Maroulosalata is a classic Greek lettuce salad that is refreshing, tangy and makes for a perfect side dish with heavier mains. It’s incredibly easy to make and comes together in under 10 minutes! It’s adaptable and can be modified slightly to suit your preferences.
Pair it with a hearty Greek main dish: Greek lemon chicken and potatoes, Greek lamb chops or vegetarian Greek spinach pie. There’s a list of pairing and meal plan ideas below!
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What is Maroulosalata and Why do I love this recipe?
Marouloasalata (Greek: Μαρουλοσαλάτα) is a traditional Greek lettuce salad known for its simplicity and refreshing light flavors. The name comes from “maroulo” (μαρούλο), meaning lettuce, and “salata” (σαλάτα), meaning salad.
Recipes will vary from family to family, but the salad typically consists of fresh romaine lettuce, finely chopped dill, green onions, extra virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice or red wine vinegar, and a pinch of salt.
I like to include fresh mint and feta in my recipe, but you can adapt the recipe. Keep it completely vegan by leaving out the feta or using a vegan feta substitute.
I love this simple salad as a light lunch. It’s also great as a side served with a main course. And just because it’s Greek doesn’t mean you have to pair it with a Greek main! This classic salad works well with many cuisines.
Make sure to try some of my other refreshing salads: Classic Greek Salad, Fattoush, Jerusalem Salad, Tahini Salad, Lebanese Tabbouleh and Peach Caprese.
Ingredients
This salad uses pretty standard simple ingredients. There’s nothing fancy here!
- Lettuce: I like to use romaine hearts or “hearts of romaine” (the ones sold in packs of 2 or 3 in the grocery store). The hearts have more crunch to them and fewer of the soft outer green leaves you find in a standard romaine head of lettuce. But it doesn’t matter, you can use a head of romaine too. I don’t recommend using any other type of soft or tender lettuce. The salad would be too mushy. You need a lettuce that can stand up to the feta dressing. In a pinch, you can use iceberg lettuce but it won’t be as delicious.
- Creamy Feta Cheese: Greek feta is the way to go here! It’s soft, tangy, salty and gives the salad a perfect punch. Other types of feta could work here. Bulgarian feta is also soft and tangy, but I find it too sour. Make sure to also try my traditional Greek salad.
- Fresh Herbs: Traditionally this salad is made with fresh dill and fresh green onions. I like to add some fresh chopped mint to my recipe for it’s sweet and fresh flavor. If you’re a mint fan, try some of my other salads, including Fattoush and Jerusalem Salad.
- Fresh lemon juice! Squeeze that lemon yourself! Don’t use the bottled stuff! If you don’t have lemons, you can use white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar.
Refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full list of ingredients and quantities!
How to Make Maroulosalata
This is a very straightforward and simple recipe and comes together in no time!
Step 1. Make dressing. To a large bowl, add the crumbled feta cheese, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and fresh cracked black pepper. Using a fork, smash the crumbled feta lightly mixing it with the oil and lemon juice.
Step 2. Add greens. To the same salad bowl, add your chopped romaine, spring onions, dill, and mint.
Step 3. Mix. Using your hands or tongs, mix everything together. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with some extra dill fronds and mint leaves.
Pairing Suggestions
This delicious salad is as simple as it gets so pair it with one of my heartier lamb mains such as:
You can also add some homemade grilled chicken breast or roast chicken (maybe even a premade rotisserie) to the salad. Or enjoy it as a side with one of my chicken recipes:
- Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes
- Chicken Kafta Kebabs
- Authentic Chicken Shish Tawook
- Harissa Chicken Skewers
- Harissa Honey Chicken
You can even use this salad as a base for my chicken shawarma.
It also works well with grilled beef recipes like my beef Kofta and Persian Kabob Koobideh.
For a vegetarian or light dinner, pair this salad with one of my Mediterranean sides to make a complete meal. Try it with:
Expert Tips
- Spin that lettuce! I don’t trust pre-washed lettuce! I recommend that you chop your romaine hearts, add them to a salad spinner, wash and spin dry! It’s the only effective way to get rid of as much water from the lettuce as possible.
- Use good quality ingredients! This salad has very few ingredients. So use that good quality olive oil you got for your birthday or the holidays!
- Dry the herbs. After washing your herbs, dry them on paper towels. The goal is to avoid adding extra moisture to the salad.
- Play around with it. This salad is adaptable. Feel free to add chopped cucumbers, sliced red onion or even kalamata olives to it.
Recipe FAQs
I don’t recommend that you make and toss this salad too far in advance. What you can do to save time is make the dressing and add the greens to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a plate and store in the fridge until you want to serve. Then toss everything together before serving.
Because this salad is hearty and the romaine won’t fully wilt, leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. But I recommend eating the leftovers the nest day. You can add some fresh chopped cucumbers and tomatoes to the leftover salad to liven it up!
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Recipe Card
Maroulosalata (Classic Greek Lettuce Salad)
Ingredients
Dressing Ingredients:
- ½ cup Greek feta cheese - Crumbled
- 3 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon Fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt - Careful not to add too much, as the feta is also salty. Start with a little add more later if you need to.
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
Rest of the Ingredients:
- 2 Romaine hearts - Chopped roughly
- 5-6 Green onions - Finely chopped
- ¼ cup Fresh dill - Finely chopped
- ¼ cup Fresh mint - Finely chopped
Instructions
- Make dressing. To a large bowl, add the crumbled feta cheese, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and fresh cracked black pepper. Using a fork, smash the crumbled feta lightly mixing it with the oil and lemon juice.
- Add greens. To the same salad bowl, add your chopped romaine, spring onions, dill, and mint.
- Mix. Using your hands or tongs, mix everything together. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with some extra dill fronds and mint leaves.
Notes
- Lettuce: I like to use romaine hearts or “hearts of romaine” (the ones sold in packs of 2 or 3 in the grocery store). The hearts have more crunch to them and fewer of the soft outer green leaves you find in a standard romaine head of lettuce. But it doesn’t matter, you can use a head of romaine too.
- Creamy Feta Cheese: Greek feta is the way to go here! It’s soft, tangy, salty and gives the salad a perfect punch. Other types of feta could work here. Bulgarian feta is also soft and tangy, but I find it too sour.
- Fresh lemon juice! Squeeze that lemon yourself! Don’t use the bottled stuff! If you don’t have lemons, you can use white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar.
Salwa says
Wow! My whole family loved this salad!!! So refreshing and perfectly balanced.
Luay Ghafari says
Thank you for the feedback, Salwa!