The Best Lemony Loaded Greek Salad with Hummus

Loaded with bright flavors, appealing textures, and dressed in a tangy fresh Greek dressing, this lemony loaded Greek salad with hummus is the perfect vegetarian entree salad for dinner or lunch.

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You know what’s weird?

I’m normally not a huge Greek salad fan.

I could generally take them or leave them because I’m meh about feta and kalamata olives.

I know. What kind of foodie am I?

But, this restaurant nearby me has this Greek salad that’s so good and loaded with crunchy romaine, black olives, sweet tomatoes, creamy hummus and toasted pita wedges. Plus the whole thing was dressed in a white wine viniagrette that is just *chef’s kiss* perfection.

It is quite possibly one of my favorite summer salads.

What is a traditional Greek salad made of?

Fun fact: a genuine Greek salad that you’d find while traveling to Greece does not start with lettuce.

A Greek Salad you’d find in Greece is typically made with tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, feta cheese, kalamata olives, oregano and olive oil.

In some cases, you might find that someone added green peppers or caper berries.

That’s it!

Does Greek salad contain lettuce?

No lettuce!

If you were to go to Greece, you’d be hard pressed to find a version of the salad with lettuce in it.

Of course the American version of a Greek salad generally tosses those veggies with with greens.

In my version I’m using lettuce and other traditional ingredients but I bulk it out with a little more vegetarian protein in the form of chickpeas and hummus.

What is the difference between Greek and Italian salad?

Mainly the herbs you’ll find in the dressings.

Greek dressing generally only has oregano.

Italian dressing may have oregano, basil, thyme, and other herbs. I also often add Parmesan cheese to Italian dressing.

Ingredients

To make this version of a Greek salad you’ll need:

• Lettuce– Go for a sturdy, crunchy lettuce like romaine hearts or butter lettuce.
• Olives– Kalamata olives are more traditional so use them if you prefer, but I sub black olives since that’s what we like.
• Tomatoes– Cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered.
• Cucumbers– Sliced
• Chickpeas– Canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained. You can make it a little extra by making the chickpeas crunchy with this Easy Garlic Roasted Chickpeas with Parmesan recipe.
• Hummus– I like to make my own hummus and will often add Lemon Pesto Hummus to this, but you can do store bought to save time
• Pita wedges– I cut up store bought pitas and toast them. You could also use pita chips if you prefer.
• Greek Dressing

The Best Greek Dressing Ingredients

This may not be a traditional Greek vinaigrette, but it is fantastic.

To make it you’ll need:

• Olive oil– Make like Ina Garten and use the best olive oil you can afford and don’t use a different oil.
• Red wine vinegar– You could use white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar instead
• Lemon– The juice and zest of one lemon. Don’t substitute store bought lemon juice here.
• Garlic– Fresh
• Honey– To balance out the acidity
• Oregano– I use fresh when I have it in my garden, but dried works too
• Salt and pepper

How to Make

1. Make the dressing. Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing together and let it sit for a few minutes for the flavors to combine.
2. Prep the veggies. Wash and chop the lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
3. Make the hummus. Make the lemon pesto hummus according to instructions or use your favorite store bought hummus. Set aside.
4. Assemble the salad. Assemble the salad by gently tossing together the romaine, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, chickpeas, olives and cheese. Top with hummus and pita wedges, garnish with lemon wedges and fresh oregano if desired. Serve with the dressing.

Tips for Making Greek Salad with Hummus

Made from scratch, my lemony loaded Greek salad does not take much to get ready. But if you feel a need for speed, here are some tips that make this easy recipe even easier:

• Use a can of pre-sliced olives – black, kalamata, or green olives are all good choices
• I often use leftover hummus from a double batch. You could also use your favorite store bought brand. We like Sabra and Tribe.
• Find pre-cut cucumbers at the salad bar at your local grocery store, you’ll certainly pay extra for them, but if you don’t like slicing cucumbers (who really likes chopping anything really?), you may be able to short cut this step

For best results for the dressing, I recommend the following:

• Tempted as I am to always add garlic cloves until my Italian ancestors whisper in the wind for me to stop, it is truly best to add only one, medium sized clove. Too much more and you will over power the dressing and be able to kill vampires with your breath.
• I like to let the dressing sit for a few minutes to let the flavors come together. This doesn’t have to be long, but make the dressing first, and let it sit while you make the salad.

Make this Greek salad your own! Serving Suggestions

Want to change it up a bit or make it more filling? You could definitely do that.

Try adding this Garlic Herb grilled chicken to your Greek salad. Other good options if you are looking to add some meat to this vegetarian salad:

• lemon shrimp skewers
• Salmon kebabs
• Greek lamb kebobs
• Pan fried pork chops

Other things you could do:

• Add in some pan fried halloumi (I always advocate adding more cheese. ALWAYS)
• throw in some chopped red onions
• add in several varieties of olives
• keep the salad lower carb by forgoing the pita wedges
• toss in some marinated artichoke hearts and mushrooms

And if you wanted, you could also serve this as an appetizer salad. It would pair awesomely with this Mediterranean shrimp pasta or even this Greek orzo salad.

Lemony Loaded Greek Salad

Loaded with bright flavors, appealing textures, and dressed in a tangy fresh Greek dressing, this lemony loaded Greek salad with hummus is the perfect vegetarian entree salad for dinner or lunch. 

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes minutes

Course: salad, entree salad, appetizer

Cuisine: Greek, American

Keyword: Greek salad, Greek salad with hummus, lemony Greek salad, loaded Greek salad

Servings: 2 -4 servings

Author: jfletcher

Ingredients

• For the salad
• 2 heads of romaine hearts chopped
• 2 cucumbers sliced
• 4 pitas cut into triangles
• 1 cup chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 4 ounces of ricotta salata or feta crumbled
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes halved
• 1 2.25 ounce can of sliced black olives drained
• 1/2 cup of lemon or lemon pesto hummus
• Fresh oregano and lemon to garnish if desired
• For the dressing
• 1/4 c of olive oil
• 1/8 c of red wine vinegar
• juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 1 clove of garlic pressed
• 1 tbs honey
• 1 teaspoon of fresh oregano chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Make the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together and letting it sit for a few minutes for the flavors to combine.
• Make the lemon pesto hummus according to instructions or use your favorite store bought hummus. Set aside.
• Assemble the salad by gently tossing together the romaine, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, chickpeas, olives and cheese. Top with hummus and pita wedges, garnish with lemon wedges and fresh oregano if desired. Serve with the red wine viniagrette.

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