I’ve always loved a traditional Greek Salad. It always taste fresh and I just love the large chunks of juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, briny olives, and so much more! Although Greek salad recipes traditionally don’t include greens, we threw some chopped romaine into the mix to maintain the crunchy bite, but to bulk it up. Our easy Greek salad is effortless, making it a great weeknight meal. It can also be served as a side dish or entrée, especially with a side of crusty bread.
We use our red wine vinaigrette, made with red wine vinegar, garlic, shallots, fresh oregano (but dried oregano works too), dijon mustard, honey, and extra-virgin olive oil, which really hits the spot. We use it as both a marinade for our chicken as well as the vinaigrette for the salad itself for a flavor packed dish we know you will love!
How to Make Our Easy Greek Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Process
Marinated Chicken
- Place chicken pieces into a shallow baking dish and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour 1/2 vinaigrette over chicken, moving chicken pieces around to evenly coat. Marinate chicken in the refrigerator for at least 4 hour and up to 2 days.
- Remove chicken from marinade. Place a large pan over medium heat and add oil. Sear chicken on each side for 4 to 5 minutes or until chicken breasts have just cooked through.
- Transfer chicken to a cutting board and allow them to rest, about 5 minutes.Once chicken has rested, slice into thin strips
Salad Assembly
- Combine romaine in a large bowl and toss together with 1/2 remaining vinaigrette.
- Top salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, pickled red onions, and feta. Gently toss together.
- Top salad with sliced chicken and drizzle with remaining vinaigrette. Serve.
Why This is the BEST Greek Salad Recipe
- Although it’s not traditional, we add some romaine lettuce into the mix to maximize the crunch and to help hold some of the vinaigrette.
- We add our homemade pickled red onions into the salad, instead of raw sliced red onion. We love the salty, briny flavor it adds to the salad in addition to the olives and feta!
- We add some protein (chicken) to the salad, making it extra hearty and perfect to be enjoyed as an entrée!
- We use our red wine vinaigrette for our Greek salad dressing because it pairs so well with the vegetables in the salad and it makes a killer marinade for chicken.
Prep Ahead Instructions
Vinaigrette
The vinaigrette can be made up to 10 days in advance. Store it in an airtight container or jar, in the refrigerator until ready to use. When ready to use, set vinaigrette out at room temperature before using.
Chicken
The chicken can be marinated for up to 2 days in advance. I don’t recommend marinating the chicken any longer, as the acids in the vinaigrette can start breaking the chicken down, giving it an unpleasant texture.
The chicken can also be cooked up to 2 days in advance. Once chicken is cooked cool completely before transferring to an airtight container and refrigerating. I recommend not slicing the chicken until you’re ready to use. This will help prevent the chicken from drying out.
Salad Assembly
The remaining salad ingredients can be chopped, sliced, crumbled, then stored separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator, up to 3 days in advance.
The entire salad can be assembled up to a day in advance, undressed. Once salad is assembled, tightly wrap in plastic wrap. When ready to serve, drizzle dressing over salad, toss together and serve.
Greek Salad Serving Suggestions
Although our Greek salad is delicious and hearty enough on its own, it can also be served in smaller portions as a side salad. Some of our favorite things to serve along with our Greek salad recipe are:
- Lamb Kabobs
- Panko Crusted Lamb Chops
- Garlic Butter Lamb Chops
- Oven Baked Chicken Thighs
- Spatchcock Chicken
- Roasted Chickpea Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Garlic Bread
More Delicious and Easy Salad Recipes You Will Love
Greek Salad
INGREDIENTS
marinated chicken
- 1 recipe red wine vinaigrette divided
- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast split in half lengthwise
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
salad
- 2 cups chopped romaine
- 3 chopped campari tomatoes (or 2 Roma tomatoes)
- 2 Persian cucumbers sliced on a bias
- 1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives or black olives
- 1/4 cup pickled red onions
- 2 ounces crumbled feta cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
grilled chicken
- Place chicken pieces into a shallow baking dish and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour 1/2 vinaigrette over chicken, moving chicken pieces around to evenly coat. Marinate chicken in the refrigerator for at least 4 hour and up to 2 days.
- Remove chicken from marinade.
- Place a large pan over medium heat and add oil. Sear chicken on each side for 4 to 5 minutes or until chicken breasts have just cooked through.
- Transfer chicken to a cutting board and allow them to rest, about 5 minutes.
- Once chicken has rested, slice into thin strips
salad assembly
- Combine romaine in a large salad bowl and toss together with 1/2 remaining vinaigrette.
- Top salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, pickled red onions, and feta. Gently toss together.
- Top salad with sliced chicken and drizzle with remaining vinaigrette. Serve.
Leave a Reply