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Fattoush Salad

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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 sumacThis 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: A simple 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…

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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:

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Fattoush Salad

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 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 head Romaine lettuce, chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 English cucumber, 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 ground sumac
  • (optional: 2-3 teaspoons honey to sweeten, if desired)

Instructions

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.

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43 comments on “Fattoush Salad”

  1. I LOVE fattoush–a while ago I made a slight variation of your recipe, which also looks awesome. (https://www.thesweetslife.com/2010/05/grilled-fattoush.html) This is seriously the perfect summer salad!

  2. i can’t wait to try this! i think tomorrow will be perfect! i can’t wait!

    • I love veggie. Very delicious and feel refreshing. Suitable for me stay in Malaysia. Thank you for your recipe.






  3. I love those big, chunky vegetables and cut-up pita. This looks like a delicious salad, even though salad is not among my favorite dishes ;) Thanks for sharing, Ali!

  4. Ali, Your Dad told me today you were in Hyde park at the CIA, and told me about your blog so i checked it out , this salad looks delicious i will have to try it. It looks like you had a great time in Hyde Park, to bad you couldn’t have visited my shop your Mothers designs are a big seller in my shop , only 10 minutes from CIA. I will keeep looking at your blog it is very interesting.

  5. I completely agree, Natalie! :) Love your post!!

  6. Hi Pat,

    Sorry to have missed you while I was in Hyde Park. I absolutely loved the area — what a beautiful place to live!! :) Thanks for tuning into the blog, and if I ever get the chance to return to the CIA, would love to pop in and say hi!

    ~A

  7. Ali, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve included your recipe in the Vegetarian Ramadan round-up on my blog – hope you’ll find it interesting to check out the rest here here. Have a great weekend)

  8. Sumac is a traditional spice in this and I think you’d enjoy it, that is if you can find it- damn hard to find sometimes!

  9. Quick question: I think you recently insta storied about a wine from Costco that you like…what was it?!

    • Eek, I actually forgot which one that was. If we go back and find it again, I’ll come back and reply again to your comment! :)

    • Hey Amanda! I found that wine again! It’s called CARMEN, and it’s a Cab Sauv, and it’s absolutely delicious. :)

  10. Fattoush is one of my favourite recipes…I tend to even use it as a condiment or top it with chicken! Perfect summer meal!

  11. This sounds delicious, Ali! I just ordered ground sumac from Amazon so I can make it. What do you think about adding chickpeas for some protein? Or chicken breast?

    • Thanks Misty — we hope you enjoy this! And we definitely think chickpeas and/or chicken breast would be awesome additions!

  12. OMG! Your photography is so splendid, I wanted to dive in and SWIM in that salad!!!! I’ll be making it soon!

  13. I work in the KC downtown area, would love to know which Mediterranean place you like down there?  We love the little shop Greek Cuisine in Overland Park by JCCC, but I am always on the lookout for additional places.  Thanks!

  14. A great salad. The dressing is amazing! Thanks for introducing me to ground sumac! Loved the flavor it adds. I did find the sumac at Penzey’s. 

  15. Thank you for sharing awesome Fattoush Salad Recipe :)

  16. Love your salad pictures! They make me in the mood for a salad right now ? I’ve actually never had a salad with mint leaves, I’m excited to try it out. Sounds delicious! I make my own dressings too. It’s so simple and so much healthier than store bought. I love the sound of your dressing. Tangy, zesty lemon is one if my favs. I’ve never used sumac. I think I’m just going to have to go to the store this week and pick some up ?

    • Thank you, Jennifer, we hope you enjoy this! And we agree, homemade dressings are the way to go! :)

  17. I made this recently, and it was AMAZING! I was making it only for myself, used some of the extra dressing to brush on chicken, and cooked it on the BBQ, and it was SO GOOD! The chicken was some of the best I’ve ever had, and it complemented the salad so well! This recipe is one of my go to now! :)






  18. I found the dressing to be overly salty.

  19. Absolutely love this salad. My husband can’t get enough of it either.






  20. I use the fatoush dressing from Joy if Cooking:
    1/3 c Olive oil (I prefer extra light flavored)
    1 lemon juiced
    1 clove of garlic
    S&P

    Easy to make, keeps well in the fridge, and great for a marinade when I grill veggies.

    My sister-in-law is from Lebanon and she uses some vinegar too. I like my dressing better.

  21. Absolutely amazing!! Better than in the restaurants.

  22. Growing up in a Syrian family we would often have this dish in spring or summer. You nailed it. The dressing is great. I use a mandolin for slicing the cucumber, red onion and radish. A piece of feta on the side is perfection. I enjoy the simplicity of your recipes. Everything I’ve tried has been a delight. Thanks






  23. I love veggie. Very delicious and feel refreshing. Suitable for me stay in Malaysia. Thank you for your recipe.






  24. Delicious, and easy to make. Due to the covid situation substitutions had to be made. I didn’t have enough cucumber, so I put extra tomatoes in. There was no mint available and it is too early for it to be in the garden, so I used parley instead. Nevertheless, it was still wonderful. Thanks for a great recipe!






  25. Made this tonight! Followed recipe as written and it was DELICIOUS! Thank you!






  26. Best recipe out there!
    This is a family favourite and one of my number one requested dishes for our potlucks.
    I don’t use mint in mine as I am personally not a fan.
    The dressing is something you can brag about and the homemade pitas are a must.






  27. Amazing easy, fresh and tasty!