Tomato Salad

There’s nothing like a juicy Tomato Salad to make all summer long! My grandpa used to make this Tomato Salad Recipe and load it with feta, fresh mint, oregano, and toasted pita chunks on the stove. It’s a hearty, delicious, and comforting tomato feta salad like not other!

I have very few recipes from my Grandpa as he wasn’t exactly the “cook” at home. However each one of these few recipes is an absolute HIT! He was a messy cook and hence wasn’t allowed in to the kitchen very often. But at the same time, he was one heck of a creative cook!

He made the very famous Hot Pepper Sauce on the blog, which in turn made me famous for it on instagram hahaha! He also made the best Fried Eggplant Salad that’s a crowd pleaser and requested each time friends come over!

My Best Falafel Sandwich is also a reminiscence of his falafel wrap. Also these Pan Fried Potatoes – spicy and succulent!

What Is Tomato Salad?

Tomato salad is a broad Mediterranean category of salads centered around peak-season tomatoes dressed simply and assertively. Unlike creamy salads or lettuce based salads, tomato salad relies on:

• Juicy but not watery tomato acidity
• Brightness from lemon
• Richness from olive oil
• Saltiness from feta
• Textures from crisp bread
  
• Herb brightness

Across the Mediterranean, variations exist in places like Greece, Lebanon, Italy, Egypt and Turkey.

Mediterranean tomato salads developed as a way to celebrate peak tomato season, village bread, local olive oil and brined cheeses,

In rural kitchens, stale bread was never wasted. It was revived in salads where tomato juices softened it slightly while olive oil enriched it.

Why You’ll Love This Tomato Salad

• Tomatoes now in the summer are super juicy, sweet and work so well on many recipes! Grilling them, roasting them, having them as is!
• With today’s tomato salad recipe the tomatoes are the absolute HERO of the salad. All other ingredients are accents and can very well be excluded, well except probably for the bread.
• This is not your average tomato mozzarella salad, which you can find in details with video on this Caprese Salad recipe. Again I’ve made that Caprese salad with homemade croutons in honor of my grandpa’s bread salad obsession 🙂
• This tomato salad recipe is broken down into the bread, the tomatoes and herbs, and a light coating of lemon olive oil at the end. Simple easy yet absolute lush!

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Tomatoes: Use ripe, in season tomatoes. Best choices include vine ripened tomatoes, grape tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, Roma tomatoes (for less water).  Avoid refrigerated tomatoes, it creates cold dulls flavor and alters texture. Tomatoes are best stored in room temperature not in the refrigerator.
• Bread: Bread provides structural contrast. Ideal bread is a rustic country bread, sourdough, day old crusty loaf. The bread should be toasted or crisped, sturdy enough to hold dressing and not soft sandwich bread
• Feta Cheese: Feta adds salt and creaminess. Choose a of block feta in brine and goat or sheep’s milk feta if available. Avoid pre crumbled feta because it’s often dry.
• Fresh Herbs: Use a combination of parsley, mint, fresh basil, dill, chives.. Herbs should be fresh and chopped just before mixing.
• Olive Oil: Use high quality extra virgin olive oil. It provides richness and carries aroma. In Mediterranean salads, olive oil is generous,  not minimal.
• Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed only. Lemon brightens the tomatoes and balances the oil. You can use red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar.
• Seasoning: Kosher salt and black pepper.
• Optional: red onion, arugula, cheeses like bocconcini or fresh Burrata Cheese.

Ingredient Science

• Tomatoes contain high water content and natural glutamates.
• Salt activates flavor and draws out juices.
• Olive oil binds fat soluble flavor compounds.
• Bread absorbs excess liquid and prevents pooling.
• The key is timing, salt too early and you create a watery salad, salting properly makes balanced juiciness.

How To Make Tomato Salad Recipe

There are a few components to this tasty recipe, so I’l break them down for you!

Start with the Crunchy Bread.

