easy greek salad $1.26 ea.
Today's post isn't so much a recipe as it is me proving a point... to myself.
Eating delicious salads every day doesn't have to mean breaking the bank.
I often shy away from buying lots of salad stuff because if I buy all of the really delicious ingredients, the cost can pile up. And by "good ingredients" I mean things like nuts, fancy cheeses, dried fruit... you know, the GOOD stuff. But then I remembered Budget Bytes Principle #2: adding a just little bit of really flavorful ingredients makes a huge flavor impact without hugely impacting the wallet.
So, instead of making a huge greek salad with tons of vegetables, feta, fancy olives, sun dried tomatoes, pickled peppers and all the rest, I scaled it back a bit. I was still able to accomplish the pungent greek flavor without going crazy with the ingredients and spending tons of money.
I used simple vegetables (romaine lettuce, cucumber and tomato) and added a little feta cheese (portion control is key) and some plain jane green (manzanilla) olives. Yeah, I would have loved Kalamata but the green olives were super inexpensive and still gave me that briny, salty, olive flavor that I was craving. The Kalamatas can wait for a special occasion!

Cost for salad dressing varies considerably... for a 1/4 cup of store-bought I estimate about $0.25. Yes, I KNOW, I should be making my own... I will soon, promise.

Total Recipe cost: $1.21 ea.
Prep ahead time: 10 min. Assembly time: 5 min.
STEP 1: Wash and slice the whole cucumber. Keep the cucumber refrigerated in a re-sealable container in the refrigerator up to 5 days. If you wish to prep the lettuce ahead of time you can wash, drain well then chop the lettuce. Keep the lettuce in a re-sealable bag or container with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture. Drain the lettuce as much as possible prior to refrigeration. I just washed and chopped my lettuce daily, it only took 5 minutes.
STEP 2: When you're ready to prep the salad, slice the tomato and roughly chop the olives. Layer the lettuce, cucumber, tomato, olives and feta in a bowl. Top with your desired dressing and dig in!
NOTE: Prepping salad ingredients ahead of time is really quick and they will they stay good in the refrigerator for 4 or 5 days. This means you can have fresh, quick salads almost all week. I prefer to chop soft or wet vegetables (like tomatoes) just prior to building the salad.
Making a series of homemade salad dressing is on my "to do" list for the blog. So, please, no lectures about my store bought balsamic vinaigrette in the photos! hahahhah.

Eating delicious salads every day doesn't have to mean breaking the bank.
I often shy away from buying lots of salad stuff because if I buy all of the really delicious ingredients, the cost can pile up. And by "good ingredients" I mean things like nuts, fancy cheeses, dried fruit... you know, the GOOD stuff. But then I remembered Budget Bytes Principle #2: adding a just little bit of really flavorful ingredients makes a huge flavor impact without hugely impacting the wallet.
So, instead of making a huge greek salad with tons of vegetables, feta, fancy olives, sun dried tomatoes, pickled peppers and all the rest, I scaled it back a bit. I was still able to accomplish the pungent greek flavor without going crazy with the ingredients and spending tons of money.
I used simple vegetables (romaine lettuce, cucumber and tomato) and added a little feta cheese (portion control is key) and some plain jane green (manzanilla) olives. Yeah, I would have loved Kalamata but the green olives were super inexpensive and still gave me that briny, salty, olive flavor that I was craving. The Kalamatas can wait for a special occasion!

Cost for salad dressing varies considerably... for a 1/4 cup of store-bought I estimate about $0.25. Yes, I KNOW, I should be making my own... I will soon, promise.

Total Recipe cost: $1.21 ea.
Prep ahead time: 10 min. Assembly time: 5 min.
INGREDIENTS | COST | |
1/4 head | romaine lettuce | $0.40 |
1 medium | roma tomato | $0.19 |
1/4 medium | cucumber | $0.17 |
2 Tbsp | feta cheese | $0.21 |
approx. 10 | green olives | $0.24 |
TOTAL | $1.21 |
STEP 1: Wash and slice the whole cucumber. Keep the cucumber refrigerated in a re-sealable container in the refrigerator up to 5 days. If you wish to prep the lettuce ahead of time you can wash, drain well then chop the lettuce. Keep the lettuce in a re-sealable bag or container with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture. Drain the lettuce as much as possible prior to refrigeration. I just washed and chopped my lettuce daily, it only took 5 minutes.
STEP 2: When you're ready to prep the salad, slice the tomato and roughly chop the olives. Layer the lettuce, cucumber, tomato, olives and feta in a bowl. Top with your desired dressing and dig in!
NOTE: Prepping salad ingredients ahead of time is really quick and they will they stay good in the refrigerator for 4 or 5 days. This means you can have fresh, quick salads almost all week. I prefer to chop soft or wet vegetables (like tomatoes) just prior to building the salad.
Making a series of homemade salad dressing is on my "to do" list for the blog. So, please, no lectures about my store bought balsamic vinaigrette in the photos! hahahhah.

Labels: easy, mediterranean, quick, salad, sidedish, vegetables, vegetarian
8 Comments:
At October 13, 2010 at 4:15 PM ,
kellyyes said...
mm greek salad is the best. i love it even more with diced up chicken sauteed with some garlic :)
At October 13, 2010 at 6:03 PM ,
Anonymous said...
I love this salad and I always add some of my canned beets. so good with the feta cheese.
At October 13, 2010 at 7:26 PM ,
Arleen Spenceley said...
We make this salad almost nightly, sans green olives, and I love it. For dressing, I sprinkle dried basil and oregano, and then pour a little oil and vinegar in, toss it and it's good to go. So easy and so refreshing!
At October 13, 2010 at 9:48 PM ,
Meister @ Eat This Neighborhood said...
Greek sal -- one of my faves! Instead of dressing I often just squeeze some lemon on top and maybe sprinkle salt/pepp/oregano -- cheap, quick, easy and fresh!
Another great and delicious post!
At October 14, 2010 at 1:12 AM ,
Unknown said...
looks great, a good authentic greek salad is not complete though with out green pepper, a yellow onion, and of course olive oil. toss it all, - the lettuce and olives and thats about as authentic as you can get. oh and scratch the balsamic ;)
At October 15, 2010 at 4:48 PM ,
Anonymous said...
This salad is so delicious, but how did you find such inexpensive tomatoes? In VA, each tomato costs an arm and a leg, no kidding.
At January 24, 2011 at 3:06 PM ,
Anonymous said...
This is my go to salad. I add a can of chickpeas too for some extra protein
At February 1, 2012 at 2:46 AM ,
Anonymous said...
Common greek salad dressing is simply pout over a little bit of olive oil and sprinkle some oregano. delicious. or olive oil and lemon juice for lettuce. amazing
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