5-Ingredient Greek Salad Dressing Recipe | Alexandra's Kitchen (2024)

This simple Greek salad dressing recipe calls for five ingredients and takes no time to whisk together. It’s the recipe my extended Greek family has been making to dress Greek salads for as long as I can remember, and it’s a dressing loved by adults and children alike.

5-Ingredient Greek Salad Dressing Recipe | Alexandra's Kitchen (1)

Last summer while visiting my parents, I discovered my children liked salad. Having generally not loved the salads I had served them up until this point, this was both a shocking and welcomed discovery.

They were eating my mother’s Greek salad, and as I watched them gobble up chopped Romaine lettuce leaves, halved cherry tomatoes, and slivered red onions, I wondered: How? Why?

As I thought more, I realized it had to be the dressing, which my family credits to my Great Aunt Phyllis. It’s a simple Dijon mustard vinaigrette, not unlike many of the dressings I had made for them before, but it calls for a higher ratio of oil to vinegar as well as a small amount of sugar, both of which help soften the acidity.

My siblings and I loved our mother’s Greek salad as children, and the more I thought about the dressing, the more my children’s enthusiasm for the salad made sense: the dressings I had made them up until this point had just been too sharp. Moreover, the inclusion of chopped shallots and garlic, which I love in dressings, likely provided a little too much bite. Alas.

Incidentally, in addition to this recipe being child-friendly, it’s also perfect for early cooks because it requires no chopping and no juicing. It’s a simple mix of red wine vinegar, mustard, salt, sugar, and olive oil. That’s it!

In recent weeks I’ve taught two of my children how to make the dressing and doing so has brought back vivid memories of being in my childhood kitchen, working from my mother’s handwritten copy of the recipe, whisking together the dressing while my mother finished the last of the dinner preparations, snagging a slivered red onion from the salad bowl, dunking it into the dressing, and loving the zing I felt in the back of my throat.

Friends, this recipe has lived on the blog for years, but on an old page that’s buried in the archives. It was time to pull it out and give it a refresh. I hope you approve.

How to Make Greek Salad Dressing, Step by Step

Gather your ingredients: extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard, salt, and sugar.

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Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, salt, sugar, and a few twists of pepper, if you wish.

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Slowly stream in the olive oil until…

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… the dressing is emulsified.

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Transfer to a storage vessel and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

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Don’t be afraid to double it!

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My Family’s Greek Salad, Step by Step

This is my family’s version of a Greek salad. You’ll need: Romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red onion, scallions, olives, feta, chives, dill, and, if you wish, a pinch of dried oregano.

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Place everything in a large bowl and…

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… toss with Greek salad dressing to taste:

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Serve aside anything your heart desires. I love it with this chicken souvlaki and tzatziki.

5-Ingredient Greek Salad Dressing Recipe | Alexandra's Kitchen (11)

Print

5-Ingredient Greek Salad Dressing Recipe | Alexandra's Kitchen (12)

5-Ingredient Greek Salad Dressing Recipe

★★★★★4.9 from 18 reviews
  • Author: Alexandra Stafford
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 3/4 cup
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

This is my Great Aunt Phyllis’s Greek salad dressing recipe. My extended family has used it for years to dress — wait for it — Greek salad, but not a traditional horiatiki salad, which is a non-lettuce salad composed of largely chopped peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and feta, all dressed with a light drizzle of olive oil and vinegar. This Greek salad includes mustard and is a thicker, emulsified dressing.

If you’d like to make the Greek salad pictured above, you’ll need:

For the Greek Salad:

  • 2 to 3 heads Romaine lettuce, chopped into 1- to 2-inch pieces
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 to 6 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 to 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
  • fresh chives, snipped with scissors into the salad to taste
  • fresh dill, snipped with scissors into the salad to taste
  • 4 ounces of feta, sliced thinly or crumbled
  • pinch dried oregano, optional
  • Freshly cracked black pepper, optional

Toss everything in a large bowl with Greek salad dressing to taste.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste, optional
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, salt, sugar, and pepper, if using, to taste. Whisking constantly, stream in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified.
  2. Transfer to a storage vessel and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. (And probably longer in fact. I often make a double batch of this recipe, and I have used it weeks after first storing it. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Category: Dressing
  • Method: Whisk
  • Cuisine: Greek, American

Keywords: extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard

5-Ingredient Greek Salad Dressing Recipe | Alexandra's Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

What is the dressing made of in a traditional Greek salad? ›

A traditional Greek salad dressing is really a Greek vinaigrette as it contains olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, minced garlic cloves, dried oregano (the key ingredient) and salt and pepper.

