The 15 Most Popular Greek Dishes: What Greeks Actually Eat
Greek cuisine is one of the oldest in Europe, shaped by thousands of years of farming, trade and island life. Olive oil runs through almost every dish, along with lemon, wild herbs, fresh seafood and slow-cooked meat. The flavors change from Crete to Epirus to the Cyclades, and each region adds its own touch to the classics.
We prepared 15 Greek dishes you need to try, and its in depth step by step recipe.
1. Souvlaki
Souvlaki is small cubes of pork or chicken threaded onto skewers and grilled over charcoal with salt, oregano and lemon. It is the everyday fast food of Greece, sold at the neighborhood souvlatzidiko from lunchtime until well after midnight. Greeks order it by the stick on a plate with fries, or wrapped in pita with tomato, onion and tzatziki.
2. Gyro Pita
A gyro pita starts with seasoned meat stacked on a vertical rotisserie, roasted slowly and shaved off in thin slices. In Greece the meat is usually pork or chicken, and the gyro pita shares the counter with souvlaki as the other half of Greek street food. The classic order comes with tomato, onion, fries and tzatziki, rolled in paper and eaten standing up or on the walk home.
3. Horiatiki (Greek Salad)
Horiatiki, the village salad known abroad as Greek salad, is tomato, cucumber, onion, green pepper and olives, topped with a thick slice of feta, dried oregano and a generous pour of olive oil. There is no lettuce. In summer it is often the whole lunch, a big bowl in the middle of the table with bread for dipping into the oil and tomato juice left at the bottom.
4. Moussaka
Moussaka layers fried or roasted eggplant, often with potato, under a meat sauce scented with cinnamon and a thick béchamel that bakes to a golden crust. It takes time to make, so Greek home cooks bake a full pan for Sunday lunch or a family gathering, and tavernas serve it as a magirefto, a ready cooked dish, straight from the tray.
5. Pastitsio
Pastitsio is often called Greek lasagna, but it is built from long tubular pasta, a spiced meat sauce and a deep layer of béchamel. Cut into neat squares, it is a regular at Sunday lunch and name day tables, and it keeps well, so a tray made on the weekend often feeds the family for days.
6. Keftedes
Keftedes are Greek meatballs made with ground beef or pork, grated onion, soaked bread, mint and oregano, then fried until crisp outside and juicy inside. At home they are a weeknight main with fried potatoes or rice and a salad, and leftovers go cold into the next day's lunch. Tavernas also serve a plate of them as a meze, with a squeeze of lemon.
For anyone who keeps a bowl of tzatziki on the table, the Tzatziki Makes Life Better t-shirt from the GetGreece store says it for you.
7. Youvetsi
Youvetsi is lamb or beef braised in tomato and then baked with kritharaki, the rice shaped pasta known abroad as orzo, so the pasta cooks in the meat juices. It takes its name from the clay pot it was traditionally baked in. Greek families make it for Sunday lunch, and it is usually served with grated hard cheese on top.
8. Gemista
Gemista means stuffed, and the dish is tomatoes and peppers hollowed out, filled with rice, herbs and the chopped tomato flesh, then baked in olive oil with wedges of potato. It is a summer staple in Greek homes when tomatoes are at their best, usually meatless, and eaten warm or at room temperature with feta and bread.
9. Fasolada
Fasolada is a soup of white beans simmered with tomato, carrot, celery, onion and plenty of olive oil. It is cheap, filling and meatless, and it is often called the national food of Greece. Families cook it through the colder months and on fasting days, and serve it with bread, olives, feta or a few salted anchovies.
10. Kleftiko
Kleftiko is lamb slow baked with garlic, lemon, herbs and potatoes, sealed in parchment or foil so everything cooks in its own juices until the meat falls off the bone. The name refers to the klephts, the mountain fighters of the Ottoman era, who are said to have cooked meat in sealed pits so no smoke would give them away. Today it is a Sunday and holiday dish, and a regular on taverna menus.
11. Kontosouvli
Kontosouvli is large chunks of pork shoulder or neck marinated in olive oil, vinegar, garlic and oregano, then threaded onto a long spit and turned slowly over charcoal. It is a classic Easter Sunday meat in much of mainland Greece, roasted outdoors next to the lamb, and it also turns up at name days, village festivals and summer gatherings.
12. Batzina
Batzina is a crustless pie from Thessaly and Epirus, made with grated zucchini, feta, eggs, yogurt and a little cornmeal, then baked in a shallow pan until golden. Village cooks made it as a quick alternative to a filo pie, and it is eaten warm or at room temperature as a light summer meal with a salad, or cut into squares for a picnic.
13. Kokkinisto
Kokkinisto means reddened, after the tomato sauce the meat cooks in. Beef or rooster is browned, then simmered slowly with onion, tomato, red wine, cinnamon and allspice until tender. It is a Sunday family dish in homes across Greece, served over pasta, rice or mashed potatoes, or cooked with potatoes in the same pot.
14. Youvarlakia
Youvarlakia are soft balls of ground meat and rice poached in a light broth and finished with avgolemono, the Greek egg and lemon sauce. The rice swells as they cook, which gives them their round, tender shape. Greek families make the soup in the colder months and whenever someone needs a gentle, comforting meal, with bread to soak up the sauce.
15. Grilled Octopus
Grilled octopus starts with an octopus simmered until tender, then charred over charcoal and dressed with olive oil, lemon, vinegar and oregano. It is a taste of the Greek islands, where octopus hung to dry in the sun outside seaside tavernas is a familiar summer sight, and it is ordered as a meze with ouzo or tsipouro.
Where to Start
For a quick bite, start with souvlaki or a gyro pita. For a light summer meal, order horiatiki and gemista with bread, and save moussaka, youvetsi or kleftiko for a long lunch.
