Arabic salad سلطة is a delicious and healthy way to enjoy fresh flavors made up of a variety of crisp greens, colorful vegetables and a tangy dressing. It's a versatile side dish that can be customized to your taste.
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What is Arabic Salad?
Arabic salad is a traditional Middle Eastern dish that is typically made with a combination of sliced lettuce, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, parsley, mint, and a dressing made from freshly squeezed lemon juice and olive oil.
Known for its refreshing and simple flavors, and is often served as a side dish to a variety of Middle Eastern meals.
The ingredients used can vary depending on produce availability, and some variations include the addition of capsicums (bell peppers), olives, or radish.
It is typically seasoned with salt and pepper, and is served chilled.
In Arabic is is referred to as "salata" or "sulta" or "slata" سلطة depending on the country / region.
😋Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A refreshing, light and healthy salata that can be enjoyed all year round
- Adjustable to suit produce availability - use what you like!
- Served as a side dish which is suited to most meals
- Dietary friendly - vegan, dairy free, nut free, soy free and gluten free
🥗Ingredients You’ll Need
Notes on some of the ingredients, the full list of ingredients and their measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Tomatoes should be firm but ripe and diced into bite sized chunks, you can use any variety you like.
Lebanese cucumbers (aka Persian cucumbers) are also diced. If you can't find these types of cucumbers, a telegraph cucumber can be used.
Iceberg or romaine lettuce will be roughly sliced into bite sized pieces.
White onion which will be diced. You can also use red onion instead.
Fresh parsley leaves and mint leaves which will be finely chopped
Arabic Salad Dressing
Extra virgin olive oil, if you are on an oil free diet, simply leave this out.
Fresh lemon juice for sour and to build flavor in this salad.
Salt and pepper to taste. I like using himalayan salt (affiliate link)
🔪 How to Make Arabic Salad
Step 1 - In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, parsley, and mint.
Step 2 - In a small bowl, whisk together the Arabic salad dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Serve cold.
🥗Variations
This salad can easily accommodate additional ingredients such as capsicums (bell peppers), spring onions, red cabbage, pomegranate and radish.
Freshly chopped dill is also commonly found in this salad.
🍴Serving Suggestions
This common Arabic salad is often featured at lunch and dinner times.
Try it with mujadara, a famous Lebanese lentil and rice dish, mujadara safra (red lentils and rice) or with vegan shish tawook tofu skewers.
It also pairs well with this mouthwatering Lebanese lentils and pasta dish called Rishtaya or with these savory Lebanese purslane pastries.
I also like it as a side to my vegan sweet potato and zucchini fritters or Lebanese green beans braised in oil.
To make this salad more substantial, try adding cooked chickpeas or beans.
❓FAQ
Yes, prepare and chop the vegetables, herbs and store them separately in sealed containers in the fridge. Whisk the salad dressing and store in the fridge also in a sealed container. Combine ingredients up to 30 minutes prior to serving.
🥗Related Recipes
Other Middle Eastern salads to make include fattoush salad, featuring toasted pita bread, taboule the famous Lebanese parsley salad, you can read about the differences between fattoush vs tabbouleh.
Quinoa taboula, easy rocca salad or tomato and onion salad with sumac are three other Lebanese salads.
A substantial salad is my vegan couscous salad.
Or for something creamy, try my Lebanese tahini salad, it's so underrated!!
Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.
Easy Arabic Salad سلطة
Ingredients
- ¼ medium iceberg lettuce sliced
- 2 medium tomatoes diced
- 2 medium cucumbers diced
- ½ small red onion diced
- ¼ cup Parsley leaves sliced
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, onion and parsley.¼ medium iceberg lettuce, 2 medium tomatoes, 2 medium cucumbers, ½ small red onion, ¼ cup Parsley leaves
- In a small bowl, whisk together the salad dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Serve cold.½ teaspoon dried mint, ½ medium lemon, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
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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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!