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:
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!
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.
