A scrumptious side salad that will totally rock your plate, this Marinated Greek Salad has a totally crave-worthy blend of veggies and dressing!
If you’ve been poking around this blog of mine for a while, you may have noticed that Marinated Cherry Tomatoes are basically my life.
I plant extra tomato plants each year just to keep up with the literal tons of tomatoes that I shove into my face. Whether the tomatoes are cherry, plum, or heirloom and regardless of being ripe, slightly under ripe, or even a bit over-ripened… the marinade turns them into a thing of beauty.
They’re great for scarfing on salads, scooping up with warm baguettes or pita, and make the most epic bruschetta-style crostini of my life.
Naturally I had to give this type of A+ treatment to other veggies.
How about a chopped Greek salad? Thick-cut veggies dressed in a delicious marinade complete with zesty fresh lemon juice and creamy feta cheese…
YES! YES! 1000X YES!
BONUS RECIPE: Feta Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
After you’ve scarfed the salad, the marinade can actually be blended up into the most amazing feta vinaigrette!
Simply add the marinade to a food processor or blender (an immersion blender works great too!) along with a few spoonfuls of feta.
Blend until creamy and add any extra feta and lemon juice your heart desires!
It actually tastes like this amazing feta-spiked Greek dressing I get from our local pizza restaurant. It’s so good and tastes great on a bevy of different salads.
Marinated Greek Salad
This colorful chopped salads is easily on of my favorites this time of year.
It’s a great way to make use of super rice Spring and Summer produce, but honestly — the marinade is so magical it even livens up out of season veggies and super charges their flavor. YES PLEASE!
Chopped Greek Salad Serving Suggestions:
This salad is *stellar* on it’s own but it also makes a pretty rockin’ side dish for a number of different dishes.
T-Rex friends can serve it alongside their favorite protein or pair it with a tasty Greek Chicken Gyro.
Vegetarian friends are also in luck because it’s flipping FANTASTIC paired with everything from Veggie Burgers to Falafel to my epic Grilled Cheese Pita Sandwiches. I also have it on pretty good authority that it’s an amazing side dish to serve with pizza.
You could also make a sort of grazing board or mezze platter like my Veggie + Hummus Platter and add this scrumptious salad as one of the components of the snack board. YUM!
Serving a crowd? Feel free to double or triple the recipe!
Marinated Greek Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb tomatoes (I used a mix of Roma and cherry)
- 1 English (hothouse) cucumber
- 1 green bell pepper
- ¼-½ red onion
- 4 oz feta cheese , coarsely crumbled
- 2-3 TBSP fresh parsley (optional)
Easy Greek Marinade
- 2-3 cloves garlic (smashed/peeled/minced)
- ½ cup quality olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ lemon , freshly juiced
- 1 tsp dried oregano leaves
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ½ tsp dijon mustard
Instructions
- First prep the veggies.
- If using cherry/grape tomatoes – halve them horizontally or vertically. For Roma/regular tomatoes – coarsely chop into wedges. I used a mix of both.
- Leave cucumber unpeeled and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds with a spoon and cut into ½ inch slices. Coarsely dice bell pepper. Peel and slice onion into half-rounds.
- Place the cucumber, peppers, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.
- In a medium-small bowl top minced garlic with olive oil (use one you love the taste of!), red wine vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, salt, pepper, and dijon mustard. Whisk well and pour over salad. Add chopped parsley and large crumbles of feta. Gently mix/toss to coat.
- Set aside for 30 minutes to marinate (at room temp) then dig in. You can even allow it to sit for an hour if time permits. The flavors will amplify even further!
- Ready to eat? Give it a taste and add any extra salt/pepper/lemon juice your heart desires.
BONUS RECIPE: Feta Vinaigrette
- After you’ve scarfed the salad, the leftover marinade can actually be blended up into the most amazing feta vinaigrette! Simply add the marinade to a food processor or blender (an immersion blender works great too!) along with a few spoonfuls of feta. Blend until creamy and add any extra feta and lemon juice your heart desires!
Notes
Nutrition
This marvelous Mediterranean inspired salad was inspired by and adapted from Ina Garten’s delicious Greek Salad recipe.
I like to add large crumbles of feta cheese to mine (instead of diced cubes) and brighten the salad up with some fresh lemon juice and a sprinkle of fresh parsley.
Her version has a hearty half cup of olives so if you’re a fan, feel free to add some to this salad!
More Tasty Mediterranean + Greek Inspired Recipes:
- READER FAVORITE: Greek Quinoa Bowls
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with Feta
- Healthy Hummus Cucumber Boats + Easy Lunch Ideas
- Marinated Chickpeas with Tomatoes and Cucumber
- Greek Tortellini Salad
If you get a chance to try this delicious Marinated Greek Salad recipe, let me know!
Leave some love in the comment form below or tag your photos with @peasandcrayons on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creation. I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
Questions & Reviews
I never would have thought of marinating the vegetables. Definitely takes Greek Salad up a notch! I marinated it for an hour.
Made it as written. Put it on a bed of Romaine. Served cold. Amazing! So flavorful compared to standard Greek Salad. Thank you!
So fresh!
What a perfect salad! I love having it for lunch.
This was fresh and delicious! I can’t wait to make it again later this summer with produce from my own garden! Although store-bought was so yummy too!
So excited you’re digging the recipe! It’s for sure great with both market and garden produce! xoxo