A simple vegetable salad isn’t usually what you see around here on our last blog post before Christmas, but I have to say- there comes a point toward the end of December every year where I’ve just eaten SO much naughty-yummy stuff that I simply crave something fresh and clean and good-for-you delicious.
I had this same experience when my husband and I were on our Alaskan Cruise a couple of months ago. All-you-can-eat food, 24 hours a day, is a perk I should not be allowed to have free rein with! There was just SO much great food, and of course I gravitate toward treats and baked goods. My most favorite place to eat on the Ruby Princess, hands-down, was The International Cafe. They have tons of different pastries and baked goods (like this assortment we ate on our balcony one day) but also really great sandwiches and salads.
It was definitely the place we ate the most and they had this salad there that I LOVED. After gorging myself on pastries, the fresh mix of peppers and cucumbers and tangy-salty feta was so perfect. I ate plates and plates of it! I took a picture and wrote down some notes about it so I could re-create it at home and today seemed like the perfect day. So if you’re feeling a little fluffy like I am and are needing an influx of veggies- this is for you! this works great at parties and potlucks because it just gets better as it sits around.
The trick to a salad like this is cutting everything into the same-size pieces. You don’t want giant peppers and little tiny bites of tomatoes, ya know? Aim to cut everything in roughly the same size and mix them all in a bowl.
The “dressing” on this salad is simple and flavorful. You don’t need to overcomplicate a salad like this. I use garlic olive oil, white wine vinegar and fresh lemon juice, along with oregano, parsley and salt and pepper. Just toss it all in the bowl and mix it up.
Very last of all you’ll add some squares of feta. I don’t use the crumbled feta because I feel like it gets messy in the salad and kind of turns to mush. Grab a whole square like this one shown, and then just cut it into little bite-sized pieces.
Gently toss everything together and you’re good to go!
Want more on our Alaskan Cruise? You can read all about it here, and see all of the amazing excursions we experienced, by clicking here. Truly an amazing trip!
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Marinated Vegetable Salad
- Total Time: 15
- Yield: 8-10 side servings
Description
Fresh vegetables and tangy feta with a bright flavorful dressing.
Ingredients
- 1 red bell peper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 orange pepper
- 1 cucumber
- 1 small red onion (or about 1/2 large)
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1–2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small clove garlic or 1 teaspoon minced from a jar
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- salt to taste
- 1–2 tablespoons chopped flatleaf parsley
- 4 ounces whole chunk feta (not crumbled)
Instructions
Cut peppers, cucumber, onion, and tomato into equal sized pieces and place in mixing bowl. Add vinegar, lemon juice oil, garlic, oregano, parsley, pepper, and salt. Stir to combine. Gently cut feta into bitesize pieces and mix into salad.
Notes
- Prep Time: 15
Questions & Reviews
Hi,love the recipe.Can I make this salad a day ahead and keep in refrigerator?
I’m glad you like it! You can make it ahead of time, but you may want to experiment with different oils since the olive oil will solidify a bit in the fridge. If you do use olive oil, you might want to let it sit out for a few minutes before eating it.
Again this year, this yummy salad will be on our Christmas brunch table. My kids, predictably, won’t touch it, but that just leaves more for the rest of us!
This was delicious!! Loved it!! A great meatless meal for the family tonight. Wish I had made some homemade bread to go with it. Definitely keeping this in the rotation!!
Just saw this on Instagram and it looks delicious! I am going to try it out this week. Thanks for the recipe!
Looking forward to this one … maybe with some grilled chicken, come Tuesday 🙂
Thank you, thank you — After a day of baking, and “tasting”, brownies, lemon sugar cookies, non-gluten blackberry muffins, chocolate chip cookies, half-moon shortbread cookies and roasting mixtures of gochujang-flavored nuts and a traditional spicy & sweet nuts (cashews, macadamias, hazelnuts, pecans and almonds) and washing them all down with cashew milk cocoa, I NEEDED this veggie recipe! It will be so cleansing !
This looks so good! You had me at feta. Haha! Naturally i want the cheese in the veggie dish! Also, how long has that amazing serving size adjuster button been on your recipes? That is SO cool!
Merry Christmas to your beautiful families! I always enjoy reading your blog!