It can be hard to get excited about salad. This easy, make-ahead Mediterranean salad is an exception. I have been happily eating this recipe for lunch on repeat.
I am on a healthy eating journey, focused on eating more vegetables, less fat, and fewer carbs. The goal is to lower my bad cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol), which is currently a bit high. Eating this Mediterranean Salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, roasted bell pepper, red onion, feta, tzatziki, and toasted garbanzo beans has become my new lunchtime routine.
Mediterranean Salad
The struggle with salads is that you usually choose to eat them because they are a healthy option. But delicious salad dressings and toppings can easily turn a salad into something that isn't very healthy. I wanted to come up with a salad recipe that would taste great without becoming unhealthy.
Another problem with salads is that they can require a lot of prep work, resulting in a mess. I like this Mediterranean salad because it lends itself to meal prepping. I do all the chopping in advance and make one mess in exchange for lunches for the week. Another bonus is that when lunch is ready in the fridge, I am not going to decide that it's faster to go down the street and get tacos instead.
My Mediterranean Salad is simply a classic Balkan Salad served over a bed of chopped greens, topped with a scoop of tzatziki and a sprinkle of toasted garbanzos. The Balkan Salad is prepared in advance, and at lunchtime, it takes just a minute to combine everything. The Balkan Salad gets super juicy as it sits. Scoop some of the juice over the salad. That tomato, cucumber, olive oil, lemon, and vinegar mixture thins out the tzatziki to create a lovely salad dressing.
I have toasted garbanzo beans myself, but it's so much easier to buy the toasted ones. Save yourself the effort. You could omit the beans, but they add a satisfying crunch to the salad. Plus, beans help to reduce LDL cholesterol.
Sometimes, I add roasted chicken to this salad. Another option is to put the salad in a wrap. If I am in a rush, I don't bother with the greens.
Interested in more salad recipes? Check out 18 salad recipes that make eating your veggies fun.
Make Ahead Mediterranean Salad Recipe:
Ingredients
- 2 Bell Peppers chopped
- 4 Medium Tomatoes chopped
- 2 Cucumbers thinly chopped
- ¼ cup Red Onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 Lemon juiced
- ¼ cup Feta crumbled
- ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
- Black Pepper
- 4 cups Mixed Greens
- ½ cup Tzatziki
- ¼ cup Garbanzo Beans
Instructions
- I like to roast the bell peppers. This is optional, you could save time and simply chop them. To roast the peppers, I place them over a gas burned and char the skin. Alternatively, you could char them in the oven under the broiler. Once the skin is charred, place the peppers in a large bowl, and cover with a towel, letting the peppers sweat and cool for 10 minutes. Then peel off the charred skin. Chop the peppers, removing the seeds and core.
- In a large container with a lid, combine the chopped tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, red onion, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and feta. Stir gently. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- To serve, place two handfuls of mixed greens on a plate. Scoop some of the salad mixture on top, be sure to scoop up some of the juice that sinks to the bottom, too. Add about 2 tablespoons of tzatziki and a sprinkle of toasted garbanzo beans. Stir to combine. Serve immediately.