This Mediterranean salad is recent, crunchy, and stuffed with daring, Greek-style flavors. Made with crisp veggies, feta, herbs, and a zesty, lemony French dressing!
If there was a salad recipe I might make day by 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 primarily based 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 vibrant lemony French dressing. It’s good as a lightweight lunch or aspect dish that takes simply 20 minutes: or, you possibly can high it with hen, salmon, shrimp, or tofu for a satisfying dinner thought!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Listed here are a couple of causes I feel you’ll love this recipe:
- Daring flavors: The do-it-yourself 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 straightforward 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 various methods to make a Mediterranean salad, and right here’s my spin! It’s one among my favourite Mediterranean weight loss 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 you need 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 possibly can swap in different varieties like Castelvetrano.
- Feta cheese: Feta is essential 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 do-it-yourself).
- Contemporary Herbs: I’m obsessive about recent dill on this salad: it provides this vibrant, barely candy taste. Contemporary parsley, basil, or cilantro all work too.
- Dressing: I really like this salad with our Greek salad dressing, however you too can use Italian dressing or tahini sauce.
Tips on how to Make a Mediterranean Salad
This Mediterranean salad recipe takes about 20 minutes to make. Listed here are the fundamental steps (or soar to the recipe):
Step 1: Chop the greens into bite-sized items. I prefer to preserve all the things roughly comparable in measurement so that you get a little bit of all the things in every forkful.
Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk the purple wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, oregano, elective 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. High 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. In the event you costume it too early, the lettuce will wilt and launch water.
Variations & Substitutions
Tips on how to combine up this Mediterranean salad recipe? First, you possibly can add totally different greens or swap in numerous dressings. Listed here are a couple 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 purple 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: Strive Tahini Sauce, Italian Dressing, our fundamental 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 thought: 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:
- Hen: Contemplate topping with grilled hen or pan seared hen
- Salmon: Strive baked salmon or seared salmon.
- Shrimp: Go for sauteed shrimp, grilled shrimp, or shrimp kabobs.
- Tofu: Make baked tofu or crispy tofu. I really like tofu on a salad: when 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: It is a nice salad to serve with lasagna or any pasta dish. It’s additionally incredible alongside grilled hen, grilled salmon or grilled shrimp at summer season barbecues.
- For Weeknight Dinners: I make this typically as a straightforward aspect for easy proteins. It pairs with baked hen 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 Suggestions
If you wish to make this Mediterranean salad forward, you possibly can chop the greens upfront and make the dressing, storing each in separate containers. It’s greatest to chop the tomato as near serving as doable. When serving, permit the dressing to return 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 into soggy over time).
Dietary Notes
This Mediterranean salad is vegetarian and gluten-free. For plant-based, vegan and dairy-free, omit the feta cheese.
Regularly Requested Questions
A conventional Greek salad (or Horiatiki) doesn’t embody lettuce: it’s simply chunky tomatoes, cucumbers, purple onion, olives, and a big slab of feta cheese with olive oil and oregano.
A Mediterranean salad, however, often begins with a lettuce base (typically romaine) and contains 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 filled with 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 look at are sodium from the olives and feta, and you may management that by adjusting quantities.
The largest mistake is including the dressing too early, which makes all the things soggy. All the time costume proper earlier than serving. Additionally, don’t skip the recent herbs! Dried simply doesn’t offer you that very same vibrant, vibrant taste. Lastly, be sure your lettuce is totally dry after washing: extra water makes all the things soggy.
The traditional selection is a lemon French dressing made with purple wine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, and dried oregano (just like the one on this recipe).
Different nice choices embody 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 stuffed with daring, Greek-style flavors. Made with crisp veggies, feta, herbs, and a zesty, lemony French dressing!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook dinner Time: 0 minutes
- Complete Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Class: Salad
- Technique: Uncooked
- Delicacies: Salad
- Weight loss plan: Vegetarian
Substances
- 8 cups lettuce, chopped into chunk sized items
- ⅓ cup olives, sliced in half
- 1/2 English cucumber, chopped
- 2 small tomatoes or 1 cup cherry tomatoesÂ
- ½ cup feta cheese
- ¼ cup sliced purple onion
- 1 handful chopped or torn recent herbs (dill, basil, cilantro or parsley)
- 1 recipe Greek Salad Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon purple 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 purple 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 varieties. Serve instantly. Retailer refrigerated and produce to room temperature earlier than serving (retains a minimum of 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. High 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 further protein. Chopped bell peppers, roasted purple 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: High with grilled hen, baked salmon, sautéed shrimp, or crispy tofu to make this an entire meal.
Make-Forward Suggestions: 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 take care of the perfect texture and keep away from sogginess.
Vegan Possibility: Omit the feta cheese or use a vegan feta different.
