Greek Cucumber Salad is a zesty, light and flavorful side dish bursting with freshness! Perfect for your next cookout or picnic, or dinner any day! It takes 15 minutes to make (just be ready to chop up a bunch of veggies) and is incredibly yummy!
I first had Greek Cucumber Salad at a mediterranean restaurant and it came as a side to grilled meats and rice. I loved it so much I started putting together this at home. This is Greek-inspired and I cannot claim authenticity, but I will claim deliciousness!
Summer is here, people. IT IS HERE.
I know it officially starts at June 21 or something like that. But let’s be real here. School is out, Memorial Day has come and gone, and in Austin, Texas we got out first 100-degree weather day a few days ago.
So erm, in my books, SUMMER IS HERE.
It is here and here to stay for a little while.
Here to fulfill all the beautiful things we once dreamed of when it was cold and chilly and wet during the winter.
Why you need this Greek Cucumber Salad in your life
Greek Cucumber Salad screams summer to me. I’ll eat it any time of the year, but there’s something about the zest, lightness and freshness of this dish that makes me associate this with the summer. Besides, isn’t this the perfect, unique SUMMER bbq/cookout side dish?
SO MANY reasons why we love this lovely dish!
- It’s healthy, fresh and light! All while being fabulously yummy.
- No cooking required. A.k.a no turning on that hot oven when it is already so hot outside!
- It’s packed with gorgeous flavors and great textures! The crunchy veggies combined with juicy sweet summer tomatoes tossed in a tangy, zesty Greek Lemon Vinaigrette is to die for. And that crumbled feta to top it off. THAT crumbled feta. OMG YES PLEASE.
- If you are taking this to a picnic or cookout or party, you can set it out in room temperature for hours and it will still taste yummy. WINNING.
How to make Greek Cucumber Salad
Just a couple of steps and oh so easy! You’ll be devouring your Greek Cucumber Salad before you know!
- Step 1: Chop up a bunch of veggies
- Step 2: Make the dressing
- Step 3: Combine and toss
Or you can choose to be like me and start dipping veggies into the dressing after Step 2. I feel no shame in that.
You can also chop up the veggies, make the dressing ahead of time and refrigerate them separately until you are ready to combine everything.
What is in the dressing
The dressing is consisted of lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of maple syrup. Just mix everything up! No blender needed.
I highly recommend juicing lemon juice from fresh lemons and using fresh garlic.
If you don’t have maple syrup in the house, you can substitute it with honey or sugar. Make sure sugar is completely dissolved when you mix it into the dressing. I like using 100% pure maple syrup but the others types of maple syrup would work as well. Use what you have at hand!
What goes well with Greek Cucumber Salad
Any form of protein would go really well with this side dish, but I especially love it with grilled meats! Check out some of my favorite grilled meats on the blog!
Other yummy summer sides!
Here are other light and fresh summer sides!
- Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing
- Light Raisin Coleslaw
- Broccoli Kale Apple and Cranberry Slaw
- Bacon Deviled Eggs
- Carrot Raisin Salad with Pineapple (by Melissa’s Southern Style Kitchen!)
If you make this recipe please comment below and let me know how it goes! It would also make me SO HAPPY if you’d take a picture of your creation and tag me on Instagram. Because I WANNA SEE!
Greek Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cucumbers
- 4 roma tomatoes
- ~1 cup sliced red onions
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
- 1/2 cup canned/bottled black olives drained
Greek Lemon Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice juiced from fresh lemon
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp pure maple syrup or honey, sugar
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In a small bow, combine all vinaigrette ingredients and mix well.
- Slice cucumbers, tomatoes and red onions. Drain black olives and slice them in halves. Add everything into a large bowl (a bowl large enough to toss everything easily).
- Drizzle with vinaigrette and toss to combine. Sprinkle with crumble feta.
- Serve and enjoy!
Absolutely delicious. I just have to say that I accidentally made way too much though and needed to store it for leftovers.. but omg it’s definitely one of those salads that only gets better once the veggies marinate in the dressing!
Yesss!!! Love leftovers! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