A traditional Greek salad gets a facelift! This marinated feta greek salad packs a flavor punch! Start by grabbing a hunk of feta and marinating it with olive oil, garlic, and herbs until it’s extra flavorful. Then, we’ll use the feta in the salad and the oil in the dressing! So delicious and so easy!

So fresh and so colorful!

Greek salads are nothing new. They’ve been done again and again, but not like this.

This one here is a marinated feta greek salad. As if we take a hunk of feta, dice it up, and throw it into a jar with olive oil, red pepper flakes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, herbs (basically anything you like) and let it hang around for a few days or up to two weeks and allow the flavors to really seep into the feta cheese. And once the feta soaks up all that goodness, we’ll drain it. And don’t you worry, we aren’t wasting a drop of that precious EVOO! We’ll save the oil for an amazing red wine vinaigrette that you can make with just four simple ingredients.

I’m telling you, once you make a marinated feta Greek salad, you’re never making it the regular old way again.

Fruity olive oil and summery herbs are where this salad all begins. Now, of course, you can make an even bigger batch of marinated feta and serve it as an appetizer or as part of a summer cheeseboard too. Marinating feta is a beautiful little way of making it taste even better, and there isn’t just one way of serving this.

The best part is, the marinated feta demands that you make it in advance, making it ideal for prepping ahead of time for dinner parties and such. And trust me, a marinated feta Greek salad will definitely wow those dinner guests for sure.

Marinated-anything just makes it sound super fancy!

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE MARINATED FETA GREEK SALAD?

• cherry tomatoes
• cucumbers (Persian or hothouse)
• green bell pepper
• red onions
• kalamata olives
• garbanzo beans
• marinated feta
• dressing

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE MARINATED FETA?

• fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano, etc.)
• extra virgin olive oil
• greek-style feta cheese
• crushed red pepper flakes 

WHAT OTHER INGREDIENTS WOULD ADD FLAVOR TO MARINATED FETA?

• whole cloves of garlic 
• sun-dried tomatoes
• peppercorns
• bay leaves
• kalamata olives

WHAT’S IN THE MARINATED FETA GREEK SALAD DRESSING?

• olive oil from the marinated feta
• dried oregano
• Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper
• red wine vinegar

HOW TO MAKE THE MARINATED FETA FOR THE GREEK SALAD:

Making the marinated feta for this Greek salad is really easy!

1. dice the feta into small cubes
2. add the feta to an airtight container (preferably glass) with a tight-fitting lid
3. the add-ins (herbs, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, red pepper flakes, etc.)
4. Pour the olive oil on top
5. Cover and store

HOW DO YOU STORE THE FETA CHEESE WHILE IT’S MARINATING?

• I’ve read up on this quite a bit, and though lots of sources say that it will be fine to store at room temperature for 24 hours if all of the feta is completely submerged in the olive oil, I still recommend refrigerating as the feta marinates. For this reason, the flavors to take a little longer to develop because of the cooler temperatures. Marinated feta on day four will most definitely taste much better than marinated feta from day two. 
• TIP: You’ll want to remove the marinated feta from the refrigerated about 30 minutes-2 hours before using it in a salad. You want the olive oil to come back to a liquid state. It solidifies when it sits in the refrigerator at such a cold temperature.

WHAT DO I DO WITH THE LEFTOVER OLIVE OIL?

Make tons of salad dressing! You can pretty much use it anywhere where you’d use extra virgin olive oil – make vinaigrettes, toss with pasta, or in a bean salad.

WHAT CAN I SERVE THIS MARINATED FETA GREEK SALAD WITH?

• Greek marinated chicken
• lemon rosemary chicken
• garlic butter skillet steak and shrimp
• roasted herb butter spatchcock chicken
• restaurant style beef shawarma
• garlic lemon butter chicken
• beef shawarma bowls with vermicelli rice
• garlic butter chicken with mozzarella
• Persian chicken kebabs

OTHER WAYS TO USE CHICKPEAS THIS SUMMER?

• instant pot hummus
• seven layer chickpea shawarma dip
• Moroccan chickpea power salad
• smashed chickpea green goddess sandwiches
• chipotle chicken stew with chickpeas and kale
• homemade falafel

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Yield: 6 servings

Marinated Feta Greek Salad

Prep Time 10 days 20 minutes

Total Time 10 days 20 minutes

A traditional Greek salad gets a facelift! This marinated feta greek salad packs a flavor punch! Start by grabbing a hunk of feta and marinating it with olive oil, garlic, and herbs until it’s extra flavorful. Then, we’ll use the feta in the salad and the oil in the dressing! So delicious and so easy!

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Ingredients

Marinated Feta:

• ½-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 sprig of EACH: rosemary, thyme, AND oregano
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil (or enough to cover all of the feta)
• 5-6 ounces Greek feta, cut into small pieces

Greek Salad:

• 1-pint cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
• 1 hothouse cucumber, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup kalamata olives, pitted
• 1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained

Vinaigrette:

• ¼ cup EVOO (drained from marinated feta)
• 1 teaspoon EACH: dried oregano AND Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon EACH: salt AND black pepper
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Instructions

1. MARINATED FETA: add the cubed feta, rosemary spring, thyme, oregano, and red pepper flakes to a glass storage container (one that has a tight-fitting lid) then pour the olive oil over the top. You might need additional olive oil to cover the feta completely, it just depends on the size of your container. Cover the container with the lid and allow the feta to sit in the refrigerator for 1-14 days. Be sure to allow the marinated feta to come to room temperature for 30 minutes - 2 hours so the oil liquifies before you remove the feta.
2. VINAIGRETTE: Add the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a glass jar (one that had a lid.) Screw on the cap and give it a good shake. Taste and adjust with additional seasonings as desired.
3. SALAD: When ready to serve, add all the ingredients for the salad, along with the drained marinated feta to a large bowl. Drizzle half the dressing and toss the salad. Taste and adjust with additional dressing as desired. Allow the salad to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

1. leftover EVOO from the marinated feta can be used to make additional salad dressing, or toss it with pasta!
2. There are tons of other ingredients you can use to marinate the feta, check the post for other ideas!

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