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Transport to Greece with cooling tzatziki, a simple Greek salad, and succulent grilled leg of lamb. These Greek recipes are some of our favorites, featuring walnut and olive oil cake with orange syrup, shrimp saganaki, and kourampiedes, plus plenty of dill, phyllo, pita, and lamb.
Cucumber-Dill Tzatziki
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This yogurt dip is incredibly versatile. Serve it with toasted pita wedges as an appetizer, or pair it with grilled lamb, chicken, fish, or vegetables.
Greek Salad
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Dating back to 19th century Greece, Greek salad showcases the country’s bounty of tomatoes and cucumbers. It’s crunchy and refreshing, with tangy feta and a pop of acid to bring it all together.
Roasted Eggplant Moussaka with Lamb
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Roasting eggplant until it’s creamy and custardy makes it the perfect base for layering with a rich, meaty sauce in this take on moussaka, which is topped with a luscious layer of ricotta and mozzarella cheese in place of béchamel sauce.
Saganaki Halloumi (Cypriot Fried Halloumi)
Halloumi cheese is fried in clarified butter, then brushed in a spiced honey and served with lemon yogurt, brandy-basted nectarines, and fresh tomatoes in this sweet and savory appetizer from Christian Hernandez, chef de cuisine of March in Houston.
Greek Salad with Shrimp and Kamut
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Kamut, an ancient variety of wheat, adds hearty chew to this entree inspired by a classic Greek salad. Soak kamut overnight to help it cook faster or, for an even easier dish, cook the kamut in advance to trim day-of prep to 30 minutes.
Loukoumades
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These Greek doughnuts are made with a sweet dough that is fried and then tossed with honey and chopped nuts.
Avgolemono Chicken Soup with Rice
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Avgolemono, which means lemon-egg in Greek, is a sauce served alongside dolma, vegetables, and roasted meats in Turkish, Balkan, Arab, Greek, and some Jewish cuisines. It’s often used as the base of soups and stews, as it is here in our avgolemono soup with chicken.
Bougatsa
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Rosewater, saffron, and cardamom come together in chef Nasim Alikhani’s take on this traditional Greek pastry.
Taramosalata
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This creamy, briny dip belongs in the pantheon of classic Greek meze, alongside hummus, baba ghanoush, and skordalia.
Tomato Salad with Red Onion, Dill, and Feta
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“This salad is a nod to my mom and my Greek heritage,” chef Michael Symon says. In addition to dill, a common herb in Greek cuisine, Symon adds plenty of mint and basil.
Supper Spanakopita
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Traditionally shaped into small triangles or made in large casserole dishes, the Greek spinach pies known as spanakopita are just as easy to roll into logs. This unconventional shape offers plenty of contrast between the crisp layers of buttered phyllo and the creamy, dill-flecked filling. Round out this vegetarian meal with a green salad.
Kourampiedes (Greek Christmas Cookies)
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Blanched and toasted almond pieces bring a lovely crunch to these crumbly, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth Greek Christmas cookies. Some versions of kourampiedes add orange zest, but League of Kitchens Greek cooking instructor Despina Economou, who shared this recipe, prefers the simple flavors of butter, sugar, almonds, and vanilla.
Grilled Asparagus with Taramasalata
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Taramasalata is a Greek dip or spread made with salted fish roe, olive oil, and bread (or sometimes potatoes). Chef Zoi Antonitsas’ creamy version is a perfect accompaniment for grilled asparagus.
Greek-Style Leg of Lamb
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This simple recipe features garlic, dill, oregano, lemon zest, lemon juice, and more. We suggest pairing it with a dark, cherry-flavored, peppery Chinon.
Psites Patates (Lemony Roasted Potatoes with Oregano)
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It’s hard to resist that Greek diner specialty of potatoes bathed in a lemony oil. In this fresh and satisfying version, slices of lemon are roasted along with the potatoes, gently perfuming the dish.
Grilled Lamb Chops with Ladolemono
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Chef Michael Psilakis dresses these luscious lamb chops with ladolemono, a super simple Greek sauce of lemon juice and olive oil. The sauce is often spooned over fish, but it’s delicious on meat and vegetables, too. “This is real Greek cooking,” he says.
