Mediterranean Salad with Feta (Printer-friendly)

Vibrant Mediterranean salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, feta, and zesty dressing ready in 15 minutes.

# What You'll Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 4 medium ripe tomatoes, diced
02 - 1 large cucumber, diced
03 - 1 small red onion, thinly sliced

→ Cheese

04 - 5 oz feta cheese, crumbled or cubed

→ Olives

05 - 3.5 oz Kalamata olives, pitted and halved

→ Dressing

06 - 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
07 - 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
08 - ½ teaspoon dried oregano
09 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Optional Garnish

10 - Fresh parsley or mint, chopped

# Steps:

01 - In a large salad bowl, combine the diced tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and Kalamata olives.
02 - Gently fold in the crumbled or cubed feta cheese, taking care to keep pieces intact.
03 - In a small bowl, whisk together extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, salt, and freshly ground black pepper until emulsified.
04 - Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and toss gently to ensure even coating.
05 - Sprinkle freshly chopped parsley or mint on top if desired, then serve immediately.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It's ready in 15 minutes but tastes like you spent an hour sourcing ingredients at a market.
  • The feta gets this soft, creamy quality when it sits with the tomato juices, and nobody expects it until they taste it.
  • You can make it your own without anyone noticing—add capers, swap the herbs, use different olives—it welcomes improvisation.
02 -
  • Don't make this salad more than 30 minutes before eating it, or the tomatoes will release too much liquid and everything gets soggy—timing matters more than technique here.
  • The quality of your olive oil and olives will change the entire experience, so taste them first if you're using something new.
03 -
  • Pat your cucumber dry after cutting it if you want to avoid excess water—a tea towel works better than paper towels for this.
  • Let your salad sit for five minutes after tossing before serving, so the dressing can soften the onion slightly and let all the flavors get to know each other.
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