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This fattoush salad recipe is made with a delicious blend of fresh greens, veggies and herbs, crispy toasted pita chips, and a bright and zippy lemon dressing.
Anyone else interested in a big bowl of fresh greens and veggies right now?
Let’s make some fattoush salad! ♡
This classic Middle Eastern salad is one of my all-time faves and always tastes especially delicious this time of year, now that fresh greens, herbs and veggies are starting to come back in season.
While traditional Fattoush salad recipes vary from country to country in the Middle Easter, the signature ingredient here is always the same — leftover pita scraps (or fatteh, which means “crumbs” in Arabic), which are toasted or fried to give this salad its extra-delicious heartiness and crunch. Fattoush is also meant to be a clean-out-the-crisper-drawer sort of situation, typically featuring a base of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, plus any extra veggies that you may have on hand. It’s typically tossed with a simple lemon dressing and tons of fresh mint, whose flavors brighten up this salad beautifully. And finally, it is sprinkled with lots of ground sumac — the traditional red, citrusy, tangy spice that absolutely makes this salad for me.
To me, this fattoush salad recipe tastes like absolute springtime, which is exactly what I’ve been craving lately. So if you’re also ready for a refreshing dose of greens in your life, clean out that crisper drawer and let’s make some fattoush!
Fattoush Salad Ingredients:
Alright, let’s chat about the ingredients that you will need to make this fattoush salad recipe. (Ingredient amounts included in the recipe below…)
- Lettuce:I recommend chopping up a head of Romaine lettuce, whose texture holds up nicely with the other veggies in this salad. But that said, you can also totally make this salad with a mix of spring greens or any other salad greens that you have on hand.
- Cucumber:Either one English cucumber or a few small Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced.
- Red onion:You can either thinly slice or dice the red onion for this salad. Also, if you don’t love the taste of raw onion, just rinse the onion under cold water before adding it to the salad and the flavor will be considerably more mild.
- Tomatoes:Whatever fresh and ripe tomatoes you have on hand — Roma, cherry, grape, or heirloom tomatoes would be delicious! Or if you don’t have any fresh tomatoes on hand, you could also sub in some chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
- Radishes:I love to super-thinly slice and add some fresh radishes to this salad for extra flavor and crunch.
- Fresh mint:The more the merrier, in my opinion. Fresh mint is key in fattoush salad!
- Pita chips:I like to toast torn pita bread in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper to make pita croutons. But you could also fry your pita chips, if you prefer.
- Ground sumac:This tangy, lemony spice is also essential in fattoush salad. We will mix it into the dressing, and then I also recommend sprinkling some on top of the salad just before serving for a pop of color.
- Lemon dressing: Asimple fattoush dressing made with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic, sea salt and ground sumac.
How To Make Fattoush Salad:
To make this fattoush salad, simply…
- Make the lemon dressing:Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl until combined. Or do what I do and shake-shake-shake them together in a mason jar until combined.
- Make the salad:Combine all of the salad ingredients and half of the pita chips in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle evenly with the lemon dressing, then toss until evenly combined.
- Serve:Serve immediately, garnished with the remaining pita chips, plus an extra sprinkle of sumac and freshly-ground black pepper.
Possible Recipe Variations:
This salad is meant to be made with whatever leftover veggies, greens and bread that you have on hand. So feel free to clean out the fridge and toss in whatever is available! For example, you could also…
- Add cheese:Crumbled feta or goat cheese is delicious in fattoush salad if you would like to add some cheese.
- Add extra herbs:Fresh parsley or chives are also delicious additions.
- Add extra veggies:Feel free to chop and add any other raw veggies that you have on hand, such as bell pepper, carrots or green onions.
- Add chickpeas:For a burst of extra protein, you can also add in some chickpeas (or even better, crispy roasted chickpeas).
- Add olives:Kalamata, castelvetrano, manzanilla cerignola, or other favorite olives would be delicious in this salad.
- Add pomegranate molasses:I don’t always keep pomegranate molasses on hand in my pantry. But if you happen to have some, it is traditionally used to sweeten the dressing. (Or if you happen to be making this salad during fresh pomegranate season, a sprinkling of fresh pomegranate arils on top of this salad would also be amazing!)
- Fry the pita bread:Instead of baking the pita croutons, you can fry them in oil (which is how this salad is traditionally made) to make them extra crispy.
More Favorite Salad Recipes:
Looking for more delicious green salad recipes? Here are a few of my faves:
- Everyday Salad
- Everyday Kale Salad
- Citrus Avocado Salad
- Italian Chopped Salad
- Strawberry Avocado Salad
- Roasted Cauliflower Orzo Salad
- Tahini Ranch Avocado Chicken Salad
Fattoush Salad
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star5 from 9 reviews
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Description
This fattoush salad recipe is made with a delicious blend of fresh greens, veggies and herbs, crispy toasted pita chips, and a bright and zippy lemon dressing.
Ingredients
Scale
Fattoush Salad Ingredients:
- 1 headRomaine lettuce, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 Englishcucumber,thinly-sliced
- 1 small red onion, peeled and thinly-sliced
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 1 cup loosely-packed chopped fresh mint leaves
- 4 radishes, thinly sliced
- 2 to 3 cups pita chips, homemade* or store-bought
- ground sumac and freshly-ground black pepper
Lemon Dressing Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 large clove garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon groundsumac
- (optional: 2-3 teaspoons honey to sweeten, if desired)
Instructions
- Make the lemon dressing: Vigorously whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl (or shake together in a mason jar) for 30 seconds. Set aside.
- Make the salad:Combine the Romaine, cucumber, red onion, tomatoes, radishes, mint, and half of the pita chips in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle evenly with the lemon dressing, then toss until evenly combined.
- Serve:Serve immediately, garnished with the remaining pita chips, plus an extra sprinkle of sumac and freshly-ground black pepper.
Notes
Homemade pita chips: To make homemade pita chips, slice or tear pita bread into bite-sized pieces. Toss it with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Then bake at 400°F for 7 to 15 minutes (depending on the thickness of your pita chips) until golden and crispy.
posted on April 16, 2020 by Ali
Appetizers, Dairy-free, Salads, Vegan, Vegetarian
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