Take it from a true daughter of the Mediterranean: you don’t need much to make a fresh, colorful, and delicious Mediterranean Salad. With a simple mix of cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, lemon juice, and a few herbs and spices, this easy salad is on your table in 10 minutes or less!
Mediterranean salad goes by a different name where I grew up in Egypt: salata! It’s a staple on every table, morning, noon, and night.
And while many online recipes have adopted its name, you may ask yourself: what is a Mediterranean salad, really? At its core, it’s a simple tomato and cucumber salad that’s tossed with a drizzle of olive oil and a touch of vinegar or citrus. It where famous salads like fattoush or tabouli derive inspiration. We don’t include lettuce and we don’t fuss with whisking a separate vinaigrette!
With no lettuce to wilt, it keeps well for hours or even days in your fridge. And it is so much more than just a salad! Use as a topping, brining freshness to savory vegetarian quinoa bowls with hummus. It’s also the perfect condiment for wraps, like chicken shawarma with pita bread. The list goes on!
This Mediterranean salad recipe is as traditional as they come. It’s very representative of the regions’ agricultural roots and the fresh flavors we continue to love to this day. You can dress it up by adding red onion, as I do here, or toss in feta cheese for a little salty goodness. Let your inspiration be your guide.
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Mediterranean Salad Ingredients and Substitutions
This simple cucumber tomato salad uses easy to find ingredients that need little embellishment. Just some seasonings and a simple dressing bring out all the lively flavors.
- Tomatoes: Use anything that’s ripe and flavorful, like Roma, heirloom, or cherry.
- Cucumber: Go for cucumbers with a thin, delicate skin, like English or hot-house. If the big standard slicing cucumbers are all that’s available, consider peeling them as the skin tends to be bitter.
- Italian parsley: Brings freshness and big Mediterranean flavor to this simple salad. Substitute with other tender herbs, like cilantro, mint or basil, or take a page from Greek salad and use dried Greek oregano.
- Sumac (optional): This dried berry adds an extra layer of tart, sun-ripened flavor.
- DIVE DEEPER: What Is Sumac? Uses and Recipes
- TRY IT: Order all natural sumac spice from our shop.
- BEST SUBSTITUTE: Lemon zest.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Use a robust yet smooth olive oil, like Greek Early Harvest or peppery Hojiblanca Spanish EVOO.
- Lemon juice: Bridges the gap between the fresh vegetables and rich olive oil. You can substitute with lime juice or red wine vinegar.
- Salt and black pepper enhance the flavor.
How to Make Mediterranean Salad
Cucumber tomato salad is a staple of the Mediterranean diet, where they make it daily without a recipe. It’s one of the simplest salads you’ll make, coming together in just a few minutes. Here is how it goes:
- Prepare the tomatoes, cucumber, and parsley: Dice 6 Roma tomatoes. Dice one large English cucumber into small cubes or pieces. Chop a good bunch of parsley, about 3/4 bunch. Don’t worry about picking all the leaves, the tender stems near the leaves impart great flavor. Combine everything in a large mixing bowl.
- Add salt. Season the salad with a good pinch of kosher salt and set aside for about 5 minutes. The vegetables will expel some of their water, which we’ll use to help lightly dress the salad.
- Add the no-whisk dressing. The traditional Mediterranean salad dressing here is a good drizzle (about 2 tablespoons) of quality extra virgin olive oil and the juice of one lemon (or at least 2 teaspoons of lemon juice). Add 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper and mix to combine. Optionally, I like adding 1 teaspoon of sumac for depth and tang.
- Taste and serve. Taste the salad and adjust the lemon, salt, and pepper to your liking. Serve immediately, or set aside for 15 minutes to let the flavors get friendly with each other.
Mediterranean Salad Variations
This basic Mediterranean salad has several variations throughout the Mediterranean and the Middle East, and you can change it up to your liking. Here are a few ideas:
- Add protein. Canned or boiled chickpeas, white beans, or kidney beans work well with as a vegan protein and turn this salad into a satisfying meal. Grilled meats, like grilled chicken thighs or kofta kebab, would also be hearty and delicious.
- Use more fresh herbs. In addition to parsley, you can add chopped fresh mint or dill.
- Toss in feta cheese. Just like with classic Greek salad or herby tomato feta salad, creamy, tangy feta adds another layer of deliciousness to this cucumber tomato salad.
- Add heft. Toss in one cup of cooked couscous or bulgur for a simple lunch. You’ll want to adjust seasoning and olive oil.
What to Serve with Mediterranean Salad
This versatile salad goes with just about any Mediterranean dinner menu. It’s a classic topping for Chicken Shawarma or vegetarian Spicy Cauliflower Shawarma, where the salad juices and tahini sauce combine in the most fortunate way.
Alternatively, serve this simple salad as a side for simple weeknight dinners. A bite here and there of the bright salad brings a lightness to rich, deeply savory dishes, like Yogurt Marinated Chicken, Greek-Style Braised Eggplant or Pan Seared Trout.
