Greek Recipes: Easy, Traditional Greek Food at Home
I came to Greek food in small family tavernas in Athens and Piraeus, eating on business trips: a plate of beans, a bowl of lemony soup, something grilled, and a lot of olive oil. Those meals stayed with me, and they are why lemon, oregano, olive oil and feta turn up so often in my own cooking.
These Greek recipes are what I cook now, mostly at Casa Adora and in Florie the van, with whatever the Andalucían markets have that week. They are not taverna replicas. They are my easy Greek recipes for home: lemon chicken and potatoes, souvlaki without skewers, meatballs, a quick pot of giant beans, and a soup thickened with egg and lemon. If you want the story behind them, I wrote it up in Fire, Memory, Proper Greek Food.
Greek Recipes – What You'll Find Here
Soups, beans and stews, chicken, lamb, pork and meatballs, fish and seafood, and potatoes, pies, salads and sides. Most are traditional Greek food made simply, for one or two, and several are easy Greek recipes you can cook in a single pan. Two of them, the grilled fish and the barley purée, come from my Cooking Through History series, where I cook from ancient writers such as Archestratus. A few are meat-free – each is labelled: [V] for vegetarian, [Ve] for vegan.
Jump to: Soups & beans · Chicken, lamb & pork · Fish & seafood · Potatoes, pies, salads & sides · Greek food stories
Greek Soups, Beans & Stews
Avgolemono with Pearl Barley, Chicken & Lemon A Greek egg-and-lemon soup with pearl barley, shredded chicken, onion, carrot, garlic, tomato and spinach, in stock made from a leftover chicken carcass. Whisked egg and lemon are tempered with hot broth and stirred back in over a low heat so the soup never boils. Made after a chilly August morning in Andalucía.
[Ve] Greek Bean Stew with Rice – A Fasolada-Inspired Comfort Dish White beans, tomatoes, carrot, celery, onion, garlic and herbs simmered in vegetable stock and served over long-grain rice. Cupboard comfort food that suits a campervan kitchen.
[V] Quick Gigantes Plaki, Greek Giant Beans in Tomato (Saucepan Version) A jar of butter beans poached whole in olive oil with tomato purée, garlic and oregano, topped with crumbled feta and served with crusty bread. Ready in about five minutes in one saucepan. Vegan if you skip the feta.
Greek Chicken, Lamb, Pork & Meatballs
One-Pan Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes Bone-in chicken thighs marinated in lemon zest, garlic, oregano, thyme and olive oil, seared skin-side down, then finished in the same pan with parboiled potatoes and lemon juice. Cooked on a single burner beside the Embalse de Finisterre reservoir in Toledo province.
Chicken Souvlaki, No Skewers Needed, with Crispy Plancha Potato Wedges Boneless chicken thighs marinated in lemon, garlic, oregano, smoked paprika and cider vinegar, cooked in a hot stainless steel pan, then the potato wedges are tossed in the leftover marinade and fried in the same pan. Served with green beans.
Keftedes Greek Meatballs with Potato Minced veal and pork with grated potato, breadcrumbs, egg, lemon zest, cinnamon, parsley and mint, shaped into ovals, chilled for half an hour and fried in olive oil. Veal and pork instead of the traditional beef, for a richer flavour.
Slow-Roasted Greek Lamb for One A small bone-in lamb shoulder marinated in olive oil, lemon, garlic, oregano and chilli, and slow-roasted on sliced onion and potato wedges. Delayed by about two hours when the neighbours held an impromptu Andalusian barbecue, and still tender when I got home.
Greek Lamb Chops (Paidakia) Thin bone-in lamb rib chops marinated for half an hour in lemon, garlic, oregano and thyme, then cooked for three to four minutes a side on a hot plancha and brushed with ladolemono, the classic Greek oil and lemon dressing. Inspired by a lunch at a small beach taverna on Aegina, and cooked for one at Casa Adora.
Mount Olympus Pork – Pork in Spicy Tomato Sauce Cubed pork dusted in flour and turmeric, browned, then simmered for hours with onion, carrot, garlic, red chilli, tomato purée, oregano, bay and plenty of black pepper. A rustic Greek-style dish I first cooked in someone else's kitchen in 2015, named after the Mount Olympus foothills.
Greek Fish & Seafood
Ancient Greek Grilled Fish with Herbs and Olive Oil A whole gilt-head bream (dorada), scored and rubbed with olive oil, dried oregano and sea salt, charred on a hot plancha and finished with lemon. Inspired by Archestratus, who argued that good fish needs almost nothing. Also in my Cooking Through History series.
Mackerel Salad – My Psarosalata Plate A ten-minute plate of tinned mackerel with feta, cherry tomatoes, leftover boiled potatoes, piquillo peppers, pickled chillies, silverskin onions, white asparagus and a hard-boiled egg, dressed with oregano, lemon and olive oil. Inspired by a Greek taverna's suggestion of psarosalata.
Greek Potatoes, Pies, Salads & Sides
A Fridge-Raid Feast: Greek Lemon Potatoes at Home Potato chunks roasted with olive oil, garlic, lemon, wild oregano and chicken stock, first covered and then uncovered until golden. A solo lunch with steamed greens and homemade tuna pâté, put together while clearing the fridge before a van trip.
[Ve] Skordalia-Style Barley Purée Pearl barley cooked until very soft and pounded in a mortar with garlic, salt, olive oil and red wine vinegar into a rough, slightly textured purée. The ancient ancestor of modern skordalia, from my Cooking Through History series.
Savoury Filo Pastry Pie A Greek-inspired pie of beef mince, feta, spinach, pine nuts and oregano layered between filo sheets brushed with ghee or butter and baked for about 25 minutes. Made on a Monday night from freezer and fridge staples, with beef because lamb isn't typical in Spain.
[V] Horiatiki Salad: Authentic Greek Salad Recipe for One A traditional Greek village salad with ripe tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, red onion and green olives, topped with one thick slab of feta and dressed with olive oil, dried oregano and black pepper. No lettuce, no cooking and no added salt, as the feta and olives do the seasoning. Made in the van above the Iznájar reservoir, with brined Picual olives from my neighbour Antonio.
Greek Food Stories
Fire, Memory, Proper Greek Food Memories of eating in small family tavernas in Athens and Piraeus, and what proper Greek comfort cooking means to me. It is also where I first mentioned gigantes plaki.
This Greek recipes collection will grow as I cook more of what I remember from those tavernas – spanakopita and moussaka are both still on the list.
If these Greek recipes brought a little taverna warmth to your table, you can buy me a coffee ☕ on Ko-fi.
Footnote
These Greek recipes sit alongside my Cooking Through History series, where I cook from ancient writers, and my Veggie & Vegan Recipes for meat-free cooking.
Find more recipes and food adventures here.
Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures – The Flexible Chef
