My Favorite Greek Salad

ByMadison Thurman
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My favorite salad to order out at restaurants is a greek salad with grilled chicken. Something about the vinaigrette gets me every time!

We have been trying to implement salads into our dinner rotation lately, especially with spring right around the corner. Convincing my husband to eat a salad is usually a hard sell, but if I mention that I was considering our greek salad recipe, he is on board! We made this last night and he literally scraped every last piece of feta cheese off of the plate!

There is an amazing pizza place near the townhome where my husband and I lived after we first got married. It was in walking distance from our house – I know dangerous right. The family style house salad had the most amazing greek vinaigrette that I would dream about. I gave it a whirl trying to make it at home and after a few iterations, it is perfect. The dressing is sweet, tangy, and savory all at the same time. I am convinced I could drink this out of the bottle and it still wouldn’t be enough.

Why You’ll Be Obsessed With This Salad

  • Crunchy and Fresh. Perfect for the summer nights coming up!
  • Weeknight-friendly. Grill your chicken, chop your veggies, and voila.
  • Home-Made Dressing. This is too easy for you to waste your money on store bought dressing.
  • Filling. In my head eating a salad is boring and I will be hungry in an hour. Not the case here!

What you’ll need:

  • Romaine Lettuce – I love romaine for the crunch, but feel free to use your favorite salad base.
  • Veggies – I love cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, red onion, and banana peppers.
  • Feta Cheese – Isn’t the cheese the best part of every salad?
  • Grilled Chicken – To add protein, and make the salad more filling.
  • Fresh Lemons – For the chicken marinade, and the dressing.
  • Avocado Oil – The base for our dressing. I love avocado oil because we try to avoid seed oils.
  • Red Wine Vinegar – The tart acid used in the dressing, non-negotiable!
Raw chicken with various seasonings in a foil lined baking dish.
Red onion, tomatoes, avocado, cucumbers, black olives, and banana peppers. All sliced and arranged on a wooden cutting board.

Salad Tips and Tricks

Make the dressing. Trust me, this is so easy to make, and you can store in the for fridge 1-2 weeks

Use your favorite toppings. I know there are “traditional” toppings for a greek salad, but have fun with your salad toppings.

Use fresh lemons. Bottled lemon juice just isn’t the same! This will make such a difference in the dressing.

Fresh Feta Block. I get the feta cheese that is in a tub, soaking in a “brine”. This is the creamiest feta.

How to Make My Favorite Greek Salad

  1. Marinate the chicken. I like to marinate chicken if I have the time. If you don’t have time, you can skip marinating, just use the ingredients in the marinade to season the chicken before your cook it.
  2. Prep the dressing. While the chicken is cooking, whisk all of the salad dressing ingredients in a bowl. Taste and add more lemon, or salt and pepper to your preference.
  3. Chop the vegetables. Clean and chop the lettuce to your preferred size. Slice the red onion, cucumbers, cut tomatoes in half, and slice your olives if needed.
  4. Assemble the salad! Start with a base of romaine lettuce, top with cucumber, tomatoes, olives, banana peppers, red onion, and crumbled feta. Dress with your greek vinaigrette and some fresh cracked pepper.
  5. Serve and enjoy! Feel free to serve with pita crackers or even pita bread.

FAQ

Yes! Grilled shrimp, salmon, or chickpeas would work great!

Of course! This stores in an air-tight container for 1-2 weeks. Give it a good shake before serving!

Other Recipes You’ll Love

My Favorite Greek Salad

This is my favorite greek salad! The dressing is tangy and full of flavor. Add in chicken for protein, creamy feta chunks and you have an amazing meal. This salad is nutrient dense and full of vegetables.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken Marinade/Seasoning
  • 1½-2 lbs chicken thighs
  • 1 tbsp avocado oil
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • dash of cayenne pepper optional
  • dash of red pepper flakes optional
Greek Vinaigrette
  • ⅓ cup avocado oil
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried dill or 1 tbsp fresh dill
  • 1 tsp salt
  • fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Salad Base and Toppings
  • 2-3 heads romaine lettuce chopped
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes cut in half
  • 1 red onion sliced
  • 1 jar pitted black olives
  • 1 cup sliced banana peppers
  • 1 cucumber sliced
  • 8 oz feta cheese crumbled
  • 1 avocado sliced

Method
 

  1. For the chicken, mix all the of the marinade ingredients in a bowl, and pour over the chicken. Marinate in the fridge for a few hours before cooking. If you don't have time to marinate, use the same ingredients to season the chicken regardless. You can grill or bake the chicken, but grilled is always better in my opinion. If you decide to bake the chicken, I like to bake at 350 degrees F. Cook for 15 minutes, then flip and cook for 15 more minutes. Check to ensure the internal temperature is 165 degree F.
  2. While the chicken is cooking, prep the salad dressing. My favorite part! In a bowl, add the avocado oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, dijon mustard, honey, garlic, and seasonings. Whisk well until fully combined. Taste the dressing and see if it needs any adjustments.
  3. At this point I like to chop all of the vegetables that are going on top of our salads. Once veggies are chopped, and chicken is done, it is time to build the salad.
  4. Start with a base of romaine lettuce. Add on cherry tomatoes, red onion, black olives, cucumber, and banana pepper. Sprinkle with feta cheese crumbles, sliced avocado and add your desired amount of vinaigrette. Add a bit of fresh cracked black pepper, and enjoy!

Notes

*** Feel free to double the amount of salad dressing so you have more on hand. 
**This could make a great side salad or appetizer, feel free to skip the chicken in that case. This is still delicious without the meat!

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