Shepherd’s Salad is a light and refreshing vegetarian salad that can be tossed together in minutes. Filled with cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, feta cheese, olives, and a light lemon vinaigrette dressing.
If you’re in need of a refreshing and flavorful summer salad, look no further. You’re going to love this shepherd’s salad because it’s filled with healthy ingredients and it’s easy to pull together in a moment’s notice.
Plus, it’s coated in a light lemon vinaigrette dressing. Lemon juice is a great addition to a cold summer salad because it adds a bright citrus flavor.
I love a cold vegetable salad on a hot summer day. Try a few of my other recipes:
Tomato & Basil Chickpea Salad with Feta
What is Choban Salad
What is Choban SaladChoban Salad, also called Shepherd’s Salad or Çoban Salatası, is a Turkish salad consisting of chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, onion, and parsley. It is typically topped with a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, and salt.
While there are many versions of a shepherd’s salad, I think that the important part is that it’s made with just a handful of easy to find ingredients. An inexpensive salad made with fresh produce? I’m all in.
Shepherd’s salad is easy to customize with what you may have on hand. Green bell pepper (or any pepper) would make a great addition to this recipe.
If you don’t have fresh lemon juice, you can use an equal amount of vinegar instead. Do you have fresh herbs on hand? A handful of chopped dill or mint would make a flavorful addition.
How to Make Shepherd’s Salad
First, gather your ingredients.
For my salad, I’m using cucumbers, roma tomatoes, red onion (I used half of this massive onion!), feta cheese, olives, lemon juice, fresh parsley, olive oil, salt, and red pepper flakes.
Dice all of your produce, including the cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, and parsley. I sliced the olives into thirds. If you didn’t purchase crumbled feta, you’ll also want to cube your cheese.
One important part about making a salad like this is maintaining a uniform size when dicing. This makes a salad much easier and pleasant to eat when all of the ingredients are the same size.
Next, gather all of your diced ingredients and toss them into a large bowl. Now you’ll add your dressing ingredients.
First, add your olive oil and lemon juice. I love the flavor of a freshly squeezed lemon, and always keep fresh lemons on hand. I use a lemon squeezer similar to this one, which has a smaller spot (the green section) for squeezing limes. It’s quite handy and I find myself using it almost every day (ah, the life of a food blogger).
Then, add your salt and red pepper flakes.
Stir your ingredients together, making sure to fully coat your salad with the dressing and spices.
That’s it! Your salad is ready to enjoy. This salad can also be made a few hours ahead of time. Simply refrigerate until it’s ready to serve.
Make ahead Shepherd’s Salad
Make ahead Shepherd’s SaladWhile this salad is very quick and easy to prepare, I know there are times when you may need to make your salad ahead of time. If you are making a Choban salad a few hours before an event or party, simply refrigerate until it’s ready to serve.
Because the salad contains vegetables, some juices will be released once they are tossed in the dressing. The salad will start to get soggy after a day or so.
If you need to make your salad a day ahead, I’d suggest separating your salad ingredients from your dressing ingredients. Then, just before serving, toss your salad in the dressing. This way, your salad will remain beautiful and fresh, without any wilting ingredients.
Shepherd's Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cucumbers seeded and chopped
- 4 roma tomatoes seeded and chopped
- 1/2 medium red onion chopped
- 4 ounces feta cheese cubed or crumbled
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 2 ounces kalamata olives sliced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a bowl, add diced cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, feta cheese, olives, and parsley.
- Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and red pepper flakes. Toss to coat.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve. Best enjoyed the same day.
Equipment
Notes
- Try to maintain a uniform size when dicing your ingredients. A salad is easier and more pleasant to eat when all of the ingredients are cut to a similar size.
- Because the salad contains vegetables, some juices will be released once they are tossed in the dressing. The salad will start to get soggy after a day or so.
- If you need to make your salad a day ahead, I'd suggest separating your salad ingredients from your dressing ingredients. Then, just before serving, toss your salad in the dressing. This way, your salad will remain beautiful and fresh, without any wilting ingredients.
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