How many calories are in a Greek salad with dressing?

With a classic olive-oil-and-vinegar dressing, a serving runs about 200–300 calories — the oil is the biggest single factor. Creamy or bottled dressings push it higher. The traditional Greek dressing is just olive oil, vinegar or lemon, and oregano, so it stays in the lighter range.

Is a Greek salad good for weight loss?

It can be. It's mostly vegetables (high in fibre and water, very filling for few calories), and the fat and protein from the olive oil and feta keep you satisfied so you don't snack an hour later. The calories are mostly good fats — portion the oil and feta if you need to, but don't strip them out.

What's the most calorific part of a Greek salad?

The olive oil, by a wide margin — about 120 calories per tablespoon. Feta is next. The vegetables barely count. So if you want to nudge the number down, the oil and feta are the only levers worth touching.

Guide

How Many Calories in a Greek Salad?

Rayan

Tangier & the south of France · June 7, 2026

A Greek salad with feta, olives, cucumber, tomato and red onion in a rustic bowl

How many calories in a Greek salad? A classic one runs about 150 to 250 calories per serving — cucumber, tomato, red onion, a few olives, a slab of feta, and a generous pour of olive oil. The vegetables barely register; almost all the calories come from the feta and the oil. And here's the thing worth saying out loud: those are the calories you actually *want*.

Where the calories actually come from

Break a single serving down and the picture is clear (rough numbers, for about a quarter of a salad built for four):

Vegetables (cucumber, tomato, onion, pepper): ~30–40 calories — basically free.
Olives, a small handful: ~40–50 calories.
Feta, a proper slab (40–50g): ~100–130 calories.
Olive oil, 1–2 tablespoons: ~120–240 calories — the single biggest factor.

So the oil and feta together are 80%+ of the total. The salad part is almost nothing. If you want exact figures for your own portions, the USDA FoodData Central database has the raw numbers for every ingredient.

Why those are the good calories

This is where most "calories in a salad" articles get it wrong, so let me be blunt:

If your Greek salad only has 150 calories, someone was stingy with the olive oil — and that's the saddest way to eat one. The oil *is* the point: it carries the flavour, it keeps you full, and it's the heart-healthy fat the whole Mediterranean diet is built on.

Olive oil is mostly monounsaturated fat — the kind nutrition researchers consistently put in the "eat more of this" column (here's Harvard on olive oil). The feta brings protein and calcium. Together they turn a bowl of raw vegetables into something that actually holds you until dinner. A 200-calorie salad that keeps you satisfied beats a 90-calorie one that leaves you raiding the cupboard at 4pm.

If you genuinely want to lighten it

No judgement — but there's really only one honest lever: go a little easier on the olive oil and feta, and pile on more vegetables. That's it. Skip the "fat-free dressing" — it trades the best part of the salad for a list of additives. I'd rather you ate the real thing in a sensible portion.

How it fits a meal

A Greek salad is a starter or a side, not usually the whole dinner. Serve it next to a grilled main, or build a Salads & Sides spread with our Greek tortellini salad and a burrata caprese salad. To see how a salad like this fits a balanced plate without overthinking the numbers, read our Mediterranean diet dinner guide.

Frequently asked questions

How many calories are in a Greek salad with dressing?: With a classic olive-oil-and-vinegar dressing, a serving runs about 200–300 calories — the oil is the biggest single factor. Creamy or bottled dressings push it higher. The traditional Greek dressing is just olive oil, vinegar or lemon, and oregano, so it stays in the lighter range.
Is a Greek salad good for weight loss?: It can be. It's mostly vegetables (high in fibre and water, very filling for few calories), and the fat and protein from the olive oil and feta keep you satisfied so you don't snack an hour later. The calories are mostly good fats — portion the oil and feta if you need to, but don't strip them out.
What's the most calorific part of a Greek salad?: The olive oil, by a wide margin — about 120 calories per tablespoon. Feta is next. The vegetables barely count. So if you want to nudge the number down, the oil and feta are the only levers worth touching.