Arabic salad is made with fresh, crisp lettuce, colorful vegetables, and a tangy dressing. It serves as a versatile side dish that can be customized to your taste.
What is Arabic Salad?
Arabic salad is a staple dish for many Middle Eastern people, typically made with seasonal produce. Some variations may include ingredients like bell peppers, olives, or radishes.
In Middle Eastern cuisine, it is common practice for salad to be served with lunch or dinner in one form or another.
In Arabic, salad is referred to as "salata," "sulta," or "slata" (سلطة), depending on the country or region.
Key Ingredients
The complete list of ingredients with measurements, can be found in the full recipe card below.
When making this salad, always choose the freshest vegetables and herbs to ensure it stays crisp.
At a minimum, you should include a combination of tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, and onion. You can also add other ingredients such as bell pepper, spring onion, red cabbage, and pomegranate, among others.
As far as the herbs go, mostly fresh herbs are used like parsley, mint and dill. I personally do not like dill, so I leave it out.
Arabic Salad Dressing
The standard Arabic salad dressing includes extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice (never store-bought juice) and salt and pepper to taste.
From there I sometimes add sumac, dried mint, pomegranate molasses or whatever I feel like at the time of creating my salad.
Serving Suggestions
As mentioned earlier, this salad is a versatile choice that complements nearly any savory Middle Eastern meal. I particularly enjoy it with mudadara, a well-known lentil and rice dish, or alongside shish tawook tofu kebabs, fatayer bakleh, and even Lebanese green beans braised in oil.
Janelle's Tip
If you're thinking about how to make Arabic salad ahead of time, start by chopping the vegetables and herbs. Store them in separate sealed containers in the fridge.
Whisk the dressing and also store it in a sealed container in the fridge.
When you're ready to serve the salad, combine the ingredients up to 30 minutes before serving.
Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ star rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.
Recipe
Arabic Salad
Ingredients
- ¼ medium iceberg lettuce sliced
- 2 medium tomatoes diced
- 2 medium cucumbers diced
- ½ small red onion diced
- ¼ cup Parsley leaves sliced
Arabic salad dressing
- ½ teaspoon dried mint or 2 tablespoons sliced mint leaves
- ½ medium lemon juiced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin, see notes
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper or to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, onion and parsley.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Serve cold.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.
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Jade
Hey Janelle, I know you like to not include or reduce your oil in your recipes, but I couldnt resist adding more, like my mama used to do. I love the left over dressing in the bowl which I drinnk up. I love this salad.
Janelle Hama
sounds like my son, he loves slurping the end dressing too. YUM!
Julianne
This was the perfect salad for summer, so light and refreshing! I really love adding mint to salads too!
Shelby
This salad is just so light and fresh! I love that I had most of the ingredients in my garden too. A great way to use them up.
Ali
This salad was so delicious and so easy to make - I love how the mint shows up here, too!! So refreshing and fantastic with your mjadara recipe
Janice
This easy Arabic salad was so delicious! I love how the ingredients complement each other well, plus the tangy dressing elevates its flavor! This recipe is a must-try!