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This super quick Bulgarian Shopska Salad is one of the easiest, coolest, and tastiest three ingredient salads in the world! All you need is fresh tomato, cucumber and Bulgarian feta or sirene cheese.It’s the perfect side salad or light, refreshing lunch.
Why We Love This
Full of juicy tomatoes and crunchy cucumber, shopska is a popular Bulgarian cold salad. It’s famous throughout the Balkans for being super refreshing and quick and easy to prepare. Versatile and delicious, it’s perfect as a light lunch orcolourful side dish for barbecues, potlucks and family gatherings.
We love that shopska salad is also a budget-friendly dish, transforming low cost everyday ingredients into an delicious summer salad you’ll love to share with friends and family.
Related: Cevapi (Handmade Sausages) / Japanese Potato Salad
What is Shopska Salad?
Shopska Salad (aka shopska salata) is a cold salad traditionally made with chopped tomatoes, cucumber and a very generous sprinkling of sirene cheese, which ispretty similar to feta in both taste and texture. It’s quite similar to a traditional greek salad, but with a surprisingly different flavour and texture from the grated or crumbled feta.
If you can’t find any sirene or feta near you, you could try sourcing someonlineor you can evenmake your own sirene cheeseif you’re feeling adventurous!
If you want to kick things up a notch, feel free to throw in some diced capsicum / bell peppers and your favourite marinated olives. We once even threw in some salami for all the meat-lovers out there!
How to make Shopska Salad:
- Pop your diced tomatoes and cucumber in a serving bowl and give everything a stir until evenly mixed.
- Optional step: Add in any extra ingredients to suit your taste, such as red pepper, olives, olive oil, vinegar, and salt & pepper if you’re using them, then stir through again.
- Let it snow! Grate the cheese right over the bowl until well and truly covered.
- Serve immediately (or store for around 30 mins in the fridge).
Wandercook’s Tips
- For an extra cooling salad, keep your ingredients in the fridge right up until you’re ready to prep. You can even pop them in the freezer for a few minutes to cool them down even further.
- For an even more refreshing experience, serve your shopska salad with rakia (Bulgarian fruit brandy) or a frosty beer!
- If you have leftover cucumber and tomato, turn it into a Greek salad next round.
FAQs
Can I make this in advance?
This salad is best enjoyed immediately when all the ingredients are at their freshest. It will store nicely in the fridge for half an hour or so.
What should I serve with this salad?
This salad is often served alongside grilled meats, particularly Cevapi sausages or grilled chicken. It also makes a great side salad for dishes like our Chicken Pasta Bake, Potato Bake, Zucchini Slice or Greek Moussaka to lighten the meal.
Variations & Substitutes
- Sirene Cheese – Substitute with Bulgarian feta, or any firm feta cheese that can be grated.
- Add Flavour – Serve your shopska salad with side dishes of balsamic or red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt or fresh parsley. You and your guests can then tweak the flavours just how you like.
- Make it a Meal – Try adding chopped cucumber and diced salami. This will quickly transform your side dish salad into a more satisfying main meal.
Want more cooling salad recipes? Here are some of our favourites:
★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating below!
Bulgarian Shopska Salad
This super quick Bulgarian Shopska Salad is one of the easiest, coolest, and tastiest three ingredient salads in the world! All you need is fresh tomato, cucumber and Bulgarian feta or sirene cheese.It's the perfect side salad or light, refreshing lunch.
5 from 11 votes
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Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes minutes
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Bulgarian
Servings: 1 salad
Calories: 432kcal
Author: Wandercooks
Cost: $5
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tomato large, diced
- 1 cucumber continental, diced
- 100 g sirene cheese or substitute with feta
Optional Garnishes
- capsicum / bell pepper diced
- marinated olives
- fresh parsley
- vinegar balsamic or red wine
- olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Metric – US Customary
Instructions
Pop your diced tomatoes and cucumber in a serving bowl and give everything a stir until evenly distributed.
1 tomato, 1 cucumber
Optional: Add in your optional ingredients such as red pepper, olives, olive oil, vinegar, fresh parsley and salt & pepper if you're using them and stir through again.
capsicum / bell pepper, marinated olives, fresh parsley, vinegar, olive oil, Salt and pepper
Let it snow! Grate that cheese right over the bowl until well and truly covered.
100 g sirene cheese
Serve immediately (or store for around 30 mins in the fridge).
Recipe Notes
- Sirene Cheese – Substitute with Bulgarian feta, or any firm feta cheese that can be grated.
- Add Flavour – Serve your shopska salad with side dishes of balsamic or red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt or fresh parsley. You and your guests can then tweak the flavours just how you like.
- Make it a Meal – Try adding chopped cucumber and diced salami. This will quickly transform your side dish salad into a more satisfying main meal.
- For an Extra Cooling Salad – Keep your ingredients in the fridge right up until you’re ready to prep. You can even pop them in the freezer for a few minutes to cool them down even further.
- For the Best Experience – This salad is best enjoyed immediately when all the ingredients are at their freshest. It will store nicely in the fridge for half an hour or so.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Bulgarian Shopska Salad
Amount per Serving
Calories
432
% Daily Value*
Fat
30
g
46
%
Saturated Fat
16
g
100
%
Cholesterol
30
%
Sodium
1911
mg
83
%
Potassium
1013
mg
29
%
Carbohydrates
24
g
8
%
Fiber
8
g
33
%
Sugar
17
g
19
%
Protein
19
g
38
%
Vitamin A
5585
IU
112
%
Vitamin C
178.4
mg
216
%
Calcium
573
mg
57
%
Iron
2.4
mg
13
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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About Wandercooks
Wandercooks is an Australian recipe site reaching over 9 million views annually. Our recipes are here to inspire you with fresh and exciting food ideas from a range of Asian, European and Australian cuisines. As seen on Google.com, Today.com, Buzzfeed, Jetstar Asia and Lonely Planet.Read more...
