Fattoush Salad

I love to serve a green salad alongside my meals, such as arugula salad, apple kale salad, and this classic cucumber tomato salad. Whenever I go to my local Middle Eastern restaurant, I always have to order the fattoush salad. It’s a light and refreshing blend of lettuce and vegetables with pita chips instead of croutons. The lemon sumac dressing really takes this salad over the top and turns it into something special.

Fattoush Ingredients

This recipe calls for a simple assortment of vegetables and herbs, as well as lettuce and pita chips. The dressing features fresh lemon juice and olive oil, along with sumac, garlic and salt.

How do you make fattoush salad?

This salad starts with romaine lettuce, which is mixed with cucumbers, tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, radish, mint leaves and parsley. A simple dressing goes over the top, and the salad ingredients are all tossed together. The final step is to stir in pita chips for added crunch. Serve immediately, and enjoy!

Tips for the perfect salad

Try using a mandoline to thinly slice the radishes, red onion and cucumbers.I prefer to use small Persian style cucumbers for this recipe, but you can use quartered and sliced English cucumbers if you like.I like to leave my parsley and mint leaves whole because they really add a lot of fresh flavor to the salad, but you can also mince them and add them to the dressing.When I make this salad, I use store bought prepared pita chips for convenience. To make your own homemade pita chips, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F, and coat a sheet pan with cooking spray. Cut 4 pita rounds into 8 wedges each, then lay the wedges in a single layer on the pan. Brush the pita wedges with 1/3 cup olive oil and sprinkle on any seasonings you like. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until browned and crispy.

Salad Variations

I love to serve this salad as-is for a light and refreshing side dish, but sometimes I add other ingredients to make it more of a main course offering.

Protein: You can add protein such as grilled chicken, shrimp or steak.Beans: I love to add canned chickpeas or white beans for a boost of flavor and nutrition.Cheese: Crumbled feta cheese is the perfect addition to this salad.Vegetables: You can add other veggies to the mix such as bell peppers, mushrooms, artichokes or olives.

Once you try fattoush, you’ll find it on your permanent rotation. The big, bold flavors are the perfect counterpart to a variety of dishes.