Chopped Greek Salad Recipe with Lemon Dressing
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Chopped Greek Salad with Lemon Dressing is made with bite-sized pieces of fresh vegetables and feta cheese tossed in a homemade zesty lemon vinaigrette. It’s a cool and refreshing salad perfect for a main dish or a side salad.
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Every time I make this chopped Greek salad recipe, it disappears fast! It’s the perfect combination of bite-sized pieces of crisp cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, tangy feta cheese and olives tossed in a homemade Greek dressing. And when you make your own dressing, it’s the freshest-tasting salad ever. Add a grilled chicken breast and make this salad a complete and healthy dinner salad.
Why you will love this chopped Greek salad
- It’s an easy salad to make with fresh and flavorful ingredients
- It’s a versatile salad that is perfect for a side dish or a main course.
Here is what you will need
This is a brief summary of the ingredients needed to make this recipe and a convenient shopping list from my Instacart affiliate link. For a printable recipe card with exact measurements and detailed instructions, scroll down to the recipe card section.
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Ingredients
- Romaine Lettuce
- Red Onion
- Cucumbers
- Medium tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
- Chickpeas
- Kalamata Olives or black olives
- Feta cheese
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Fresh Lemon Juice
- Garlic
- Fresh Oregano
- Honey
🥄Equipment
- Salad Bowl
- Sharp Knife
- Cutting Board
- Small Glass Jar or Bowl
How to make a chopped greek salad
Prepare the ingredients: chop the olives, tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers into bite-sized pieces. Rinse and dry the romaine lettuce and chop it into small pieces.
STEP 1: Place the chopped olives, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and chicpeas into a large bowl.
STEP 2: Top the vegetables with chopped romaine lettuce.
STEP 3: Add all of the dressing ingredients to a small bowl or mason jar. Whisk together or shake the jar.
STEP 4: Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients in the bowl and toss to combine all of the ingredients.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
Lettuce – If you don’t have romaine lettuce, you can use any variety of lettuce in this recipe. I like curnchy romaine because it is crisp and easy to cut. Boston lettuce, green leaf, and red leaf lettuce are all good choices. You can also try a combination of lettuces too.
Onion – Any variety of onion will work in this chopped salad. I like to use red onion or sweet onions in this salad.
Olives – I like the briny flavor of kalamata olives, but they can easily be replaced with black olives or green olives.
Chickpeas – Canned chickpeas are a good choice for convenience. All that you need to do is drain, rinse and toss them into the salad. If you prefer cooked chickpeas, you can easily replace canned chickpeas with dried, cooked chickpeas.
Garlic – Fresh garlic coves can be replaced with 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder per clove of garlic.
Fresh Oregano – If fresh oregano is not available, you can replace it with a teaspoon of dry oregano.
Lemon Dressing – Traditional Greek salad dressing contains both lemon juice and vinegar. I prefer fresh lemon juice without vinegar. If you prefer to use vinegar and lemon, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and increase the olive oil by a tablespoon.
How to make Greek chopped salad ahead of time
This is the kind of salad that can easily be made about 2 to 3 days ahead of time. Prepare the vegetables (except the tomatoes) up to 2 days before making the salad. Store the chopped vegetables in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator.
The lemon dressing can be made up to 5 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Just before serving, crumble the cheese, chop the tomatoes and assemble the salad.
If you like chopped salads, give this Mexican Chopped Salad a try!
How to store leftover salad
Leftover salad can be stored for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. If you anticipate having leftovers, you can prevent a soggy salad and go light on the dressing while adding more when it’s served.
What to serve with Greek romaine ssalad
Serve Greek chopped salad as a side dish salad with your favorite entrees such as sausage and kale pasta, turkey meatloaf, crustless tomato pie, or chicken savoy
This salad is also hearty enough for a main course with the addition of more protein such as falafel, grilled chicken or shrimp.
Chopped Greek salad recipe variations
If you love epxerimenting with flavors and textures like I do, try mixing and matching the ingredients. Here are some suggestions to inspire you.
Vegan Greek Chopped Salad – omit the feta cheese and substitute the honey with an equal amount of maple syrup.
Avocado Greek Salad – For a creamy and satisfying variation, add diced avocados to the salad. They creamy texture is the perfect compliment to the Greek salad ingredients.
Watermelon Feta Greek Salad– For a summery twist, add chunks of juicy watermelon to the salad just beofre serving.
Chopped salad additions – try adding any combination of sliced pepperoncini, whole grains such as farro or quinoa or chunks of breaded air-fried eggplant.
Tips
- Prevent a soggy salad and drizzle a small amount of dressing over the salad just before serving. Serve the dressing on the side so that more can be added if necessary.
- Mix up your dressing in small mason jars, if you don’t use up all of the dressing place the covered jar in the fridge.
- If you prefer the classic Greek salad dressing with vinegar, simply add 1-2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and increase the amount of olive oil by one tablespoon.
Recipe FAQs
A classic Greek salad does not contain lettuce. It’s usually made with large chunks of fresh veggies such as tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, bell peppers, red onions, olives and feta cheese.
Greek salad is healthy! It’s filled with vegetables, beans, cheese and tossed in a simple dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and fresh herbs.
While fresh offers the best flavor, you can easily use your favorite Greek or Italian Salad dressing on this salad.
Yes, this salad is naturally gluten-free. Just be sure to check the labels on any packaged ingredients that you use to make sure they are gluten-free.
More salad inspiration
- Chicken Chopped Salad
- Baby Arugula Salad with Pistachios
- Cucumbers in Vinegar
- Zucchini Ribbon Salad
- Kale Caesar Salad
- Easy Black Bean Sheet Pan Nacho Salad
- Veggie Noodle Salad
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Chopped Greek Salad with Lemon DressingIngredients
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 3/4 cup onion about 1 small to medium onion chopped
- 1 medium cucumber
- 1 tomato large chopped
- 3/4 cup chickpeas canned and rinsed or dried and cooked
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon honey
- 1 clove garlic crushed or minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh oregano
Instructions
- Chop 3/4 cup onion, 1 medium cucumber , 1 tomato,1/2 cup kalamata olives and 1 head romaine lettuce – add the ingredients to a salad bowl along with 3/4 cup chickpeas, drained.3/4 cup onion, 1 medium cucumber, 1 tomato, 3/4 cup chickpeas, 1/2 cup kalamata olives
- Make the Dressing – chop 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh oregano, 1 clove garlic, and place them in a small jar or bowl with 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon honey. Cover the jar and shake the dressing up or if you are using a bowl whisk the ingredients together.1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh oregano, 1/2 teaspoon honey
- Pour half of the dressing over the salad and add 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles and serve.1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles
- Mix up the Salad and serve with remainder dressing on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and can vary based on cooking methods and ingredients used
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Love Greek salads! Thanks for sharing this simple recipe it looks great!
Thank you Alison! I hope you like it!
Thank you Alison!
All my guests loved it and asked for the recipe to take back home!
Thank you Ann! I’m glad it was a hit!
I love this simple salad, thank you for the recipe!
You are welcome, Arianna – happy to hear you like it!