I love Greek salad.
I hate soggy Greek salad.
You know exactly what I’m talking about.
Tips for a Crisp Greek Salad
It happens often, a Greek salad water-logged by too much dressing and liquid.
Those once crisp veggies effectively turn to acidic mush.
This doesn’t happen with my Greek salad recipe. Here are my tricks that keep this salad crisp:
Chop the Romaine Yourself
Greek salad entails lots of chopping. Red onion, bell pepper, tomato, and cucumber are all chopped to bite-sized pieces.
Take the time to chop the romaine, too. It’ll be crisper—and stay crisp longer—than using a bag of pre-washed and chopped romaine.
Slice the Olives Yourself
I use kalamata olives in my Greek salad recipe. Olives have better texture if bought whole, rather than pre-sliced. Buy whole olives, and slice them yourself. This simple trick adds great texture to Greek salad.
Don't Marinate the Veggies Too Long
The chopped veggies and dressing in my Crisp Greek Salad recipe are mixed together. The veggie juices add more flavor to the dressing, and the dressing adds more flavor to the veggies.
But don’t mix the veggies and dressing together too early: the dressing will soften the veggies over time. I recommend keeping the dressing and veggies separate until about a half hour before serving the salad.
Keep the Romaine Separate
Spoon the dressed veggies over the romaine just before serving. Mixing the romaine in with the dressing/veggie mixture will make the romaine soggy fast.
Only Compile What You Need
This Crisp Greek Salad is a favorite veggie side in our house. It makes enough to feed us over two meals. My trick to keeping the salad crisp on day 2 is dividing the romaine, veggies, and dressing in half. On day 1, only mix together half of the veggies and dressing, and only use half of the romaine. Store the second half of each ingredient separately in the refrigerator. About a half an hour before serving the salad on day 2, mix together the second half of the dressing and the second half of the veggies, and serve over the remaining romaine.
Make this Crisp Greek Salad!
Follow these easy tricks for a flavorful, crisp Greek salad, and never be disappointed by soggy salad again.
Two Things
Make this salad a meal by pairing it with my Greek Tabbouleh and Aquafaba Hummus recipes.
Using a high-quality olive oil is important for any homemade dressing. I recommend PJ KABOS [aff. link] for the red wine vinaigrette in this recipe. This olive oil comes from the olive groves of the Panagiotopoulos family in Greece. You can find PJ KABOS olive oil in my Amazon Store here.
Crisp Greek Salad
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
- ½ cucumber, chopped to ½ inch pieces
- ½ yellow bell pepper, chopped to ½ - 1 inch pieces
- ½ red bell pepper, chopped to ½ - 1 inch pieces
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced, then chopped to 1 - ½ inch pieces
- ½ cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in thirds or fourths
- ¼ cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
- 2 Tbsp feta, fresh, crumbled from a block
For the dressing:
- ½ cup + 2 Tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Vegenaise, or mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp oregano, dried
- Dash of ground black pepper
To serve:
- Additional feta, to preference
Instructions
Prepare the vegetables
- Chop all the vegetables. Now add all the chopped veggies—but not the Romaine—to a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Make the dressing
- To a small mixing bowl, add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, and Vegenaise. Whisk with a fork until it comes together and emulsifies.
- Now add the garlic, salt, oregano, and pepper. Whisk again, until the seasonings are fully incorporated into the oil mixture.
- Let the dressing sit for five minutes.
Combine the dressing, vegetables, and feta
- No more than a half hour before serving, pour the dressing over the veggies, then add the feta. Toss everything together a few times with a fork.
- Let sit for at least five minutes.
Compile the salad and serve
- Divide the romaine between 4-6 plates, and spoon a few Tbsp of the vegetable/dressing mixture over the top of each. Sprinkle with additional feta, if desired, and serve.
4 Responses
I can totally relate to your first two statements, too. Indeed, I usually barely use any dressing – just a little drizzle of olive oil and balsamic / lemon work perfectly for me. But I can see this version is perfectly dressed without being soggy. Fantastic colours, too!
I do know what you’re talking about. I don’t like a soggy salad, either. But my husband does! What a weirdo!
Finally a Greek salad that doesn’t get soggy. I did all of your tips. Worked like a charm! This is a new staple for me.
So happy to hear, thanks Natalie!