Watercress Salad with Tomatoes and Feta
on May 01, 2019, Updated Jan 18, 2025
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This is a gorgeous, fresh twist on a Greek salad featuring watercress, tomatoes, feta, and red onions.
There is such joy in a well-balanced salad. And I love a salad that really allows the personality of a single lettuce to shine. Watercress is one of my favorite lettuces of all time, grassy and vegetal and just a hint of peppery. It’s not always easy to find, and it doesn’t store for long, so make the most of it! When I find it this is the watercress salad recipe I’m craving. A little bit of saltiness from the olives and feta and a welcome burst of tomato sweetness.
I also love some watercress strewn over a platter of Chicken Milanese, and I like to add it to a crunchy green salad or a sugar snap pea salad as an accent flavor. It’s also a popular filling for tea sandwiches, and I love it added to little sandwiches with either egg salad or chicken salad.
Table of Contents
Tomato, Red Onion, Watercress, Feta, and Olive Salad: This is a gorgeous, fresh twist on a Greek salad.
This salad is absolutely addicting — the kind of salad where you end up eating two or three times your intended portion (is this just me?). Try it with Baked Salmon and Roasted Potatoes for a crowd-pleasing meal every time. You could also go in the Greek direction and serve the salad alongside Greek-Style Roasted Chicken Thighs or a Greek Turkey Burger.
Watercress Salad Ingredients
- Extra-virgin olive oil – Use a good one here since the flavor will come through in the dressing.
- Sherry vinegar – A departure from the traditional Greek salad, where red wine vinegar is usually used. Sub in whatever vinegar you have.
- Fresh basil – Another difference from Greek salad — basil instead of oregano.
- Parsley – Adds a complimentary bitterness.
- Red onion – Really the best kind of onion, on color alone.
- Cherry or grape tomatoes – I made this salad super tomato-heavy on purpose. You want a tomato in every bite.
- Watercress – Watercress is a fragile green with an amazingly fresh slightly grassy flavor. You can also try this salad with frisée or arugula for a different twist.
- Black olives – If you want to stick with the Greek vibe, look for Kalamata olives.
- Feta cheese – Dice it into cubes or crumble it straight into the salad.
How to Make Greek Watercress Salad
- Make the dressing: Stir together the olive oil, vinegar, basil, parsley, salt, and pepper. Use a large bowl so you don’t have to use more than one dish for this recipe.
- Assemble: Add the remaining ingredients, leaving the feta for last. Toss everything together, add the feta, then toss again. Serve immediately for the best texture.
What to Serve With Greek Watercress Salad
More Delicious Salad Recipes
- Tomato Panzanella
- Tomato, Avocado, and Cucumber Salad
- Cherry Tomato Salad
- Modern Greek Salad
- Nicoise Salad
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Watercress Salad with Tomatoes and Feta
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced chiffonaded or chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 red onion (quartered and thinly sliced)
- 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes (halved)
- 2 cups roughly chopped watercress
- 1 cup halved black olives
- 1 cup diced feta cheese
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the olive oil, vinegar, basil, parsley, salt, and pepper.
- Add the onion, tomatoes, watercress, olives and toss to combine. Add the feta and gently toss to combine again. Serve at room temperature.
Do you think bleu cheese would be an okay or good substitute for feta? Thank you! Looking forward to trying this with some grilled steaks later!
yes, I think that would be amazing!
I had watercress I wanted to use up. This recipe was excellent, even though I had the “wrong” kind of vinegar and not enough feta. Thank you!
We had this with grilled steaks, cheers all around. Or basic summer dinner template is grilled protein, King Arthur Flour flatbreads and one of your salads. The next day, the salad gets repurposed into pasta salad for lunch and the cycle begins. Thank you for feeding us so well❤️
Love this healthy salad!!!!!
It’s one of my favorites!