Greek Cucumber Salad

Greek cucumber salad uses crispy fresh vegetables, all tossed in an easy homemade Greek salad dressing. It's fast and flavorful, easy to make, and serves as the perfect side dish with any main or as a light salad lunch served with protein.

Greek Cucumber Salad

A simple Greek cucumber tomato salad is one of my favorite ways to enjoy healthy ripe vegetables in the summertime. Just like our easy Greek salad recipe, there are plenty of delicious ingredients here including crisp cucumbers, sweet ripe tomatoes, chopped red onion, black olives, and feta cheese. All tossed together in the easiest homemade Greek salad dressing!

It only takes 10 minutes to whip up this easy salad, and it's perfect to serve at summer barbecues and, picnics, family events, or lunches.

Once you make the salad you'll want to let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two. This allows the vegetables to soak up the flavors from the Greek dressing. It almost acts like a marinade! And actually, this makes for a great marinade for your chicken recipes, grilled salmon, pan-fried tofu, or grilled shrimp - all of which you could add to this salad!

For more easy salad recipes check out my classic cucumber tomato salad, watermelon cucumber salad, quinoa salad, corn tomato salad, creamy pea salad, or broccoli crunch salad.

Recipe Ingredients

Greek Cucumber Salad:

• CUCUMBERS - Fresh and crispy cucumber that's been sliced and quartered into bite-size pieces. I like to use English cucumbers because they have thin skin and fewer seeds than regular cucumbers. Persian cucumbers also work here.
• TOMATOES - Roma tomatoes add a subtle sweetness. Remove the seeds and inner flesh to help prevent the salad from getting too watery. You can swap with cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes too.
• ONION - Chopped red onions taste sweet and a little spicy. They are delicious in salads like this one! Swap them out with green onions if you prefer.
• OLIVES - I used canned sliced black olives because it's quick and easy. kalamata olives will also work.
• CHEESE - Crumbled feta cheese is tossed with all the delicious vegetables. It can also be sliced into cubes depending on your preference.

Greek Dressing:

• OIL - Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil for the dressing base.
• VINEGAR - Red wine vinegar adds great flavor. If you want to swap this acidic ingredient you can also try white vinegar, lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar.
• FRESH GARLIC - Fresh minced garlic works best, but dried garlic will also do the trick.
• LEMON - Half of a freshly squeezed lemon or about 2 tsp of fresh lemon juice.
• MUSTARD - A little bit of Dijon mustard helps to emulsify this salad dressing. If you don't want to use Dijon mustard, you could also swap it with Greek yogurt. This would make more of a creamy cucumber salad.
• HERBS - I used dried herbs including dried oregano and dried basil. You can also use fresh herbs like oregano and basil chopped fine if you have them. Fresh dill would be lovely too!
• SALT AND PEPPER - Season the dressing with sea salt (or kosher salt) and freshly ground black pepper to your preference.

How To Make Greek Cucumber Salad Recipe

This cucumber Greek salad recipe couldn't be easier to make! Here's an overview. Full instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom.

1. MAKE DRESSING - Stir together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, lemon juice, dijon mustard, dried oregano, dried basil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
2. COMBINE INGREDIENTS - Mix together the sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, sliced olives, and feta cheese in a large bowl.
3. TOSS AND CHILL - Drizzle the dressing overtop and gently toss it all together. Cover the salad bowl tightly with plastic wrap or a lid and place in the fridge for it to chill for 1-2 hours.
4. SERVE - After the salad has had a chance to chill in the fridge, gently toss the ingredients together one more time just before serving.

How To Store Leftovers

You can store this salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days before it starts to get a little too mushy. I prefer to eat it all by the second day. I find that the cucumber and tomatoes have released a lot of their water by the third day and it's just not as good.

You can also store the salad and dressing separately from each other and then toss it all together shortly before serving. I would still let the full salad sit for 1-2 hours in the fridge for the flavors to really mix together.

Salad Additions

This is an easy salad to play around with. Feel free to add a few other ingredients to make it your own.

• PASTA NOODLES - Make this more like a Greek pasta salad by adding cooked pasta noodles.
• CHOPPED NUTS – Add some crunch by adding toasted nuts or seeds.
• FRESH HERBS – Fresh basil leaves, fresh dill, cilantro, and any other favorites you have!
• GRILLED MEATS – Add more protein like grilled chicken, or use our air fryer chicken breasts. You can also marinate the chicken ahead of time using the Greek salad dressing ingredients. Grilled shrimp would also be delicious.
• SUGAR - Add a bit of sweetness to the dressing ingredients using maple syrup, honey, or granulated sugar.
• MORE VEGGIES – Try chopped bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, cauliflower, or broccoli.

RECIPE TIPS

• SOAK AND CHILL – Make this salad at least two hours before you plan to serve. The dressing will act like a marinade for the vegetables creating wonderful flavor as everything soaks together. Be sure to store it covered in the fridge during this time.
• BITE-SIZE PIECES – Chop the cucumber slices and tomatoes into bite-size pieces. This will make the salad easier to eat and allow the flavors to blend together evenly.
• TOSS BEFORE SERVING – Gently toss the ingredients just before serving. This will ensure that the dressing is evenly distributed and that all of the vegetables are coated in a delicious flavor.
• KEEP CHILLED – Keep the salad chilled in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. This will help to keep the vegetables crisp and fresh.
• SERVE SAME DAY - Serve this salad the same day you make it. The vegetables will be at their crispiest and they will taste the best.

Serving Suggestions

Serve this Greek cucumber salad as a side dish with a main course like grilled chicken, the perfect air fryer chicken breasts, or one of our 6 easy-baked chicken leg recipes. Or add some grilled and marinated shrimp!

For a more filling meal serve with a side of crusty bread, try our no-knead Dutch oven bread recipe.