Chicken Souvlaki
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Grilled chicken on pita with tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki makes a cool yet satisfying warm-weather supper. Souvlaki is often rolled to eat in your hand as a snack, but this more substantial version is served on a plate with a knife and fork. If you like, accompany the souvlaki with lemon wedges.
Diples (Fried Greek Pastry with Honey and Nuts)
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These ethereal Greek dessert pastries resemble thin, crispy cigars. Run the dough through a pasta rolling machine to achieve the texture you need. The honey syrup here is key, with orange zest, cinnamon, and lemon juice to keep the flavors light.
Shrimp Saganaki
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For shrimp saganaki, Greeks sauté shrimp in a pan with tomatoes, olives, and feta cheese, then serve it right out of the skillet with bread to soak up all the delicious juices. Stir fresh dill into this quick version to brighten the flavor.
Braised Lamb Shanks with Trahana Pasta and Ricotta Salata
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Trahana, a Greek pasta made from bulgur wheat, has a grainy appearance similar to couscous. When the pasta is made with goat’s-milk yogurt, it has a slight tartness that’s great with this rich oven-braised lamb from chef Pano Karatassos of Kyma in Atlanta.
Kourambiedes
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Beating the butter until very fluffy — a good 10 minutes — makes these Greek shortcakes especially light. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Greek Hand Pies with Greens, Dill, Mint, and Feta
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Chef Jacques Pépin ordered a saiti, a turnover filled with tangy wild greens and feta, at Marianthi tavern in the Greek village of Monemvasía. This recipe is a close approximation. The olive oil in the dough (adapted from a recipe by Greek-American cookbook author Diane Kochilas) makes the crust extraordinarily flaky.
Avga me Kolokithakia (Zucchini Omelet)
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As much zucchini as it is egg, this flat omelet is inspired by the ones eaten in Greece, especially in Crete. It’s perfect for breakfast or brunch in late summer, when zucchini is in markets everywhere, and works well for brunch, supper or even as an appetizer, sliced into thin wedges.
Pastitsio (Greek Baked Pasta)
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The moist and fragrant casserole pastitsio traditionally combines béchamel with pasta, ground lamb, tomato sauce, cheese, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Here, instead of béchamel, we stir a ricotta mixture into the pasta before baking it.
Greek-Style Pork Spareribs with Grilled Lemons
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Chef Michael Symon cooks these honey-glazed ribs on the grill from start to finish. Alternatively, you can start them in the oven, then throw them on the grill just before serving for a nice char or simply cook them entirely in the oven.
Karithopita (Greek Walnut and Olive Oil Cake with Orange Syrup)
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In Greece, this type of nut cake is often soaked in syrup, resulting in a very sweet, moist dessert. Here, a citrus syrup filled with lots of fresh, juicy oranges is served on the side, so everyone can add as little or as much as they like.
Greek Salad Sandwiches
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This is Greek salad perfection: Chef Michael Psilakis tops warm bread with garlicky red pepper tzatziki and a piquant combo of cucumbers, olives, peperoncini, tomatoes, radishes, greens, and feta.
Greek Fish Stew
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“On the Greek island of Kalymnos, fishermen make a stew with shellfish, whole fish, lemon, onion, and water,” says chef Andrew Zimmern. “They eat it straight from the pot with their hands — no bowls. It tastes of sweat and iodine, but it is easily one of the best soups I’ve ever had. I make my version with halibut, throwing in mussels at the end.”
Tirokroketes (Greek Fried Goat Cheese Balls) with Honey
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Called tirokroketes in Greece, these sweet-savory balls can be served as an appetizer or dessert. For this variation, club soda lightens the egg batter that coats the cheese, and a double coating of panko crumbs amplifies the crunch.
Pork Souvlaki with Tzatziki
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Greeks make souvlaki by marinating chunks of meat (usually pork or lamb) in oil, lemon juice, and oregano, then skewering and grilling them. We opt for pork shoulder because it’s so tender and succulent. Instead of threading the meat onto skewers, we simply cook it (with onions) in a grill pan until it’s nicely charred, then serve it with store-bought pita and a garlicky cucumber-yogurt sauce.