Last updated: 3 May 2026. Updated to reflect new evidence on cooked vs raw tomato bioavailability.

Greek salad must be half decent if it’s often considered one of the national dishes of Greece, right? Where I’m from our national dish is chips, cheese and gravy. This doesn’t really fit with my nutritionist profile, maybe I should move to Greece. Catch me on the beach with a Greek salad and a cocktail – balanced lifestyle goals. 

Enough waffling, the real question is: are there actually any health benefits of eating a Greek salad?

“IT’S FULL OF FATS SO NO!” I hear some cry out…

Well, actaully, not all fats are bad and, as we’ll see, fats are vital for human function and health. The nutrient-dense foods that make up Greek salads can help us in a variety of ways, read on to find out the health benefits of Greek salad.

Health Benefits of Greek Salad

Greek salad is a nutrient-dense dish packed full of fresh vegetables, providing a healthy dose of vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients. Let’s break down the most 5 most common ingredients of a Greek salad and look at their health benefits:

1. Cucumbers 

These are basically big, green sticks of water – 96% of a cucumber is water, the highest percentage of any food (1). Obviously, then, the high water content means they are great for keeping us hydrated but they do possess some other benefits. A review (2) in 2012, carried out by some serious cucumber nerds, looked at the phytochemical and therapeutic effects of cucumber. They reported that cucumber may have some anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory effects (although a lot of the studies were on animals so we can’t directly apply this to humans).  They also reported that cucumbers are great for soothing skin irritations and can help with sunburn! 

 

 

2. Tomatoes 

Around 80% of commercially grown tomatoes end up in processed products like ketchup and pasta sauces, which are often loaded with added sugar and salt. A Greek salad gives you the tomato in a much purer form, just sliced with a bit of olive oil and oregano.

But here’s a fun nutrition twist (and something I’ve changed my mind on since first writing this post): cooking tomatoes actually unlocks more of their lycopene than eating them raw.

Heat breaks down the tough cell walls of the tomato, making the lycopene easier for our gut to absorb. One classic study even found that lycopene from cooked tomato paste was around 2.5 times more bioavailable than from raw tomatoes.

Which is exactly why my Greek salad recipe with roasted tomatoes involves popping them in the oven for 15 minutes first. Same gorgeous Mediterranean flavours, but with a meaningful boost in absorbable lycopene. Win win!

One review (4) discusses how lycopene doesn’t just act on a single pathway in our body, it could be involved in many anti-cancer mechanisms, some of which we still don’t fully understand yet. 

3. Green Pepper

Typically, sliced green peppers are used in a Greek salad but I’m sure the Greeks will let us off if we use another type (don’t quote me on this though!). Bell peppers are a great source of vitamin C – in fact, one medium bell pepper contains a whopping 169% of our daily reference intake for vitamin C (4). They also contain vitamin B (B6 to be precise), vitamin K and vitamin E amongst other key vitamins.

4. Olives and Olive Oil

Olives, particularly Kalamata olives, are a great addition to a Greek Salad. Olive oil is often used as part of a tasty dressing, usually extra virgin olive oil combined with red wine vinegar and dried oregano. Some recipes add lemon juice too, though my preference is to keep it simple and let the oregano and vinegar do the work (more on that in my Greek salad recipe).

We see the use of olive oil in a lot of Greek cuisine and for good reason, olive oil is largely made up of a type of fat called monounsaturated fatty acids. Now, don’t panic, these are healthy fats that have been shown to be super beneficial for us. 

Olive oil was considered by the ancient Greeks to be an ‘elixir of youth and health’, there are countless studies which have reported the beneficial effects of olive oil, particularly on heart health. 

In fact, one study in 2014 (5) stated that individuals who consumed more olive oil had a 48% reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality.

The authors found an association between increased olive oil (especially extra virgin) consumption and decreased cardiovascular events. In other words, when they looked at people who consumed high amounts of olive oil (around 56g per day in this group) compared to individuals who consumed low amounts (around 21g per day in this study), the people in the “high” group were much less likely to suffer from a cardiac event like heart attacks.

Amazingly, the authors also found that increasing olive oil consumption by just one tablespoon per day resulted in a 16% decreased risk of cardiovascular mortality. Call me a nerd but I find these results fascinating! 

5. Red Onions

Red onions contain significant amounts of something called “anthocyanin” which gives them their distinctive colour.

The antioxidant properties of anthocyanin, much like lycopene in tomatoes, help scavenge those pesky free radicals and reduce oxidative stress (6). Some studies suggest that anthocyanin can lower cholesterol, precisely a type of cholesterol called “LDL” – LDL cholesterol can build up in our bodies and cause plaque to develop in our arteries which leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. 

One study (7) showed a 25.5% reduction in LDL cholesterol in patients with high levels of cholesterol who were in the treatment group (2 capsules of concentrated berries per day, the berries were originally foraged fresh from the forests of Asalem in the mountain chains of Alborz in the north of Iran – don’t worry you can just pop to your local supermarket – the point is these capsules were high in anthocyanin due to the berries). In contrast, the placebo group results showed an increase in LDL over the 4 week study period. Greek salads typically involve sliced, raw onions which add that extra dose of anthocyanin!

Bringing The Dish Together

When we bring all the main ingredients together, we are left with a healthy dish that is high in dietary fiber which helps our digestive system, packed full of antioxidants and, above all, is tasty! A Greek salad is a great meal to incorporate into a healthy diet – it can be low in calories to help with weight loss or simply enjoyed as part of a balanced lifestyle.

Oh, I forgot to mention feta cheese, how could I? A good slab of feta isn’t just there for flavour either, it’s a solid source of protein and calcium, plus B vitamins like B12 and riboflavin. Because feta is traditionally made from sheep’s or goat’s milk, it’s also often easier to digest than cow’s milk cheeses for people who find dairy a bit tricky. And because it’s brined and fermented, it contains some probiotic activity too, though don’t expect it to rival a proper kefir.

Just keep an eye on portion size and eat it in moderation since feta is genuinely salty (around 1g of salt per 30g serving). A few good crumbles is plenty.