Shopska Salad {Macedonian Chopped Salad}
Jul 15, 2015, Updated Apr 22, 2020
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Shopska Salad is the Macedonian version of a chopped salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers and white [feta] cheese. It’s a healthy and refreshing salad perfect for lunch or dinner!
![Shopska Salad | www.diethood.com | The Macedonian version of a chopped salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers and white [feta] cheese.](jpg/shopska-salad-macedonian-chopped-salad.jpg)
AN EASY MACEDONIAN CHOPPED SALAD RECIPE
Helllllooooo SUMMER! If there was ever THEEE Summer Salad, THIS would have to be IT. Trust me. Once that fresh smell of the cucumber hits your nose, you will absolutely agree!
You guys, guess where I’m at?! Just guess! Ok, ok, I’ll tell you.
I’m on a plane, flying over the Atlantic, heading to where it all started – my birthplace! YAY!
I’m so excited, you guys. I haven’t been back to Macedonia since 2011. That’s just pretty insane to me because I love my homeland so, so much! Besides that, my sister lives there and I haven’t seen her in 4 years! That is the hardest part. Heartbreaking, to be honest. My beautiful nieces hardly know me, and my brother-in-law is pretty much the best guy in the world!!
If I had it my way, and if an airline ticket didn’t cost 3 mortgage payments… and if I didn’t HATE flying… and if my girls weren’t so small, I’d go thrice a year!
![Shopska Salad | www.diethood.com | The Macedonian version of a chopped salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers and white [feta] cheese.](jpg/peppers-tomatoes.jpg)
Speaking of flying… could you say a prayer? PLEASE! I can’t stand it. At this moment, I’m probably asking the flight attendant for another shot of tequila. I’ll take anything that will put me at ease for at least 10 hours.
![Shopska Salad | www.diethood.com | The Macedonian version of a chopped salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers and white [feta] cheese.](jpg/shopska-salata.jpg)
Soooo, since I’m heading home, and since I will be having this Shopska Salad every day for the next 4 weeks, I thought what better time to share it with you than NOW?
Sidenote. The entire Balkan Peninsula claims Shopska as their salad: Macedonians claim it to be theirs, Serbs say, nope, it’s ours…
Bulgarians also say it’s all theirs. Greeks, too, though they decided to call it “Greek Salad” and added a few olives to it. 🙂 Then again, they just decided to call everything “Greek”, including salads, coffee, yogurt, the sky, the trees, air… aye aye aye… 😉
In a nutshell? We will all go to war with each other to prove that something is ours and not theirs.
Not just Shopska, though. We fight about the ownership of Ajvar, land, Baklava, land, Kebapi, Musaka, and land.
![Shopska Salad | www.diethood.com | The Macedonian version of a chopped salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers and white [feta] cheese.](jpg/salad-with-tomatoes-and-cucumbers.jpg)
But I have to add that, if we leave politics aside, we are the best of friends. Not kidding. We love one another like brothers and sisters. ♥
About that Shopska Salad…
You should know that this whole chopped mess is the epitome of everything I love to eat, starting with all things cheese and tomato juices. When making this salad, make sure that your tomatoes are juicy because that is what makes this salad so amazing. We don’t add fancy salad dressings. It’s oil and vinegar. Full stop. BUT you don’t need anything else because all the flavors blend so well together, and with the help of the tomato juice and creamy feta, oh mah gaaaaahhhh! It’s like a flavor explosion!
![Shopska Salad | www.diethood.com | The Macedonian version of a chopped salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers and white [feta] cheese.](jpg/sopska-salata.jpg)
Also, and if you wanna eat it the authentic way, it’s one bowl, several forks, and a big feast of grilled meat on the side. That’s how you eat this salad. All the forks in one salad bowl. There’s no room for “ewwwww” around here. Gotta be real, gotta be genuine.
