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Home » Salads

Fattoush Salad (My Family's Recipe - الفتوش)

Published: Mar 25, 2021 · Modified: Dec 8, 2022· By: Janelle Hama

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This fattoush recipe is unchanged from my childhood, passed down from my mother from hers and so forth. Fattoush is Lebanon’s version of a garden salad with sour dressing and toasted pita bread for extra crunch.

fattoush lebanese salad in a brown plate
Fresh, crunchy and sour fattoush salad

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Jump to:
  • What is Fattoush Salad?
  • 😋Why you’ll love this recipe
  • 🥬Ingredients You’ll Need
  • 🔪How To Make Fattoush Salad
  • 💡What to serve with?
  • 🌟Pro Tips
  • 🥗Variations
  • 🥗Related Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Community

What is Fattoush Salad?

Fattoush (الفتوش), pronounced as "faht-toosh" in Arabic and sometimes written as Fatoush, Fatoosh or Fatush in English.

It is one of the national salad's of Lebanese; it's made with a variety of chopped vegetables and fried pita bread pieces tossed through a sour dressing, which is served almost always with lunch or dinner. 

Nowadays, there are variations where the bread (typically Lebanese flat bread) is baked until golden or omitted altogether.

😋Why you’ll love this recipe

  • It’s refreshing easy to make, packed with fresh vegetables and herbs
  • It pairs with so many foods
  • It's dietary friendly, natural vegan, corn free, soy free, nut free and can be made gluten free

🥬Ingredients You’ll Need

fatush ingredients

Note - Lebanese cucumber is also known as Persian cucumber.

Fattoush dressing ingredients

Notes on some of the ingredients, the full list of ingredients and their measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Cos Lettuce (Romaine) is the best lettuce for this salad, however, Iceberg lettuce can be used also, as they are very similar.

Purslane is a wonderful green that is usually found growing in your backyard. It can be found at a Middle Eastern grocer. Personally, fattoush isn't complete without it.

Purslane can be consumed both raw or cooked, try my purslane puff pastry pockets. If you can’t get your hands on purslane, just leave it out.

Lebanese pita bread (affiliate link) - can be found at your local supermarket or online. You can use either white or brown varieties.

If you prefer to opt-out of bread, you replace it with red cabbage for some crunch.

Fattoush Salad Dressing

Sumac (affiliate link) - a widely used red spice (from the sumac berries) across the Middle East.

Sumac has a wonderful sour taste and is a key flavor in fatoush salad dressing. Sumac can be found in your local supermarket or online (affiliate link). Skipping this ingredient is not recommended.

Pomegranate Molasses (affiliate link) - another key flavor of fattoush which again has a light sour taste and a slight sweetness. Available at your local supermarket or purchased online - my go-to brand is Cortas. Skipping this ingredient is not recommended.

Fresh lemon juice is best as it elevates the sourness.

Try and only use extra virgin olive oil which is a key ingredient in the dressing. If you are on an oil-free diet, just leave it out.

Mint - my family loves using the combination of fresh and dried mint. It really does boost the flavor. It is best to mix this up with the dressing.

fatush salad top down view

🔪How To Make Fattoush Salad

Step by Step Guide

Step 1 - Bake Lebanese flatbread in a preheated oven 180C (356F) until golden brown. Approx. 5 minutes. Set aside.

Step 2 -  Whisk all fattoush salad dressing ingredients together, set aside

Step 3 - In a large bowl, combine all vegetables and herbs and toss through the fattoush dressing.

Place fattoush in a serving plate and crush baked Lebanese bread into bite-sized pieces on top. Serve immediately

💡What to serve with?

Fattoush salad is generally served with all types of mishwe (Arabic word for bbq), try the tastiest vegan tofu skewers based on the flavors of shish tawook.

Or enjoy it with dishes such as vegan lebanese kibbeh (a burghul type of loaf), Mujadara (lentils and rice), Mujadara Hamra (lentils and bulgur), vegetable rice (mixed veggies with toasted nuts) or try the delicious bulgur pilav in a base of fresh tomatoes.

It is also delicious with maklouba, an extravagant dish of upside down rice and vegetables.

Fatoush salad in a white bowl

🌟Pro Tips

All cups are loosely filled

Adjusting the dressing - Pomegranate molasses (affiliate link) will darken this salad considerably if too much is added.

If you are wanting to increase the amount of sumac, I recommend doing this little amount at a time as it can be too strong for some people. 

For a crunchy fatoush, add the dressing just before serving and don’t mix the bread through or serve it on the side.

For a juicy fattoush - add the dressing 30 minutes prior to serving. All the ingredients would’ve had the time to soak in the juices, then add the broken pita pieces on top just before serving

🥗Variations

Traditionally Fattoush uses fried Lebanese pita bread, baking the bread is a healthier alternative.

Garlic - a couple of cloves of garlic can be crushed into the dressing if desired.

On rare occasion, I do this (add garlic), though it is not traditionally used in my family’s fatoush salad recipe.

🥗Related Recipes

Try Lebanon's other national salad called taboule or this common Arabic salad.

