I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen so many Facebook posts, and blog posts that are all like, “we went on vacation to this beautiful lush, tropical locale and I drank all these fun fruity little cocktails with umbrellas’ and I liked them so much that when I came home I had to make my own version.”
And then I’m over here like, uh I went to Wal-mart and bought raisin bran, and I was really good, I even put on mascara and put my hair in a ponytail before I left the house. Okay, I put on mascara and had a decent ponytail the first 5 times I went to Walmart this week, that last time though, I just wore sunglasses and walked real fast.
Pshh. Keeping it real today folks, keeping it real.
Talking bout real life, today’s recipe is inspired by a salad I eat almost every week through the summer– my grandma’s tomato salad. It’s not a fancy dish. It relies on the workhorses of most Midwesterner’s gardens; tomatoes, cucumbers. and onions. Grammy doesn’t get around well enough to have a full garden anymore, but that doesn’t keep her from having her share of fresh garden veggies. It also doesn’t stop her from making all of us lunch every Friday. Seems like  every week one of her friends has brought by goodies from their gardens knowing they’ll be put to good use.  I’ll warn you now, I’m sure my Grammy’s tomato salad is better than mine, because I know y’all will agree, just ain’t  nobody’s cooking that can come close to matching your grammy’s.
I took the base for grammy’s salad and put in a few flavors that I love to make this Greek tomato salad, but still kept it simple enough to let it’s country goodness shine. Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, olives and feta come together with Greek vinaigrette for a quick and colorful summer side dish.
I love recipes that just get better the next day, don’t you? If only all leftovers were like that. Well this Greek tomato salad is a dish that tastes even better the next day when all the flavors have had a chance to mingle.
Perfect to bring along for a potluck or backyard barbecue, this salad goes well with most main dishes or is hearty enough that you could pile it on a pita for a vegetarian main dish.
Greek Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 1 medium sized cucumber
- 1 small sweet yellow onion
- 1 yellow pepper
- 3-4 medium sized tomatoes , about 3 cups
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 2.25 ounce can sliced black olives or 1/4 cup sliced kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup Greek vinaigrette
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop the cucumber, onion, pepper, and tomatoes. Add in one can of drained sliced black olives or 1/4 cup of sliced kalamata olives, 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, and 1/2 cup Greek vinaigrette. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix well.
Recipe Notes
Although this salad can be eaten right after it's prepared, it tastes better after letting it set for an hour or two.
21 comments
This is totally a salad you would find in greece! My husband and I were there last spring and he ordered a Greek salad thinking it was just going to be a normal lettuce salad…just in Greece. Boy was he wrong haha. It was just like this one and he doesn’t like tomatoes. Needless to say, I ended up eating it! =) http://www.ourfoodieappetite.com/el-arepazo-latin-grill-review-gahanna-oh/
This is the perfect summer salad! YUMMY!!! I’m making this recipe soon!
Great Renee! Hope that it’s as much of a hit with your family as it is in mine.
I’m barbecuing this weekend and this salad would make a great side dish! Thanks for the recipe 😉
Olivia, you’re right. This would be a perfect and easy side dish for your barbecue. I hope that you make this and that you love it!
This is totally my type of salad with all the wonderful flavors you have going on! Perfect on a warm summer night.
Yes! I have been known to just have a big bowl of this for dinner on a hot summer night. Cold salads are great through the summer.
I love the fresh vegetables in this salad. Sounds simple, but really delicious. Also love the colors.
Thanks Dawn, don’t you just love when you can find dishes that are pretty, simple, and delicious? It’s also nice when they just happen to be healthy, which this one is.
This is my kind of salad! Thanks for the easy recipe.
Thanks Tirralan, I hope that you enjoy!
Love the colours in the salad. Feta is a good choice for such delish salad!
I love feta in salad. My husband prefers shredded cheddar, but crumbled blue or feta cheese are usually the ones I go to first.
This sounds delicious! It wouldn’t be as good with store bought veggies and I don’t have a garden. May need to get to a farmers market soon.
I usually try and grow some tomatoes every summer. I didn’t this year because of the work on the house, I knew that if I tried they would just die. Perks of living in a tiny farming community–it’s not hard to find homegrown veggies! Farm stands abound.
You salad looks lovely! It would taste great with some home grown tomatoes!
Yes, home grown tomatoes are probably my absolute favorite veggie from the garden. I don’t have a green thumb, but I usually try and grow some tomatoes every year to have for recipes like this one and fried green tomatoes.
So simple, but so flavorful! A great combo!
Simple summer recipes are the best, don’t you agree? I don’t mind spending hours in my kitchen in the winter when it’s nasty outside, but right now there’s so much I want to be out doing with my kiddos.
This looks and sounds really delicious. Love it.
Thanks Cristie, this was the first time I tried to do dark photography. So I’m glad you think it looks delicious! I have so much to learn still with my photography.