This cucumber tomato feta salad is easy, simple and so delicious. It's made with just a few ingredients and is one of our favorite summer salad recipes.
One can never have enough salad recipes, right? I love using fresh and seasonal ingredients in my salads and serve them with fresh and bright dressings. Some of our favorite summer salads are fattoush, couscous salad and Turkish tomato salad. This tomato feta salad is a staple in our kitchen because it's packed with flavor in every bite and is perfect for warm summer days.
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What does feta cheese taste like?
Feta cheese is a firm cheese that's common in the Middle East and the Mediterranean regions. It's known as a breakfast cheese but is also used in salads and savory pastries.
Feta has a bold salty and tangy flavor and is made from sheep or goat's milk. It's easy to crumble feta and you can easily add it to salads such as traditional Greek salad or chickpea salad to give them that pungent flavor that makes them so tasty.
Ingredients
- Cucumbers: I love using Persian or mini cucumber instead of English cucumber because they're crisp, and have thinner skin.
- Tomatoes: You can use any kind of tomatoes that you prefer for salads. I usually use Roma tomatoes, but cherry or grape tomatoes work just as fine.
- Red onion: A little bit of red onion makes this summer salad so delicious.
- Feta cheese: Make sure you're getting a good quality feta as it's going to be the star of the dish. It's best to get a block of feta and crumble it yourself since store-bought crumbled feta is usually dry.
- Walnuts: You can add walnuts for some extra crunch.
- Olives: I love adding pitted olives (green or kalamata) to this feta salad.
Instructions
- In a bowl mix the olive oil, lemon juice, dried mint, salt and pepper to make the dressing. Set it aside.
- Chop the tomatoes, cucumbers and the red onion. Place the vegetables in a large bowl.
- Add in chopped walnuts and olives.
- Add in the mint and feta cheese. Add the dressing and stir to combine.
- Serve immediately or cool in the fridge before serving.
Serving suggestions
This homemade tomato cucumber feta salad is ideal for summer and goes so well with any kind of grilled meat such as beef shish kabob, chicken shish kabob or our favorite grilled spatchcock chicken.
I love serving it with some garlic chicken, Keftedes (Greek meatballs) or Karniyarik (Turkish stuffed eggplants) as well. Okay, I think we all know what dinner is going to be tonight!
Variations
This salad is so good on its own. However, here are a few suggestion for different variations:
- Add canned chickpeas or canned white beans.
- Swap parsley or fresh dill for mint.
- Add romaine lettuce or cabbage.
- Use cherry tomatoes instead of roma tomatoes.
Frequently asked questions
First of all, always opt for a block of feta and not crumbled feta for two reasons: feta blocks are more inexpensive and feta crumbles can be dry. It's best to crumble feta fresh and right before using it. It's best to buy feta from ethnic Greek or Turkish stores, however, you can find good quality feta at supermarkets, too.
Since this feta salad has tomatoes, it's best to make it right or within a few minutes before serving so the tomatoes don't release their juice.
What I love about feta is that it's so versatile. You can use feta as a breakfast cheese, or as a filling or topping for flatbread or Mediterranean pizza.
You can also sprinkle feta on your grilled or roasted vegetables. I also love making baked feta with honey and zaatar and serve it with some pita chips.
Did you make this recipe? I'd love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a 5-star🌟 rating below. You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or subscribe to our newsletter to get a free e-Cookbook!
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Step-by-Step Recipe
Cucumber Tomato Feta Salad
Ingredients
- 3 Persian cucumbers chopped
- 2 Roma tomatoes chopped
- ½ red onion sliced
- 4 oz Feta cheese cubed
- ½ cup fresh mint chopped
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
- ½ cup olives
Feta Salad Dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 lemon juice of
- 2 teaspoon dried mint
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix chopped cucumber, tomatoes, and onion.
- Add in cubes feta, mint and walnuts. Stir to combine.
- Stir in the olives.
- Make the dressing by mixing olive oil, lemon juice, dried mint, salt and pepper in a jar.
- Pour the dressing on the salad right before serving.
- Stir and taste, add more salt if needed.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Since this salad has feta and olives which are both salty, be aware of the amount of salt you add to the dressing.
- Leave out the olives if you don't like them in salads.
- It's best to get a block of feta and crumble it yourself when making the salad. Store-bought crumbled feta is usually dry.
- You can use parsley or dill instead of mint.
- Add a can of beans or chickpeas to this salad for more protein.
Nancy
So fresh and delicious!
I love your recipes!
Choclette
Ooh yes, the perfect summer salad. It sounds so delicious and refreshing. I'm all over the mint at the moment, so this is definitely for me.
Jac
Prepared this salad today with vegan feta and it was delicious. I used some mint from our garden as we have so much of it growing at the moment and it really brought the flavours of the salad together 🙂
Dannii
What a deliciously refreshing salad. Anything with feta is good with me.
Toni
This is packed full of amazing flavors! Will definitely make it again!
Stephanie
My husband loves this salad! It's so easy to put together and so refreshing for the summer.
Kalee
I love how fresh and delicious this salad is! I'm always a fan of feta cheese too! This is a perfect blend of flavors!
Beth
What a fresh and flavorful salad! I'm with you and can never have too many salads in my recipe book!