Easy Greek Lettuce Salad - Maroulosalata

Maroulosalata (pronounced ma-rou-lo-sa-la-ta) is a Greek lettuce salad with a light vinaigrette dressing. It comes together in just 15 minutes and makes a delicious side dish for any main course. You can easily customize it with your favorite salad ingredients for extra flavor, or keep it simple and follow my recipe.

Greek lettuce salad and Greek salad are two of the most popular salads in Greece, found on nearly every taverna menu. Both are refreshing and pair wonderfully with grilled meat or fish. Maroulosalata is a greener salad, with lettuce as the main ingredient, while Greek salad is made without lettuce and mainly has tomatoes, feta cheese, cucumbers, and olives, along with a few other ingredients you’ll find in my recipe. Let me know in the comments below if you’ve tried them and which one you prefer!

Ingredients & How-to

The ingredients I’m going to use to make this maroulosalata dish are romaine lettuce, fresh dill, green onions, mini cucumbers, radish, olives, red vinegar, lemon, olive oil and salt.

• Lettuce: I’m using romaine lettuce. You could use romaine lettuce or butterhead, little gem, or green leaf or a mix of different types.
• Cucumber: You could use two mini cucumbers or a regular or English one.
• Fresh dill: Fresh dill is traditionally used in maroulosalata, but if you find its flavor too strong, you can substitute it with fresh parsley.
• Radish: Radish is optional—it adds a crunchy texture and a sharp bite to the salad. If you don’t have any or prefer to skip it, feel free to leave it out.
• Olives: I’m using pitted kalamata olives that I cut into slices or you could get presliced ones and use about a quarter cup.

For full quantities check the recipe down below.

01. I start with preparing the lettuce, thoroughly washing each leaf and then patting them dry with paper towels. If you have a salad spinner, you can use it to remove excess water more efficiently. Removing most of the excess water is key to ensuring the dressing coats the salad evenly.

02. I gather a few leaves at a time and chop the lettuce into pieces about an inch wide. This makes it easier to mix with the other ingredients and pick up with a fork.

03. Next, I wash and chop the cucumbers into small pieces. I use two small cucumbers and leave the skin on since it’s soft. If you prefer, you can use a regular or English cucumber and peel the skin if it’s too tough or dry.

04. I slice the radish in half, then cut it into thin slices. I chop the green onions, keeping both the white and green parts, and roughly chop the fresh dill.

05. In a bowl, I combine all the ingredients—lettuce, green onions, cucumbers, radish, olives, and chopped dill—mixing everything well. Then, I move on to preparing the dressing. If you’re planning to serve the salad later, you could place the bowl in the fridge and add the dressing just before serving.

06. For the dressing, I combine olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt in a bowl. Alternatively, you can add everything to a small jar and shake it well. Finally, drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss it thoroughly to coat the lettuce evenly.

Substitutions

• You could use mini cucumbers or a regular one.
• You could use fresh parsley instead of fresh dill.
• Instead of romaine lettuce, you could use butterhead, green leaf or a mixture of different types.

Serving suggestions

We typically enjoy this Greek lettuce salad as a side dish with our main meal. It pairs well with just about anything—meat, fish, or even a hearty ladero (stew) dish. Light and refreshing on its own, you can also enhance it with crumbled feta cheese or cherry tomatoes for added texture and flavor. It’s incredibly versatile!

Storage

If you have any leftovers of this Greek maroulosalata salad, you can store it in the fridge, in an airtight container and consume it within 1-2 days.

FAQ

What type of lettuce can I use for Greek lettuce salad?