This fattoush salad is a blend of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs and pita chips, all tossed in a lemon dressing. A light and refreshing salad that’s the perfect side dish to grilled chicken, fish or beef.
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.
Recipe FAQs
Fattoush is a salad that’s popular all over the Middle East, and originated in the country of Lebanon. It contains a variety of vegetables such as lettuce, tomato, cucumber, radish and onion, as well as fresh herbs and toasted flatbread. It is tossed in an olive oil based dressing.
The name of this dish is derived from the word “fatta”, which refers to recipes that contain flatbread.
The dressing for this salad is a blend of olive oil, lemon juice, sumac, garlic and salt. Sumac is a spice used in Middle Eastern cooking, and is the ground and dried berries of the sumac bush. You can find sumac in the spice aisle of most large grocery stores, and it can also be purchased at local ethnic markets.
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.
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Fattoush Salad Video
Fattoush Salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- 4 cups romaine lettuce coarsely chopped
- 2 cups tomatoes cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 cups Persian cucumbers thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup radishes thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup parsley leaves
- 1/2 cup mint leaves
- 1 1/2 cups pita chips
For the dressing
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, red onion, parsley leaves and mint leaves in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Add the pita chips and toss one more time. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Try using a mandoline to thinly slice the radishes, red onion and cucumbers.
- I prefer to use small Persian style cucumbers for this recipe.
- I like to leave my parsley and mint leaves whole because they really add a lot of fresh flavor to the salad, but it’s also fine to mince them and add them to the dressing.
Carrie Robinson says
Oh yum! I love the crunch the pita chips gives to this salad. 🙂
Vicky says
I know the salad is typically used as a side dish, but I love it as a lighter Lunch option. Especially for the spring and summer, I don’t want to be eating anything too heavy at lunch time. Delicious!
Tayler Ross says
I made this salad with dinner last night and it was incredible! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Emily says
This fresh salad makes the perfect side! We all loved the lemon dressing and contrasting textures and flavors!
Marge says
We loved this salad! The crunch of the pita chips with zesty dressing was really good!
Kristian says
Excellent recipe! Thank you
Flo says
Never heard of this salad before but now I’m a huge fan! Really good flavors and I love the crunch!
Rachael Yerkes says
so yummy! love this salad!
Erin says
This fattoush salad couldn’t look any more perfect!
Natalie says
This salad sounds amazing!! I love trying new ones & the dressing sounds delicious! I love the ingredients in this. I’d like to add some grilled chicken!
Betsy says
One of my favorite parts of getting fresh made hummus from a restaurant is the sumac on top. It’s such a delightful, unexpected, and unusual spice. It really helps to tie all the ingredients together here and give it more depth and flavor. I also love the pita chips. Light, airy…and totally addicting!
Beth says
I love how simple this salad is to make! My kids LOVE it especially the cucumbers!
Tiffany La Forge-Grau says
This is probably a salad that I could eat every day. The fresher the ingredients the better too!
Jacque Hastert says
That dressing sounds fantastic and I love that this is just as delicious with or without protein.
Allison says
Delish! I served it with hummus and tzatziki, and it’s a new favorite!
Cathy says
Thanks for the instructions on how to make your own pita chips…they turned out delicious!
Mel says
This was delicious! We served ours with grilled shrimp to make a healthy but filling dinner meal. Thanks for the great idea!
Demeter says
Such a great idea to add pita chips as croutons. Adds a nice crunch to the salad.
Jen says
Now that’s it’s a new year, I’m really trying to incorporate more salads into my diet. The mint in this really gives it a pop of flavor. It’s so good!
Jacque Hooper says
Love the addition of mint to this salad; was the perfect balance of flavor, especially with the dressing!