Most Popular Food in Greece That Are Hard Not to Love

Essential Greek Food

Greek food is a fantastic example of the famous Mediterranean diet — the healthiest way of eating. Still, the food is delicious; there's no doubt about that. Let's just say you could eat Greek food every day and never get tired; you'll look and feel great as well; that's the magic behind Greek food. Despite the hard-to-pronounce dish names, here are popular foods in Greece that are hard not to love.

Most Popular Food in Greece That Are Hard Not to Love

Greece is comprised of 227 islands and a large stretch of the mainland on the Mediterranean coast. The area has been inhabited for at least 4,000 years, and the country's cuisine is as unique and traditional as food gets.

Greek food is a fantastic example of the famous Mediterranean diet — the healthiest way of eating. Still, the food is delicious; there's no doubt about that. Let's just say you could eat Greek food every day and never get tired; you'll look and feel great as well; that's the magic behind Greek food. Despite the hard-to-pronounce dish names, here are popular foods in Greece that are hard not to love.

Feta Cheese

Feta is a crumbly, salty sheep's milk cheese. No table in Greece is complete without a block of it. Greek people will enjoy it from breakfast to dinner, and it's easy to see why — it's delicious, fresh, and beautifully rustic.

The salty, sharp cheese is added to lots of dishes too. You can stuff filo pastries with it or crumble it over a salad; you can add feta to sandwiches, pasta, and casseroles; it's incredibly versatile!

Authentic feta cheese is protected by European law, so quality is a given. Feta is your desert island cheese, one you can enjoy every day for the rest of your life.

Moussaka

This creamy and utterly satisfying layered dish is Greece's answer to lasagna. Many variations exist, but moussaka often contains eggplant and potato layers and fork-tender lamb meat. The casserole is flavored with garlic, onions, and lots of warm spices, but the tastiest bite is the creamy top layer made of bechamel sauce and cheese.

This dish is famous all around the Balkans, and you can find it in the Middle East as well. You'll find vegetarian moussaka, too, and some versions very saucy — moussaka, though, is always filling and crowd-pleasing. When enjoying moussaka, make sure you're hungry!

Dolmadakia

Dolmadakia or dolmades are popular appetizers in Greece. They are grapevine leaves filled with a wide variety of ingredients and tightly tucked for two-biters that will take you to heaven and back.

Lemon-flavored rice is a popular grapevine filling, and it's usually amped up with a variety of fresh herbs and thrilling spices. Ground meat and even seafood stuffings are also popular and deliver an entirely different experience.  We should mention people have cultivated grapevines in the country for thousands of years. Greek wine is fantastic, and these grapevine lives are authentically flavorful.

Greek Salad

The Greek salad is the country's most memorable dish, and although you'll find it in every Greek and many non-Greek restaurants worldwide, it's often misunderstood.

The greed salad is not just a salad, but a lifestyle. Many people in Greece grow their own veggies, and the Salad is nothing more and nothing less than what's ripe that day. Tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, feta cheese, and quality olive oil are a must, but variations exist.

An authentic Greek salad is served center-table, and everyone digs in. The Salad is not a starter course but a side dish, and it's often as colorful and vibrant that it steals the spotlight at the table.

Courgette Balls

With a crispy golden crust and a creamy, cheese-based filling, courgette balls are among the most delightful finger foods in Europe. Often served as a starter, these deep-fried balls are made with puréed zucchini, and the filling is more often than not a feta and mint mixture. 

Courgette balls might look like a heavy starter, but they're pretty light. The filling is creamy but airy, and the fried crust should be relatively thin and never greasy — just a fried appetizer done right. If you don't find them on the menu, look for the word Kolokithokeftedes.

Gyros

Don't underestimate Greece's street food; the gyro, a flatbread (pita) sandwich filled with roasted and sliced lamb meat, shares similarities with the shawarma and the doner kebab, but it's still unique.

The meat is marinated and skewered before being roasted in a vertical broiler where it cooks to tender perfection and gains a delightful smokiness. Once in the pita bread, the meat is topped with creamy tzatziki sauce, French fries, and veggies. A gyro is one satisfying fast meal, and expect to wait in line in the finest gyro spots because people love them!

Keftedes

Greek meatballs are often served as a small plate along with a wide variety of appetizers in a feast known as mezze, the right way to start a dinner party.

These one-biters are often fried and served with a creamy tzatziki sauce and are somewhat similar to the Courgette Balls described above. Tomaotokeftedes exist as well, and they're based on ripe tomatoes; they're worth a try, too. 

Mezze is the art of serving small plates is a centuries-old tradition that extends all around the Mediterranean Basin, and it has been perfected in Greece. These fritters are no afterthought — they're designed to get the conversation started, guaranteeing a lovely time with the ones close to you.

Greek meatballs are often served as a small plate along with a wide variety of appetizers in a feast known as mezze, the right way to start a dinner party.

These one-biters are often fried and served with a creamy tzatziki sauce and are somewhat similar to the Courgette Balls described above. Tomaotokeftedes exist as well, and they're based on ripe tomatoes; they're worth a try, too. 

Mezze is the art of serving small plates is a centuries-old tradition that extends all around the Mediterranean Basin, and it has been perfected in Greece. These fritters are no afterthought — they're designed to get the conversation started, guaranteeing a lovely time with the ones close to you.

Baklava

Ending with a sweet note, Greek people love their baklava. Perhaps the most famous flaky, honey-flavored dessert, this delicacy is prevalent in every country once part of the Ottoman Empire. It's as Turkish as it is Arab or Greek; it just tastes like the region!

It comes without saying putting together the nutty and honeyed dessert requires immense skill, and it can be considered an authentic art form. There are plenty of sweets and pastries in Greece, but if you're in the area, you can't miss out on a slice of classic baklava. What a treat!

Greece, Thousands of Years of Delicious History

Greece has deep traditional roots, and we're talking about millennia of cooking in the same way. The food hasn't changed much; it's still a straightforward, honest and uncomplicated cuisine that brings out the best of the simplest ingredients.

Greek food is also a lifestyle, one in which food is never rushed, where wine flows freely, and where every dish is shared. There's a reason why Greek people are some of the healthiest on the planet; they eat well and take family meals seriously. That's what eating should be about; the time spend with your loved ones!

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