More Tomato and Cucumber Salad Recipes
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Try our All-Natural Sumac!
This tangy spice is just what you need to add that extra layer of brightness to your favorite salads.
Ingredients
- 6 Roma tomatoes, diced (about 3 cups diced tomatoes)
- 1 large English or hot-house cucumber, diced
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced, optional
- 3/4 bunch parsley, leaves and tender stems chopped (about 1/2-3/4 cup chopped leaves)
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground Sumac
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Mix: In a large mixing bowl, gently combine the tomatoes, cucumbers, and parsley. Season with kosher salt and toss. Set aside for 5 minutes or so.
- Season: Add the sumac, olive oil, and lemon juice. Give the salad a gentle toss. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Enjoy!
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Notes
- For best flavor, set the salad aside for a few minutes before serving. This will give the flavors time to meld.
- This salad will keep for up to three days. Store covered in the refrigerator.
- Visit Our Shop for quality Mediterranean ingredients, including extra virgin olive oil, spices and more!
Nutrition
*This post was originally published in 2017 and has recently been updated with new information and media for the readers’ benefit.
Going to try this recipe today. My biggest challenge is fresh herbs. What are acceptable substitutes?
Made it for dinner. It is super tasty and so easy to make.
Yay! Thanks so much!
I made this salad last night for my dinner and I didn’t eat it. I DEVOURED it! It was soooo delicious and easy to make. I made half the recipe as I was alone and initially thought of keeping the leftover for the next day. Yah right! Loving all your recipes and thanks. Today I’m making your pumpkin soup with red lentils for lunch. Can’t wait.
Lol! Thanks, Cynthia!
This recipe sounds like my favorite thing ever! However, my husband is Mexican and I was raised in the South. Now we both live in South Alabama and while I rarely ever fry anything because … no, we still eat pretty heavy foods. He would eat eggs at every meal, and the meat he likes most is chorizo. It’s gross to me with a LOT of grease. We have a son who is seven and he has a very bland sense of taste. He doesn’t like anything sharp, zesty or spicy. So… how can I make this work with these two who can’t just love vegetables and lightness? Oh! And we need this for health benefits as well. I have issues with my BP occasionally and he has Gout.
Hi, Beth. That is a toughy! Not knowing your family personally, it’s a bit hard to give advice here. Have you ever thought of meeting together with a nutritionist or dietitian? Someone who can take a close look at your specific health needs and lifestyle and help you all formulate a personalized plan? That would be a good place to start. One bit of advice from us here at the Mediterranean Dish would be to start slow. Maybe, incorporated one meatless dinner in your rotation per week, or something of that nature. Family members tend to be a bit more receptive to change this way.
I made this dish and let me just say it is delicious paired it with the tahini sauce and the three ingredient salad and it was a hit the whole family enjoyed it even gave some to my neighbor which I’m sure she enjoyed. Even my most pickiest eater ate it and enjoyed it. I will be cooking this recipe again in the near future.
Hooray! That’s great to hear, Tony. Thank you!
Made this to go with your Chicken Shawarma recipe. I added some kalamata olives and a little feta cheese and it worked out great. The olive oil and lemon dressing added a nice bright touch.
Glad you enjoyed it, Lisa!
Made it today. Came out beautifully. Thank you
Delicious!!! My goodness this is sooooo good! The vinaigrette is perfect!! So simple and I absolutely love it!!!
Will definitely make this many more times!!
So glad you enjoyed it, Karen!
My Italian family has been using olive oil and lemon juice as salad dressing for decades, with the ratio of two parts olive oil to one part lemon juice. Instead of parsley, however, I like to use home-grown basil.
Love easy salads like this. The only negative I have is that I ate about half of it before dinner and spoiled my appetite! Lol. <3. Very good.
OMG! Instead of parsley, I purchased cilantro (Chinese Parsley) by mistake….
Do you think it still can work for this salad? Sigh…
Hello! The flavor profile would, of course, be different, but it could work if you enjoy cilantro.
My Mediterranean salad “go-to”! I love this salad. I’ll often add some fresh spinach before serving. I also add about 1 tsp of Con’ Olio’s grapefruit balsamic vinegar to give it a slightly sweeter taste. Even so, it’s wonderful as-is.
That sounds awesome! Thanks for sharing, Kim!
Not a big deal but FYI your ingredients list includes pepper but it’s not mentioned in the instructions.
Otherwise, looks great
Hi! Where do you get sumac
Hello! If your located in the U.S., you can order it from our online shop: https://shop.themediterraneandish.com/product/sumac/
GREAT!!!!
This salad looks so good! I love your website, I’m vegetarian indian, and of course love everything with lots of flavor. For this salad do you take out the pulp and seeds inside of the tomatoes.
Hi, Soni! No need to remove the seeds/pulp of the tomatoes for this one :).
Do you use regular parsley or Italian parsley in this recipe?
Either will work, but I prefer Italian parsley.
I typically use Italian parsley.