![Shopska Salad | www.diethood.com | The Macedonian version of a chopped salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers and white [feta] cheese.](jpg/macedonian-chopped-salad.jpg)
Okay, so since this is turning out to be the longest post of everrrr? And since I really hope you read it all? Can we just hop on over to the recipe? COOL! Also? Did you say a prayer? PLEASE. I hate flying. HATE!
Okay, thank you! XOXO
ENJOY!
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It![Shopska Salad | www.diethood.com | The Macedonian version of a chopped salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers and white [feta] cheese.](jpg/shopska-salad-macedonian-chopped-salad-300x300.jpg)
Shopska Salad {Macedonian Chopped Salad}
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 ripe tomatoes,, chopped
- 2 green banana peppers,, chopped, or you can use a green bell pepper
- 1 long English cucumber,, chopped
- 1 small yellow onion,, diced
- salt and freshly ground black pepper,, to taste
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar,, or to taste
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Place the chopped tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and onions in a large serving bowl.
- Add salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar to a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour the dressing over the salad mixture, toss it, and mix until well blended. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.
- Top with crumbled feta cheese and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.
- Refrigerate for about 20 minutes, or until ready to use.
- Serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Love this. My go to regularly. Thr Macedonian’s have some really good stuff
That’s awesome to hear it’s become your go-to! Macedonian cuisine indeed has some delicious offerings. Glad you’re enjoying the flavors! Thank you! 🙂
So where the name Shopska come from again?
Made this and it was so good! I’m going to make it for my Macedonian boyfriend now. <3
That’s great! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
This is a gorgeous salad. I eat it every week, if not every day.
Otherwise, all people from all countries are welcome to enjoy this dish.
I ate this salad first in Bulgaria, being an international trucker from the Netherlands. I’ve never seen it in the other countries, though they all have dishes alike. The Turks also add hot green peppers, which I like.
I’m not saying who invented it though, there are so many dishes in all named countries, that it’s easy to overlook some of them.
Anyway, I like these kinds of salads, the fact that I got it first in Bulgaria is purely coincidence, I think. Back in the time most restaurants had a limited choice (eighties, early nineties), so probably it was the only available salad. Never mind who was first, I just enjoyed it
I have a co worker from Macedonia and just this week a few of us gathered again at his house for the full Macedonian feast. Coarse after coarse but it began with this salad. Absolutely delicious. Going to be making it at home often. As for the other dishes, I’ll have to get the names written down as I don’t recall the names. All fantastic and I’m a fan!
I have a question about feta cheese. I learned to make this salad when I was a exchange student in 1980-1981. I’ve been making it ever since. My difficulty is finding the right feta cheese!!!
Does anyone have an exact brand that would keep this “Macedonian” rather than salty-Greek? Something that might be sold at a well-known store?
I was used to buying fresh from big vats at Macedonian markets, which don’t exist here. I just haven’t found the right one … yet. Help, please.
Maybe try a Mexican cotija cheese.
I love this salad sooo much! I was taught how to make this a few years ago by my awesome Macedonian friends. This salad will always be Macedonian to me, just like pasta will always be Italian! Bon Appetito!
Thank you so much! I’m very happy you loved it! 🙂
I have to agree with all those who said that it’s always THEIR culture’s salad. My late husband was born and raised in Beograd and he was adamant than any variation of this salad was Serbske’ salate (spelling?). 😆. Since he passed, I’m left with his grandmother’s old tattered cookbook, in Serbian, which I can’t read and, even if I did, there’s no standard of measurement to be found…it’s a ‘large spoonful’ or ‘small handful’ or ‘a slightly hot oven’ 🤣 so for years it was trial and error.
Ive tried to recreate the old dishes from recipes I’ve found on line but none come close…except for this one!!! Thank you SO much Katerina for sharing this recipe. I’m going to make this for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow night for my kids to get an authentic taste of their fathers’ culture.
p.s. if anyone has an authentic recipe for Gibanica, please share