Greek Spinach Salad With Feta + Fresh Lemon Dressing

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Light and bright, Greek spinach salad with feta and olives will take your taste buds straight to the Mediterranean. This salad only takes 10 minutes, can be made ahead, is vegetarian and gluten-free!

Salad with spinach leaves, chopped cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes, sliced peppers and red onion that's been topped with feta cheese and kalamata olives.

Why I Love This Recipe

This is based off the traditional Greek salad recipe my mom made us growing up. The homemade dressing (a basic vinaigrette) has a combination of lemon and red wine vinegar like a classic Greek salad. Spinach adds even more body and flavor. Full of fresh veggies, this is great as a starter salad or side salad.

Greek spinach salad also makes a great main dish if you add a little extra protein like garbanzo beans or chicken to it. For more delicious salad ideas, try this crisp garden salad with orange vinaigrette, a summer fig salad, the deeper, fall flavored blackberry vinaigrette or a wintery radicchio and orange salad.

Tall Pinterest graphic with title, Healthy Greek spinach salad with lemon + feta, in white on blue banner and photo of Greek spinach salad below.

Ingredients

With just a short list of ingredients, fresh Greek spinach salad is quick and simple to make with ingredients that are easy to find at any grocery store. (Spinach also makes a great substitute for other hearty greens.)

Greek Feta Cheese - I love crumbled cow feta cheese in my Greek salad but you can use goat feta too. Choose goat cheese or cow cheese (or even a vegan feta) based on your personal preference.
Black Olives - Greek olives, kalamata olives or any other brined black olives are what this recipe calls for. If you have picky eaters, you can even use water canned black olives for a much less salty, milder olive flavor which is how I started eating olives as a kid.
Fresh Spinach - Try to get small, tender baby spinach leaves. If you can't get baby spinach, be sure to trim off any tough or brown stems. My preference is to toss the spinach leaves with the rest of the salad ingredients and dressing but if you prefer, you can serve the salad on top of the spinach. Do not use cooked or frozen spinach.
Tomatoes - If it's summer, get some sweet, juicy tomatoes from the garden or local farmers market. Heirloom varieties, beefsteak tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, or whatever kinds look juicy, ripe and delicious. If it is winter and they aren't in season where you are, I recommend using cherry tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes tend to be sweeter and more flavorful than larger winter hot house tomatoes.
Lemon Juice + Red Wine Vinegar - These two Mediterranean ingredients add great acidity and body to the Greek dressing and a little goes a long way. I love using a combination of both but you could use all of one or the other in a pinch.
Dry Oregano - Dried oregano is best for this recipe. If you don't have oregano, you can substitute Greek seasoning (a blend of oregano and other herbs like basil, thyme, mint, fennel, parsley, garlic and more). If you use Greek seasoning, check to see if there is salt in it. If so, reduce the salt in the recipe accordingly.

Substitutions + Variations

There are so many ways to change up this Mediterranean spinach salad. Take it from a side dish to a light meal or change up the salad greens based on the time of year. Here are a few of my favorite ideas.

Top It - Drained chickpeas (garbanzo beans), cooked and sliced chicken breasts, slivered leftover flank steak, pistachios or pine nuts are all great toppers for a spinach Greek salad. Adding these high protein and/or high fiber ingredients makes this easy salad recipe into a complete meal.
Make It A Topper - Fill your bowl with hot or cold cooked pasta or cool Greek yogurt. Top it with a generous amount of the Mediterranean spinach salad. The delicious Greek flavor will drip off the vegetables and flavor the ingredients beneath, making this a great main course for hot summer days.
Swap The Salad Greens - Massage some dressing into baby kale instead of the spinach. Let it sit for 30 minutes to soften, then add the rest of the vegetables and toss. Or use some chopped iceberg or romaine lettuce instead of the spinach for a winter Greek salad.
Onions - I like to use red onions with are a traditional ingredient, alternatively, sweet white onions are great for this recipe too. If you want a much milder onion, you can swap out chopped green onions or omit them altogether.

Step By Step Instructions + Photos

A glass measuring cup with dried herbs and crushed garlic in it, alongside a bowl of spinach and a cucumber and a square dish with some feta cheese.

Step 1. In a small bowl or mason jar, add dried oregano, salt, pepper and garlic.

The glass measuring cup has the pale, grassy-colored olive oil added in. There are small dishes of yellow lemon juice and red wine vinegar as well as the feta cheese, spinach and cucumber beside.

Step 2. Pour in olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice, whisk all the salad dressing ingredients well and set aside.

A large salad bowl filled with spinach leaves, chopped tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, and red onion topped with white crumbled feta cheese. There is a hand stirring the homemade salad dressing in the glass measuring cup beside.

Step 3. To a large salad bowl, add spinach leaves, chopped sweet tomatoes, bell peppers and crunchy cucumbers, slivered red onion and red cabbage if using.

Sprinkle crumbled feta cheese over top and add the black olives.

The chunky vegetable salad in the large white bowl has been dressed with the herb, vinegar and oil dressing and has dark black-purple olives on top.

Step 4. Drizzle the dressing over, toss gently and serve. This can be made up to half an hour ahead. If you want to make it farther ahead, simply reserve the dressing to add once you're ready to serve.

Green, red and white salad flecked with very dark purple oblong olives and dressed with dry herb flecked olive oil dressing.

FAQ's

What is Greek seasoning?

Greek seasoning is a blend of different herbs and spices. Each brand will be a little different but common ingredients are: oregano, basil, marjoram, fennel, mint, parsley, savory, thyme, garlic, onion and sometimes salt.

Is Greek spinach salad traditional?

No. While all these ingredients are found in traditional Greek cooking, spinach is usually cooked in Greek recipes and not raw in salads. But it sure is good and the dressing is an authentic Greek dressing.

Pro Tips

For the longest time, I couldn't figure out why my salad dressing wasn't as good as my moms. Watching her make it one day, I figured out it was the salt!

This recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of salt which might sound like a lot, but don't forget, this serves 4-6 people easily, so it's only ¼-1/6 of a teaspoon per person and it makes all the difference to the finished Greek dressing. Don't cut back the salt (my favorite is sea salt) unless you need to for health reasons.

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Cheers and happy cooking, Friends! Sabrina