ingredients do all the heavy lifting. If you've ever wondered how to balance oil and acid, this simple homemade salad dressing approach is exactly what you'll use here.
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This salad is perfect on its own or served with Lamb Moussaka for an easy weeknight dinner. Pair it with something like Za'atar Chicken when you want bold, herby flavor or it also works beautifully with seafood like the Greek shrimp. It's the kind of salad that quietly makes everything else on the table taste better.
Key Ingredients
Feta Cheese - Use a good-quality block feta packed in brine if you can find it. It's creamier, less crumbly, and has that tangy, salty bite that makes this salad feel truly authentic. I like to slice it into larger pieces rather than crumble it so it holds its shape and softens slightly in the dressing.
Olive Oil - With so few ingredients, the olive oil really matters here. Choose one you enjoy the taste of, something smooth and slightly peppery works beautifully. This is the same simple approach used in this Israeli Chopped Vegetable Salad, where the dressing is just as light, fresh, and ingredient-driven.
See the recipe card for quantities.
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Variations
- Vegetables - I sometimes add in zucchini or cooked broccoli or cauliflower to this recipe to use up vegetables I have left over in my refrigerator.
- Protein - I will add cooked chicken, especially a grilled chicken, or cooked salmon to this salad to make it a complete meal. Tuna is also an easy choice for a quick lunch.
- Herbs - Add other herbs to the dill like mint, basil, or parsley.
- Olives - This recipe calls for kalamata olives which are traditional; however, you can also use plain black olives.
Absolutely loved this Greek salad recipe! Made it for lunch today and it was so fresh and flavorful! Super easy to prepare and tasted just like the salads I had in Greece. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
- Emily
How To Make A Greek Village Salad: Step-By-Step
Step 1: Prepare your tomatoes and cucumbers by chopping them and adding them to a large bowl.
Step 2: Slice your onion and add it to the bowl. Add your olives and dill to the bowl.
Step 3: Stir together all the ingredients for the dressing.
Step 4: Pour the dressing over the salad and combine. Add the feta on top and enjoy!
Gwen's Pro Tip
- Though any cucumbers will work for the salad, mini cucumbers, Persian cucumbers, or English seedless cucumbers are best.
- You can make this Greek salad up to 3 hours in advance of when you need it. Toss the dressing over the vegetables and store it in the fridge to set.
Greek Village Salad FAQ's
You can add different herbs to Greek salad to adjust the flavor a bit. Mixing in fresh mint for dill or a bit of lemon juice is a great way to get a new taste. I like adding in pasta so it becomes similar to the Chickpea Orzo Salad.
Greek salad is best served right away or within a couple of hours of making it. To prevent the salad from getting soggy, don't mix in the dressing until you need to. This salad does not use lettuce so it will last longer.
Most people prefer the onion pieces to be small when in a salad. Either plan to slice them into thin ribbons or chop them into small chunks, almost mincing them, for the salad.
Other Delicious Salads
Greek Village Salad
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Ingredients
- 2 large tomatoes chopped
- ½ seedless cucumber or 3 mini cucumbers chopped, skin on
- ½ sweet onion chopped
- ½ cup pitted greek kalamata olives optional
- 4 ounces feta cheese sliced
- 3 sprigs of fresh dill chopped
Dressing
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup white wine vinegar
- S & P to taste
Instructions
- Chop all of the vegetables and add them to a bowl.
- Add olives and dill to the bowl.
- Make the dressing by combining the oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper.
- Add the dressing to the vegetables and stir.
Emily says
Absolutely loved this Greek salad recipe! Made it for lunch today and it was so fresh and flavorful! Super easy to prepare and tasted just like the salads I had in Greece. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
Gwen says
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Anonymous says
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