10 Minute Easy Greek Cucumber Salad | Healthy

Name: Easy Greek Cucumber Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 2 large cucumbers, seeded and cut into quarters; 1 cup (139g) cherry tomatoes, halved; 1/4 cup (34g) kalamata olives, sliced; 1/2 cup (80g) red onions, sliced thin; 1/4 cup (38g) feta or vegan feta cheese crumbles; 1/2 large lemon, squeezed; 2 tablespoons (28g) extra virgin olive oil; 1 tablespoon (15g) red wine vinegar; 1/2 tablespoon (2.5g) oregano, dried (or 1 tablespoon fresh); 1 teaspoon (5g) dijon mustard; salt and pepper to taste

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Packed with Mediterranean flavor, this easy ten-minute Greek Cucumber Salad is the perfect dish to freshen up your day! Made with simple ingredients, fresh produce, kalamata olives, and traditional or vegan feta cheese; this easy salad will be a family favorite.

Whether you love a delicious salad for dinner or to bring to a summer picnic, this Greek cucumber salad can be served with almost every meal and is great for all purposes. It is zesty, flavorful, and light.

You can prepare this salad in 10-15 minutes (depending on your vegetable chopping speed). The Greek-inspired cucumber tomato salad can be served with your favorite main dish or as a light lunch.

What’s not to love about this easy-to-make cucumber tomato Greek salad? Enjoy the tangy and salty flavor of feta, cherry tomatoes, and olives. With my Lebanese hummus and Lebanese tabule recipes, you will have the perfect Mediterranean Mezza.

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Why This Salad is Perfect for Everyone
Ingredients
Instructions
Watch How to Make This Salad
Preparing Ahead in a Large Batch
Additions
Frequently Asked Questions
Make-Ahead and Storing
Recipe

Why This Salad is Perfect for Everyone

Greek feta salad is a nutrient-dense light meal that naturally contains various vitamins. Moreover, this great recipe has antioxidants, phytonutrients, and a healthy dose of potassium and iron. Apart from that, there are several reasons for consuming Mediterranean cucumber salad.

Beat the Heat - Greek feta salad is a delicious salad all year long, but its freshness and tangy flavors are generally associated with summer. During the hot summer days, even thinking about eating heavy meals is difficult. This is where the Greek cucumber salad will help. You can have it for lunch, dinner, a picnic, or with your BBQ. The recipe mentioned below is so delicious that you will not get tired of it. The best part: making the Greek salad does not require cooking (Phew, what a relief), which means you will not have to turn on the oven and add to the heat.

Easy to Prepare – Unlike Italian salads, you will not have to boil pasta for this delicious cucumber tomato salad. If you follow the recipe below, it will only take you 10 minutes to prepare it.

Suits a Variety of Diets- The cucumber tomato Greek salad is very healthy. It fits a variety of dietary requirements. The salad is gluten, soy, and can be dairy-free. Compatible with Whole30 and Paleo diet plans, the Mediterranean cucumber salad recipe below is the perfect addition to your summer weight loss goals. In addition, you can entertain your guests with this flavorful salad at cookouts or picnics. Make sure you keep it at room temperature, so it stays fresh.

Flavorful – Once you eat the Greek salad, it will be hard for you to live a life without it. This salad is healthy, light, fresh, and fabulously YUMMY. It is loaded with lovely flavors and has incredible textures. You can add crunchy seasonal veggies to the mix. The combination of juicy tomatoes, crunchy cucumber/zucchini, and zesty dressing make this a delectable dish.

Hands around a bowl filled with easy Greek cucumber salad.

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients

Fresh Cucumbers - 2 large cucumbers - Use a regular cucumber or English cucumber. Slice the cucumber in half and remove all of the seeds. I recommend dicing the cumber into bite-sized chunks instead of sliced cucumbers.
Note: Always dry the vegetables with paper towels to remove excess water.
Tomatoes - 1 cup - I find that cherry tomatoes and grape tomatoes work best with this recipe. If using a roma or larger tomato, remove the seeds to reduce the water content.
Red Onion - ½ cup - Red onions are bursting with flavor and synonymous with greek salads. Thinly slice the red onion. You can also use white, yellow, or green onions in a pinch.
Sliced Kalamata Olives - ¼ cup - Kalamata olives are Greek and perfect with this salad. If you prefer a milder flavor, substitute sliced black olives.
Feta Cheese - ¼ cup - Any feta cheese tastes great with this salad. I used a vegan brand of feta, and I thought it tasted like the real deal.

