Mediterranean Salad

This Mediterranean salad is easy, fresh and delicious.  Made with crunchy cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, briny olives, rich feta and topped with a zingy lemon vinaigrette.  It’s a perfect side dish to any meal!

This Mediterranean salad enjoyed as a side dish is the perfect fresh accompaniment to barbeques, roast chicken, pizza and even burgers.  It can also be easily turned into a full meal by adding some grilled chicken breasts, boiled eggs, chickpeas or even canned tuna.  If you’re thinking of bringing it as a packed lunch, I recommend omitting the salad leaves since they will get soggy in the dressing.  Without the salad leaves, you can even prep this salad the night before.

 Ingredients in this salad

• Oakleaf lettuce:  Or any salad leaves of choice like romaine, spinach or spring mix.  I used oakleaf because it was the freshest salad at the market the day I went.

• Cucumbers: Fresh and crunchy.  Keep the peels on because most of the nutrients are there!

• Plum or cherry tomatoes:  They look great and tend to be a bit sweeter than most larger tomatoes.

• Olives: Salt and briny, the olives give the salad a big boost of flavour.

• Feta cheese:  With its salty, creamy goodness, feta is must in this Mediterranean salad!

• Lemon vinaigrette:  You’ll probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry – shallots, honey, olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt and pepper.  Just add the ingredients to a bowl and whisk.

Health benefits of cucumbers

• High water content and low in calories which may aid in weight-loss
• Source of fiber, vitamin C, K, magnesium, potassium and manganese

Health benefits of tomatoes

• Rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that may help lower the risk of heart disease and cancer
• Excellent source of vitamin C, potassium, folate and vitamin K
• Good source of fiber

For more delicious salad recipes, check out:

• Strawberry romaine salad with honey walnuts

Mediterranean Salad

This Mediterranean salad is easy, fresh and delicious. Made with crunchy cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, briny olives, rich feta and topped with a zingy lemon vinaigrette. It’s a perfect side dish to any meal!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish

Servings 4 as a side

Ingredients

  

Lemon vinaigrette

• 2 shallots minced
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:

• 6 cups oak leaf lettuce or salad leaves of choice
• 2 cups chopped cucumbers
• 2 cups plum or cherry tomatoes sliced into half (or quarters if they’re big)
• 1/2 cup olives sliced
• 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled
• Diced red onion optional.  I added shallots to my dressing so I left the red onion out.  If you prefer red onion, then you can leave the shallots out of the dressing.

Instructions

 

For the dressing

• Add all the ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine. Or pour in a tightly sealed container and shake well.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. If you like it sweeter then add more honey. If you prefer a more tart dressing then add more lemon juice.

For the salad

• In a large salad bowl, add the oak leaf lettuce and then the remaining ingredients on top.
• Pour dressing over salad just before serving and toss to combine.

Keyword Mediterranean salad