Shopska Salad with Feta Cheese [Vegetarian]

You're just 15 minutes away from the best summer salad! This Bulgarian Shopska salad is loaded with colorful veggies, dressed in a simple vinaigrette and topped with shredded Feta cheese. A great appetizer, side salad, or a meal on its own next to a slice of bread.

Why you will love it

• It's quick - just 15 minutes, chopping included
• It's easy - just chop, mix with vinaigrette, top with cheese, and you're done
• It's an addictive flavor combo - veggies, onion, vinaigrette and cheese all combine perfectly
• It's healthy - ok so there's a heap of cheese, but underneath it there's enough veggies to more than balance it out
• It's even better the next day - I love it on top of a piece of bread the next day, where the sauce from the salad soaks into the bread

What you need to make it

Ingredient notes & substitutions

• Feta cheese is often vegetarian but some kinds can contain animal rennet (not vegetarian) - please check your kind to make sure
• Feta cheese can be swapped for any other type of white salad cheese - it's traditionally made with Bulgarian Sirene cheese
• Bell pepper can be any color you like, and you can even make this with roasted bell peppers. I use yellow for color contrast and sweetness.
• Tomatoes should be ripe but firm for the best result
• Red onion can be swapped for yellow onion or shallots
• For the vinaigrette I recommend apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar combined with olive oil or sunflower oil, salt, and ground black pepper

How to make it

1. Start by chopping your bell pepper, cucumber, onion and tomatoes as small as you like. I like them very small, but you can leave them a bit larger as well.
2. Place all the veggies in a large mixing bowl. You can also make this in your serving bowl, but it's so much easier to mix it together in a larger bowl first.
3. Place all ingredients for the vinaigrette in a jar. Close the lid tightly and shake vigorously to mix.
4. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad.

5. Mix well, making sure everything is coated in vinaigrette
6. Shred the Feta cheese
7. Pour the salad into a serving bowl
8. Top with shredded Feta cheese, and serve!

Tips & tricks

• Use good quality veggies since they're a big part of the flavor
• Remove the hard core from the tomatoes for best results
• To soften the bite of the onion place it in cold water for 15 minutes after chopping, then drain the water before adding the onion to the salad
• For maximum flavor let the salad sit for at least 10 minutes before serving
• Make your salad in a large mixing bowl, mix with the vinaigrette, and then pour into a nice serving bowl - it's so much easier than trying to mix it in a small bowl
• Switch up the flavors by serving with Honey Lemon Vinaigrette instead of the Apple Cider Vinegraitte
• Make your vinaigrette in a jar with a lid and shake vigorously to combine - it's the easiest way to quickly mix together a nice vinaigrette
• To make it even healthier use less Feta cheese
• Store in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 3 days

Recipe FAQ

More quick & easy summer salads

Love quick & easy summer salads, like this one? Then these are just what you need:

• Avocado Mango Salad with Salted Roasted Peanuts [Vegan & Gluten free]
• Caulislaw - Raw Cauliflower Salad [Coleslaw Style]
• Creamy French Potato Salad with Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette [Vegan]
• Arugula Salad with Sun-dried Tomatoes & Honey Lemon Vinaigrette
• Roasted Sweet Potato Feta Cheese Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing

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Recipe