Greek Salad Dressing

Homemade Greek Salad Dressing is tangy, easy to make, and absolutely delicious drizzled over a Greek salad, stirred into a pasta salad, or used as a marinade!

Homemade salad dressings are always a hit when I share them on Five Heart Home. However, while perusing the ones I've already posted, I realized that there was a big ol' hole where a nice Greek Salad Dressing should be! So I decided to remedy that today by sharing my favorite recipe for homemade Greek dressing that's zippy, zesty, and loaded with flavor.

In recent years, I've developed an affinity for Mediterranean food that sometimes feels like a betrayal to my Tex-Mex loving identity. But that's okay...where there is queso, there's also room for hummus (and sometimes even Tex-Mex-inspired hummus). I've realized that not only is Mediterranean food indescribably delicious, but it's also one of the healthier cuisine options out there. And so with each passing year, I incorporate more and more Mediterranean recipes into my repertoire.

And one of my favorites is (surprise!!!) a traditional Greek salad! You know the kind I'm talking about...a bed of salad greens generously topped with crunchy cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, briny Kalamata olives and creamy crumbles of Feta cheese. And the tastiest, easy-to-make Greek dressing!

Of course, there are often thin slivers of raw red onion on Greek salads as well. But while I include those in my styled salad photos, y'all know I pick them off before eating said salad. 😉

Why Make Homemade Dressings

I love making my own from-scratch salad dressings at home because I can use high-quality ingredients and I know exactly what's going in there. There are no preservatives or weird, icky additives to worry about!

In addition, recipes like this homemade Greek Salad Dressing taste fresher and can always be tweaked and customized to your liking.

Ingredients

As I may have mentioned before, what makes a really good Greek salad is the dressing!

Fundamentally just a basic vinaigrette, this Greek dressing recipe features a handful of simple ingredients:

• Extra-virgin olive oil. Be sure to use a high-quality extra-virgin olive oil (that you like the taste of!) in any salad dressing, as the flavor will shine through.
• Red wine vinegar. I have not tried substituting another type of vinegar for the red wine vinegar in this recipe. I'm sure it could be done and the dressing would still be tasty, but it's probably not going to taste like Greek dressing anymore.
• Lemon juice. Fresh-squeezed lemon juice is best, but you can also use bottled lemon juice as long as "lemon juice" is the only ingredient.
• Dijon mustard. Just a little dab is all you need! The intention of the Dijon is for a layer of flavor, not to taste "mustard-y."
• Garlic. When using fresh garlic in a salad dressing, I like to make sure it's very finely minced. If I'm going to whisk or shake my dressing, I push a garlic clove through a garlic press, or finely mince and then mash with the side of my knife. If I'm using my mini food processor to assemble my dressing, I pulse the garlic clove first to chop it up before adding the rest of the ingredients and processing. That being said, if fresh raw garlic is too strong for your taste, you may substitute ¼ to ½ teaspoon garlic powder instead.
• Dried oregano. I typically make my dressing with dried oregano, but if you'd like to substitute fresh chopped oregano, use three times the amount...1 tablespoon fresh oregano in place of 1 teaspoon dried.
• Salt + freshly ground black pepper.

How to Make Greek Salad Dressing

Simply combine the ingredients in a bowl with a wire whisk...

or whiz them together in a mini food processor....

or shake 'em up in a jar.

And that's it!

See? Easy-peasy.

Storage

Because of the fresh garlic and lemon juice, this Greek Salad Dressing needs to be stored in the refrigerator.

However, because it's made with olive oil, it's likely to solidify a bit when chilled.

Therefore, it's important to take the dressing out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature before you'd like to use it.

Since I often don't remember to do that in time, I have been known to quickly bring it to room temp by resting the dressing bottle in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes. Or, if I've got it stored in a glass container of some sort (which I always do), I might even remove the lid and zap it in the microwave for a few seconds...not enough to heat it up, but just enough to re-liquify the EVOO.

Salad Dressing Container Options

If, like me, you prefer to make your own salad dressing on a regular basis (because we've already established that homemade dressing is way better than store-bought!), you’ll need some quality airtight containers to store it in.

To shake and store your Greek Dressing in the same container, you can use a classic mason jar with a tight-fitting lid, which you can find at Walmart for around $17 for a dozen (the extras come in handy to use around the house)!

Or, if you want something that’s a little easier to pour, a glass bottle or classic salad cruet (as pictured in some of the photos in this post) will do the trick!

Ways to Enjoy Greek Dressing

This recipe is perfect on a salad to accompany just about any type of meal.

Or you can top your salad with some protein to make it a meal in and of itself!

It's a wonderful dressing to stir into a pasta salad...particularly Greek Pasta Salad.

This Greek dressing also makes a mean marinade for chicken or flank steak or shrimp.

So are you a fan of Mediterranean cuisine?

Do you adore a good Greek salad?

Either way, I've got your back with this tangy, tasty Greek Salad Dressing recipe!

I hope you'll add it to your homemade dressing regular rotation as I've added it to mine. 🙂

Helpful Tips, Tricks, & Equipment

• If you find this vinaigrette to be too tangy or acidic, you can add a small pinch of sugar or a tiny squeeze of honey. It won't be enough to make the dressing sweet, but just enough the mellow out the acidity.
• For a *creamy* Greek Salad Dressing, you may incorporate 2 to 3 tablespoons of Greek yogurt. However, if doing so, you may need to slightly increase the salt.
• Or you can try my Creamy Feta Dressing for another Greek-inspired salad dressing option. 🙂

More Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes

• Homemade Italian Dressing
• Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Lightened-Up Honey Mustard Dressing
• Asian Salad Dressing (Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette)
• The BEST Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Post originally published on January 10, 2019.