Bulgarian Salad

Our mom has been making salads like these for as long as we can remember so this recipe just tastes like home to us. What makes this Bulgarian Salad next level is taking the time to slice the ingredients as thinly as possible, which ensures the dressing coats every little piece. If you love yogurt or dips like Tzatziki then this salad is for you. If you are dairy-free or don’t eat yogurt, use white balsamic vinegar instead.

What stands out

This salad is cool and refreshing and great to have in your repertoire for spring and summer. You can easily customize this to make it dairy-free, and add a few hard-boiled eggson top to amp up the protein. This makes a wonderful desk lunch or side dish for a barbecue. Everyone will love it.

How to Prepare Bulgarian Salad

First, stack the lettuce leaves, roll them tightly (just like a cigar), and then thinly slice the lettuce with a sharp knife. The thinner the better!

Transfer the lettuce to a serving bowl.

Next, add the green onions, radishes, cucumbers, yogurt, and olive oil to the bowl and then season with good salt.

Finally, mix until well combined and taste for seasoning and creaminess, adding more yogurt or salt if needed. Enjoy!

Kitchen tip

There is no exact recipe for this Bulgarian Salad. Use the provided quantities as suggestions. Some people prefer more yogurt and others like less. Please feel free to add whatever quantity of each ingredient, as you like.

Swaps

1. If you are dairy-free or don’t eat yogurt, use white balsamic vinegar instead.
2. If you are vegan, use white balsamic vinegar or a plant-based yogurt alternative instead of the yogurt and add some crispy baked chickpeas to the salad instead of the hard-boiled eggs.
3. If you want to play around with the lettuce varieties here, choose a hardier variety to hold up to the thick yogurt dressing (arugula or spinach wouldn’t work). Try baby kale, or crisp iceberg lettuce, instead. Even thinly sliced or shredded cabbage would work!

Serve it with

• Enjoy this salad on a hot day, with grilled chicken or beef.
• Serve this with “Kofte” (which is also known as “Keftede” in Greece, “Kufteta” in Bulgaria, or “meatballs” in English).
• “Cevapi” which are known as “Kebapcheta” in Bulgaria also pair perfectly with a salad like this.

Questions

CAn we make this Bulgarian Salad ahead of time?

If you want to meal prep this salad, cut all the produce, add it to a glass container, line the top with a paper towel, secure the lid, then and store in the fridge. You can mix the salt, yogurt, and olive oil together in a small jar and store it separately in the fridge. Toss it all together just before serving!

Will this get soggy if we pack it for lunch at work?

If packing up this salad to eat later in the day, we would pack the dressing and chopped salad separately and keep them in a cooler bag. Alternatively, you could pack this with the dressing as the bottom layer in the container or jar and the veggies sitting on top. Then mix when ready to eat.

How do you get thin lettuce slices?

A sharp mark knife, a sturdy mark mark cutting board and a foolproof technique are the secret to thin slices. We have a full tutorial here: a strong How to Thinly Slice Lettuce. We think it’s worth the extra effort in this Bulgarian Salad!

What are some protein options to serve on top?

Our mom always added hard-boiled eggs on top, but we also love this with grilled salmon, chicken or steak. Oven-roasted crispy chickpeas would be, too!

Would any other types of lettuce work instead of Romaine?

Because the dressing is thick and yogurt-based, we suggest sticking to a hardier variety of lettuce that will hold up. Baby kale, iceberg lettuce, or mixing in some radicchio would work. thinly sliced or shredded cabbage (purple or green) would be nice too!

Ingredients

Makes 1 servings

• 7 to 8 romaine lettuce leaves, any crunchy lettuce you enjoy
• 2 green onions, finely chopped, or a small handful finely chopped chives
• 4 radishes, thinly sliced (optional)
• 3 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt, plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt, to taste

Equipment

• Cutting Board
• Nakiri Knife
• Redmond Real Salt

Method

1. Stack the lettuce leaves, roll them tightly (just like a cigar), and thinly slice the lettuce. The thinner the better, but you can cut the lettuce in any way you prefer. Transfer the lettuce to a serving bowl.
2. Add the green onions, radishes (if using), cucumbers, yogurt, and olive oil to the bowl and season with salt. Mix until well combined and taste for seasoning and creaminess, adding more yogurt or salt if needed. Enjoy!