Here's a few other's to try is a refreshing cucumber and yoghurt salad, quinoa taboula or my go-to when I am short on time but want something filling is balela.

Rocca Salad is a much simpler, made with arugula as the main leafy green. Or one made of cabbage called Malfouf Salad.

Otherwise for something more starchy, tuck into Lebanese potato salad or I recommend checking out my glass noodle salad, it's refreshingly good.

  • Smacked Spicy Cucumber Salad Without Soy Sauce
  • Easy Arabic Salad سلطة
  • Easy Carrot Cucumber Salad With Tahini Dressing
  • Easy Tomato and Onion Salad with Sumac

Did you enjoy making this vegan recipe? I would love to hear from you, leave me a comment below and give me a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating. This will help me sustain Plant Based Folk. 

Alternatively, did you happen to take a photo? Tag me @plantbasedfolk on Instagram to be featured via stories.

📖 Recipe

fatoush salad top down view

Fattoush Salad (My Family's Recipe - الفتوش)

This fattoush recipe is unchanged from my childhood, passed down from my mother from hers and so forth. Fattoush is Lebanon’s version of a garden salad with sour dressing and toasted pita bread for extra crunch.
Print Pin Rate Save Recipe Saved Recipe
Course: Salad, side
Cuisine: Lebanese, Middle Eastern
Diet: Vegan
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Author: Janelle Hama

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Tomato chopped, bite sized
  • 2 cups Cos Lettuce (Romaine) chopped
  • 2 cups Lebanese cucumber chopped, bite-sized
  • 1 cup Capsicum (Bell pepper) chopped, bite-sized
  • ¾ cup White Onion chopped, bite-sized
  • ½ cup Radish sliced
  • ½ cup Purslane roughly chopped, take hard parts of stalk off
  • ¼ cup Fresh mint chiffonade (thinly sliced)
  • ¼ cup Fresh parsley roughly chopped, take hard parts of stalk off
  • 1 piece Lebanese pita bread

Fattoush Dressing

  • ¼ cup Lemon juice freshly squeezed
  • ⅓ cup Olive oil extra virgin
  • 1 teaspoon Salt or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon Sumac heaped
  • ½ teaspoon Pomegranate Molasses
  • ½ teaspoon Dried mint
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Instructions

  • Bake Lebanese flatbread in a preheated oven 180C (356F) until golden brown. Approx. 5 minutes. Set aside.
    1 piece Lebanese pita bread
  • Whisk all fattoush salad dressing ingredients together, set aside
    ¼ cup Lemon juice, 1 teaspoon Salt, ½ teaspoon Sumac, ½ teaspoon Pomegranate Molasses, ½ teaspoon Dried mint, ⅓ cup Olive oil
  • In a large salad bowl, combine all vegetables and herbs and toss through the fattoush dressing. Place fattoush in a serving plate and crush baked Lebanese bread into bite sized pieces on top. Serve immediately
    2 cups Tomato, 2 cups Cos Lettuce, 2 cups Lebanese cucumber, 1 cup Capsicum, ¾ cup White Onion, ½ cup Radish, ½ cup Purslane, ¼ cup Fresh mint, ¼ cup Fresh parsley

Notes

The fattoush dressing can be made ahead and stored in the fridge. Adjusting the dressing - pomegranate molasses will darken this salad considerably if too much is added. 
All cups are loosely filled
For a crunchy fatoush salad, add the dressing just before serving and don’t mix the bread through or serve it on the side.
For a juicy fattoush - add the dressing (except pita bread) 30 minutes prior to serving. All the ingredients would’ve had the time to soak in the juices, then place the broken bread pieces on top.
Traditionally Fattoush uses fried Lebanese pita bread, baking the bread is a healthier alternative.
What to serve with?
Fattoush is one of Lebanon’s national salads (the other is quinoa taboula).  It is served generally with all types of mishwe (Arabic word for bbq) or with dishes such as vegan kibbeh, Mujaddara, Mujadara hamra, vegetable rice.
 
Another Lebanese salad to check out is my Rocca Salad. It's a much simpler salad made with arugula as the main leafy green.
 
 

Equipment

Bowl
baking sheet

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 115kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 850mg | Potassium: 542mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 4370IU | Vitamin C: 76mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 1mg

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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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tabbie

    April 27, 2022 at 9:14 am

    5 stars
    love a good fattoush salad! this one is super tasty

    Reply
  2. Fay

    February 07, 2022 at 3:39 pm

    5 stars
    Your fattoush salad is now my new favorite salad. Please keep sharing your vegan Lebanese food. Can you share a vegan kafta recipe?

    Reply
  3. Tina

    February 06, 2022 at 2:34 pm

    5 stars
    Lovely fresh and sour salad.

    Reply
  4. Jules

    January 22, 2022 at 4:48 pm

    5 stars
    beautiful salad, beautiful ingredient. SO FRESH. I just pinned this. : )

    Reply
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Heya, I'm Janelle! I've been a messy but delicious cook for a couple of decades now.

In the last few years, I've converted to a vegan diet and have fallen in love with the flavors that can be created from plants.

I specialize in vegan Lebanese food and I'm excited to share these amazing recipes with you.

Let's cook together!

More about me →

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