Lemon Juice - ½ lemon - I like to top this salad with a squeeze of fresh lemon. This ingredient is optional.

Ingredients used to make salad. — Salad Ingredients

Greek Salad Dressing Ingredients

Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons - Use extra virgin olive oil for the best taste.

Red Wine Vinegar - 1 tablespoon - is a must for the zing of the dressing.

Dijon Mustard - 1 teaspoon - Adds a must-have richness to the dressing

Oregano or other Greek Seasoning - ½ teaspoon - I used dry to save money. I think fresh herbs always taste better and if you have fresh oregano, please use it.

Ingredients used in making salad dressing. — Salad Dressing Ingredients

Instructions

Salad Prep: Chop and prepare all the fresh vegetables. Slice olives and crumbled feta cheese if needed—place in a large bowl.

Greek Dressing: Place all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together.

Toss Salad Together: Evenly pour the dressing over the salad, sprinkle with fresh lemon juice, and toss. Serve as either a side salad or a main meal.

Watch How to Make This Salad

Preparing Ahead in a Large Batch

If you are busy and don’t have time to chop veggies daily for a fresh salad, then this Mediterranean cucumber salad is for you. You can prepare the salad ahead of time, but there are several things to keep in mind to get the right nutrition.

Separate the cucumber from the dressing- Chopping the veggies can take time. For this Greek Cucumber Salad, you can cut them into cubes beforehand. It is imperative to remember that the cucumber stays separate from the dressing or salt because it will start to let off the water. As a result, the cucumber cubes will be dry when you add them to your salad.
Preparing the dressing – The dressing for this cucumber tomato Greek salad can be prepared ahead of time and stored in a jar. You will need to keep the jar in the fridge if you want to use it after a couple of days. In case the oil hardens, you can place the jar at room temperature or place it in warm water. It will liquefy the dressing and be ready to be poured into your salad.

Additions

If you are ready to jump into a healthy lifestyle, greek cucumber salad will be a go-to choice. However, having a simple salad can leave you feeling hungry and entice you to opt for unhealthy options. You can add protein to the salad to make it filling:

The best options for proteins are:

Garbanzo Beans - Adding half a cup of chickpeas to a single salad serving can achieve five grams of protein. The flavor is synonymous with Mediterranean flavors and is the perfect addition.
Plant-based Choices – Tofu or quinoa can add 4 grams of protein each.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is My Greek Salad Watery?

This happens when the seeds remain in the cucumbers. To remove the water, always remove the seeds.
If using roma tomatoes or larger, you will also want to remove the seeds. The flavor is in the fleshy part of the tomato, and removing the seeds will not change the overall taste.

How Do I Keep the Cucumbers From Being Soggy?

Salt! Sprinkle a little salt on the cucumber. Let the cucumber stand for five minutes and blot the cucumber dry. The salt will extract the extra water from the cucumber. However, note that a bit of salt goes a long way.

Do I Need to Peel the Cucumbers for a Greek Salad?

There is no hard and fast rule to peel the cucumber for this salad. I rarely do.

What Type of Cucumbers Should I Use?

I recommend that you use a standard cucumber because of its larger size. If you prefer using other smaller variations, I suggest increasing the number of cucumbers used.

Does Greek Salad Have Lettuce?

A traditional Greek salad does not have lettuce; however, if you prefer lettuce, please add it. I recommend romaine with this recipe.

Make-Ahead and Storing

Make-Ahead Instructions - Make the salad normal without the dressing in an airtight container for up to three days. Then just before eating, pour the dressing and toss the salad.

Refrigerator Instructions - Eat dressed salad within 24 hours. If the salad has not been dressed, you can store it in an airtight container for up to three days. Dress just before eating.