What is the basic salad dressing formula? ›

As a matter of fact, I frequently just drizzle a little olive oil on my salad, followed by some vinegar and salt, and then toss the greens. It's delicious. The French have decided that the perfect ratio for a vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar.

What are the ingredients in Kraft Greek dressing? ›

INGREDIENTS: WATER, CANOLA AND SOYBEAN OIL, CORN SYRUP, WHITE VINEGAR, WINE VINEGAR, SUGAR, FETA AND ROMANO CHEESE (CONTAINS MILK), GARLIC, SALT, CUCUMBER JUICE, DRIED GARLIC, OREGANO, SPICES AND HERBS, DRIED ONIONS, PHOSPHORIC ACID (ENHANCES TARTNESS), XANTHAN GUM (THICKENER), POTASSIUM SORBATE (MAINTAINS QUALITY), ...

Is eating Greek salad healthy? ›

Greek salad is much more than a simple dish; it's a powerhouse of nutrients, offering myriad health benefits ranging from improved heart health to weight management. By making it a regular part of your diet, you can enjoy these benefits while indulging in one of the Mediterranean's most beloved dishes.

What is the healthiest dressing to put on your salad? ›

6 healthy salad dressings you can make in less than 3 minutes
  • Classic lemon and olive oil. This is a very easy dressing that is good with strong-flavoured leaf salads, such as rocket or kale. ...
  • Lime and chilli dressing. ...
  • Simple balsamic vinaigrette. ...
  • Raspberry vinaigrette. ...
  • Creamy cucumber dressing. ...
  • Creamy mint dressing.

What primary ingredient is used in most salad dressing? ›

The major ingredients are vegetable oil, vinegar, salt, tomato ketchup, paprika paste, flavor, and sugar. The batch and semiautomatic machines can produce salad dressings of a few tons per day.

What is the original salad dressing? ›

French dressing is the oldest one on our list, but vinegar and oil dressing goes back nearly two-thousand years to ancient Babylonia.

What is the simplest form of dressing? ›

This is equally true for even something as simple as a salad dressing, which a vinaigrette is as simple as it gets. Vinaigrettes are an emulsion of 3 parts vegetable oil (usually olive oil) and 1 part acid (usually vinegar or acidic fruit juice), seasoning, and sometimes other flavourings.

What are the ingredients in Hellmann's Greek dressing? ›

Made with extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Feta cheese and black olives.

What does Greek salad contain? ›

A traditional Greek salad consists of sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, green bell pepper, red onion, olives, and feta cheese. This classic combination is delicious, so I stick to it, just adding a handful of mint leaves for a fresh finishing touch. My olives of choice are Kalamata olives.

What is Greek feta dressing made of? ›

Here's how you make it: Add ½ cup Greek yogurt, 6 ounces feta cheese, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 clove grated garlic, 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, and 2 tablespoons water to the bowl of your food processor or blender.

What is the healthiest Greek food to eat? ›

This article discusses 13 traditional Greek foods that are super healthy.
  1. Hummus. Hummus is a popular dip or spread throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East. ...
  2. Melitzanosalata. ...
  3. Tzatziki. ...
  4. Dolmades. ...
  5. Gigantes plaki. ...
  6. Avgolemono. ...
  7. Fakes soupa. ...
  8. Souvlaki.
Apr 6, 2022

What is the difference between Mediterranean and Greek salad? ›

The primary difference lies in the use of specific ingredients. While both salads incorporate fresh vegetables and olive oil, Greek salad is characterized by the addition of feta cheese and Kalamata olives, giving it a uniquely Greek flavour.

Do people in Greece eat Greek salad? ›

In Greece, Horiatiki or Greek village salad, is served most often from early spring through summer and up until mid fall. It's truly the best use of the season's produce, like crunchy cucumbers, sweet tomatoes, and earthy green bell peppers. I know you'll love it as much as I do.

What is traditional Greek ingredient? ›

Traditional Greek food is made up of an endless list of delicious ingredients and dishes: fresh fish, olives, olive oil, feta cheese, sweet baklavas, traditional bread and local wines.

What is feta dressing made of? ›

This feta dressing is pretty much effortless, and this recipe yields 1 ½ cups of salad dressing. Here's how you make it: Add ½ cup Greek yogurt, 6 ounces feta cheese, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 clove grated garlic, 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, and 2 tablespoons water to the bowl of your food processor or blender.

Can you buy Greek salad dressing? ›

Zafron Foods Greek Salad Dressing offers a delicious blend of rapeseed oil, pomace olive oil, spirit vinegar, garlic puree, herbs and spices and more, to create a versitile dressing.

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