Greek salad: the vegetables are the bowl, the oil and feta are the calories.
A Greek salad is tomato, cucumber, onion, pepper and olives with a block of feta on top, and the dressing is olive oil. Measure the feta and the oil and a bowl goes from 351 to 185 kcal.
- 185 kcal a serving, down from 351 for the classic, with 6 g protein, 14 g carbs and 13 g fat
- 3 swaps, each with what it does to a serving, and 2 ways to add protein, up to 28 g a serving
- 4 servings, weighed at 1,298 g when finished, from 9 USDA FoodData Central entries in the library
Classic vs lighter, per serving.
The same greek salad, made two ways from the same library entries and the same 4 servings. The lighter version is the one built on the screens below.
| Per serving | Classic | Lighter | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| kcal | 351 | 185 | −166 |
| Protein g | 9 | 6 | −3 |
| Carbs g | 15 | 14 | −1 |
| Fat g | 29 | 13 | −16 |
| Saturated fat g | 9.4 | 4.5 | −4.9 |
Saturated fat comes from the same USDA entries; the recipe sheet itself shows calories, protein, carbs and fat. Calorie and macro figures are fitness estimates, not medical or dietary advice.
Swap by swap.
Each change in turn, from the classic to the lighter version, and what it does to one serving.
1. Crumble 100 g of feta, not 200 g
−66 kcal, −3 g protein, −1 g carbs, −5 g fat, −3.3 g saturated fat a serving
Half the feta still seasons every bite. The other 100 g was 66 kcal and 3.3 g of saturated fat a bowl.
2. Dress with 20 g of oil, not 60 g
−89 kcal, −10 g fat, −1.4 g saturated fat a serving
Ripe tomatoes make their own dressing. The extra 40 g was 89 kcal a bowl.
3. Scatter 60 g of olives, not 100 g
−11 kcal, −1 g fat, −0.2 g saturated fat a serving
They are salty and rich, so fewer go further. The other 40 g was 11 kcal a bowl.
More protein, if you need it.
Hitting a protein target is the hard part for most people. Each option is added to the lighter version on its own, with what it does to a serving of 6 g protein and 185 kcal. Save the one you like as its own recipe.
Toss in 300 g of chickpeas
+103 kcal, +5 g protein, +17 g carbs, +1 g fat, +0.1 g saturated fat a serving, making 11 g protein a serving
Drained and rinsed chickpeas turn the salad into a meal: 5 g more protein a bowl for 103 kcal.
Top it with 400 g of grilled chicken
+120 kcal, +22 g protein, +2 g fat, +0.5 g saturated fat a serving, making 28 g protein a serving
Weighed raw and grilled on the side, 400 g of breast adds 22 g of protein a bowl for 120 kcal.
Oil and fat: the type changes the fat, the amount changes the calories.
The three oils below are each 884 kcal per 100 g, and ghee is within a few calories of them. Swapping one for another moves the saturated fat, not the calories; using less is what saves them. Butter is lower per gram only because part of it is water.
| Fat, per tablespoon, 14 g | kcal | Fat g | Sat fat g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olive oil | 124 | 14 | 1.9 |
| Canola oil | 124 | 14 | 1.0 |
| Avocado oil | 124 | 14 | 1.6 |
| Ghee (butter oil) | 123 | 14 | 8.7 |
| Butter, salted | 100 | 11 | 7.2 |
The sample data
These are the amounts of the lighter version used on the screens below, with each figure taken from the library entry for that ingredient. They are sample figures for a pot or tray of this size, not a measurement of anyone's kitchen.
| Ingredient | Amount | kcal | Protein g | Carbs g | Fat g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomatoes, red, raw | 500 g | 90 | 4 | 19 | 1 |
| Cucumber, raw | 350 g | 56 | 2 | 10 | 1 |
| Onions, raw | 100 g | 40 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| Green pepper, raw | 150 g | 30 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Black olives, canned | 60 g | 70 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Feta cheese | 100 g | 265 | 14 | 4 | 21 |
| Olive oil | 20 g | 177 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Oregano, dried | 3 g | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Red wine vinegar | 15 g | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Whole recipe | 1,298 g | 739 | 23 | 55 | 50 |
| Per serving (4) | 325 g | 185 | 6 | 14 | 13 |
Calorie and macro figures are fitness estimates, not medical or dietary advice. Ingredient values are from USDA FoodData Central, which is in the public domain.
Why this recipe
A Greek salad is a good recipe to build because the vegetables barely register and the three finishing touches do. Weighing the feta, the olives and the oil separately shows which one a bowl really depends on.
What to weigh
Weigh the vegetables as they come and the oil and feta separately. A salad does not lose water in the bowl, so the sample finishes at 1,298 g, the same as the ingredients, and a bowl is 325 g.
The full workflow, in four steps.
1. Open Create a recipe and search the library
Open Add food, choose Create a recipe and name it, then choose Add ingredient. Typing "tomatoes red" lists the entries, each with its calories per 100 g.
2. Enter the amount you weighed
Pick the raw red tomatoes, switch to grams and enter what the scale showed. The sheet shows 90 kcal for the tomatoes.
3. Add the rest, then set the servings and finished weight
Add the cucumber, onion, pepper, olives, feta, oil, oregano and vinegar, then enter 4 servings and 1,298 g. One bowl comes to 185 kcal.
4. Save it and log a serving
Save the recipe and it becomes one of your own foods, ready to log by the bowl or any weight.
Tips while you build it
- Cut the vegetables in big chunks and dress them just before serving. They stay crisp and the salad needs less dressing to taste right.
- Crumble the feta by hand over the top, not into the bowl. You see how much you are using, and it goes further.
- A bowl is about 325 g. Log by weight when you are measuring.
Go further
- Making the taverna version? Save a second recipe with 200 g of feta, 60 g of oil and 100 g of olives.
- Eating it with bread? Log the bread as its own food.
Each change is a second recipe with its own name, so the first stays as you built it.
Greek salad (horiatiki) questions.
How many calories are in a Greek salad?
It depends on the feta and the oil. The sample comes to 185 kcal a bowl made lighter, with 6 g protein, 14 g carbs and 13 g fat, against 351 kcal with 200 g of feta, 60 g of oil and 100 g of olives.
Does a Greek salad have lettuce?
A traditional horiatiki does not. The library has romaine if you want to add it.
Is feta high in saturated fat?
Yes, about a quarter of its weight is fat and most of that is saturated. The page shows what halving it does to a bowl.
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Cook it once. Log it for good.
Build a lighter version of your own greek favourite in Nutrition.