Fattoush

Fattoush is a delicious eastern Mediterranean bread salad that bursts with flavor and is easy to make. It reminds us of Panzanella, an Italian bread salad with similar ingredients.

Fattoush salad is popular among all countries in the Levant region, including Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Israel, some parts of Turkey, and Cyprus.

This salad is full of fresh herbs and crunchy vegetables that grow easily in a Mediterranean climate.

It also contains crispy Khubz (Arabic bread, including Pita) and a tangy vinaigrette-like dressing with olive oil, lime juice, garlic, and sumac, a middle eastern spice that adds a citrusy flavor and a beautiful red color.

Fattoush is easy to customize, so take our recipe as a guideline and add your favorite veggies and toppings. For example, we like to top it with crumbled feta or a mouthwatering yogurt tahini sauce.

The recipe is excellent for a quick light lunch, side dish, or potluck, and we’ll show you how to make it with fresh seasonal ingredients.

Lettuce

We recommend Romaine lettuce, although you can use most types of crunchy lettuce.

Scallions

Scallions, green onions, or spring onions add a fresh mild oniony taste, less pungent than regular onions.

Substitute red onions or shallots for scallions.

Cucumber

You can use any type of cucumber, such as Persian cucumbers, English, Kirby, American, and small cucumbers.

Radish

Fresh radishes are found in most Fattoush recipes, and they add an irresistible spicy and zesty flavor and a crispy texture.

Tomatoes

Pick your favorite fresh ripe tomatoes. We use locally grown beefsteak tomatoes, but you can also use vine tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, and other varieties.

If your tomatoes are very watery, discard some of the liquid that comes out when you cut them.

Green pepper

Green bell pepper adds crunch and a refreshing mouthfeel.

Substitute it with yellow or red bell pepper.

Arabic bread

There are many types of Arabic bread (Khubz) that you can add to your Fattoush; the most common being pita bread.

Traditionally, one to two days old Arabic flatbread is repurposed to make fattoush salad and more generally fatteh dishes, such as fatteh hummus (also Fatta or Shâmiyât).

The bread is cut into pieces, then deep fried or toasted. To keep the recipe a little healthier, we like to toss the bread in olive oil, salt, and sumac and toast it in the air fryer or the oven.

We think homemade pita chips are much tastier and healthier than store-bought ones.

Fresh herbs

We recommend fresh flat-leaf parsley and fresh mint.

Purslane would also be very traditional, although that’s hard to find outside of Mediterranean regions.

Fattoush dressing

Extra virgin olive oil: is the cornerstone ingredient of Mediterranen and Middle-Eastern cooking. The higher the quality of the oil, the tastier your Fattoush will be.

Lime or lemon: you can use freshly squeezed lime juice or lemon juice for this beautiful salad. They are both delicious, so pick your favorite.

Pomegranate molasses: they add a slightly acidic and sweet flavor. Substitute with balsamic vinegar or balsamic glaze.

Garlic: minced, grated, or crushed fresh garlic.

Sumac: a citrusy red spice popular in the middle east. You can find it online or in Asian grocery stores. Leave it out if you don’t have it or can’t find it.

Salt: we recommend sea salt or kosher salt for the best flavor.

Cut the bread into small bite-size pieces, toss it in olive oil, salt, and sumac, and toast it at 400°F or 200°C in the air fryer or oven until crispy and golden brown – about 3 to 5 minutes.

To a small jar, add extra virgin olive oil, lime or lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, grated garlic, salt, and sumac. Close and shake well.

Alternatively, whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl.

To a large bowl, add chopped Romaine lettuce, diced tomatoes, diced bell pepper, diced cucumber, thinly sliced radishes, thinly sliced scallions, and finely chopped parsley and mint.

Toss the salad with the dressing and top it with homemade pita chips.

A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and pomegranate molasses on top is always welcome.

Fattoush with olives, feta, and oregano

This variation of Fattoush is inspired by a Greek salad.

Mix in thinly sliced black or kalamata olives and top the salad with crumbled feta cheese (or non-dairy feta) and a generous sprinkle of dried oregano.

Fattoush with yogurt tahini sauce

Yogurt tahini sauce is a wonderful middle eastern condiment perfect for drizzling on any Mediterranean and middle eastern salad.

Try a couple of dollops on top of Fattoush salad, and you’ll fall in love with this incredible combination of flavors.

To make it, mix 1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt or non-dairy yogurt, 2 to 3 tablespoons of tahini, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 clove of grated garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and a sprinkle of sumac.

Serve Fattoush as part of a mezze platter with a variety of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dips and sauces:

• Baba ghanoush (roasted eggplant, garlic, parsley, tahini, lemon juice, etc.)
• Hummus (chickpeas, cumin, garlic, tahini, etc.)
• Tahini sauce (tahini, lemon juice, garlic, water, etc.)
• Zaalouk (eggplant, tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, cumin, paprika, etc.)
• Muhammara (pepper, onion, tomatoes, walnuts, breadcrumbs, cumin, etc.)
• Dukkah (hazelnuts, pine nuts, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, dried oregano, etc.)

Serve it with protein-rich mains and make it a complete meal:

• Falafel (dried chickpeas, garlic, parsley, cumin, onion, mint, chickpea flour, etc.)
• Lentil and rice mujaddara (caramelized onions, rice, lentils, scallions, cumin, cinnamon, etc.)
• Roasted red pepper pasta (jarred bell pepper, tomatoes, almonds, rigatoni pasta, etc.)
• Whole roasted cauliflower with almonds (cauliflower, harissa, tahini, shaved almonds, etc.)

Make ahead: chop the veggies, toast the bread, and make the dressing but store them separately in the refrigerator. Combine veggies, salad, and bread shortly before serving so the veggies and the bread won’t lose their crunch.

Refrigerator: keep Fattoush leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

Freezer: this recipe is not suitable for freezing.

More Salad Recipes

Get more vibrant salad ideas from these easy and wholesome recipes:

• Shirazi salad (tomato, cucumber, lime juice, lime, white onion, olive oil, etc.)
• Panzanella (bread, tomato, cucumber, red onion, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, etc.)
• Tomato and cucumber salad (tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, parsley, olive oil, etc.)
• Tabbouleh (parsley, bulgur, mint, scallions, tomato, lemon juice, olive oil, etc.)
• Tomato salad (red onion, heirloom tomatoes, basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, etc.)
• Couscous salad (couscous, chickpeas, cucumber, pine nuts, parsley, bell pepper, etc.)

Get more authentic Mediterranean cooking ideas with these easy side dishes:

• Greek salad (cucumber, tomato, red onion, olive oil, feta, dried oregano, bell pepper, etc.)
• Lentil tabbouleh (canned lentils, tomatoes, parsley, mint, scallions, etc.)
• Chickpea salad (cherry tomatoes, parsley, corn, avocado, chickpeas, lemon, olive oil, etc.)
• Sauteed eggplant (canned tomatoes, eggplant, garlic, fresh basil, red pepper flakes, etc.)
• Roasted eggplant (eggplant, garlic, olive oil, parsley, etc.)

For many more salad ideas, check out our salads category page.