1. You’ll need a thick pita bread or naan bread along with some minced garlic, salt, fresh oregano and olive oil.
2. The beauty of this crunchy bread is that you’ll make it right in a skillet over the stove. No oven no fuss. 
3. You’ll start off by tearing up the bread into chunks (the size is completely up t you). I love cutting the bread into a little less than an inch size chunks. 
4. Toss them continuously over the skillet with garlic, olive oil, oregano and salt until golden and crunchy. Keep an eye on the bread as it burns fast! Also remember the bread will continue toasting in the skillet even once you off the heat. So plan to remove it a minute before you feel they’re done.

Assemble the Salad

1. In a large plate add the tomatoes. You can use cherry tomatoes for sure here, however since I’m making my grandpa’s recipe, I’m sharing it as it was.
2. He used ripe sweet tomatoes on the vine which he quartered. Nothing fancy, pure tomato salad bliss!
3. Over the tomatoes he scattered some thinly sliced shallots.
4. Then you’ll add a mix of your fresh herbs, roughly chopped or torn. He often used a combo of fresh mint and fresh oregano. I sometimes add fresh parsley as well.
5. Then chunks of feta go in.
6. Finally the toasted bread chunks.

Tomato Salad Dressing

1. While this is not really a dressing, it’s simple a squirt of lemon juice, pinch of salt and plenty of good olive oil. It’s as delicious as can be with all its simplicity!
2. You could definitely use my Honey Greek Salad Dressing here for a fancier feel. That dressing is magic and I use it on my popular Baked Salmon With Greek Dressing recipe!
3. Another fabulous dressing to try is Tahini Sauce which I use to jazz up the classic Tabouleh or Tabouli Salad.

Seriously at that point the tomato Salad is ready to devour right away!!

Tomato Salad Tips

• Use fresh seasonal and ripe tomatoes for this recipe. Cherry tomatoes are also ok to use.
• Cutting the tomatoes into wedges or chunks matches the size of feta and bread so it’s easier to serve the salad without mushing any ingredient.
• Make the bread ahead of time and once cooled, store it in a ziploc bag in the freezer for upto 3 months.
• The stove top bread is best to control the level of crunch you’re looking for.
• Use fresh herbs of your choice, we love it the classic way with fresh mint and fresh oregano. However there are times I add or substitute with fresh parsley.
• Assemble the salad right before serving. It’s a salad thats best served fresh!
• Dress it up with a simple lemon juice, salt and olive oil or explore other Dressings on the blog.
• Best to serve right away and enjoy the day of!

Tomato Salad Variations

• Cucumber: Adds crunch and freshness.
• Red Onion: Thinly sliced and soaked briefly in lemon.
• Olives: Adds briny depth.
• Spicy Version: Add chili flakes.
• Grilled Tomato Version: Lightly char tomatoes for smoky depth.

Storage

• This salad is best eaten fresh and best made from fresh garden tomatoes.
• Without bread, you can store the salad 1–2 days refrigerated.
• With bread, it’s best within hours.
• Do not freeze.

Why is My Salad Watery

This happens when you over salt tomatoes or salt it too early. You can fix watery salads by draining excess liquid before adding the bread.

What if the Bread Is Soggy

If you add the bread too early on before serving, it will loose the crunch. To fix soggy bread in salads, you can toast it more deeply and fold in at last minute.

Why is the Flavor Flat

If you haven’t added insufficient salt, lemon juice or oil, your salad will be flat. Make sure to season and dress well. 

Why Does it taste Too Acidic

If you added too much lemon or vinegar, your salad will taste acidic. To fix this, add more of olive oil and a pinch of salt.

How healthy is tomato salad?

Tomatoes are really rich in anti oxidants, vitamin C and Vitamin K. And unlike creamy tomato salads, this one is an absolute load of pure tomatoes without the cream!

Why Tomato Salad with Feta?

Since this is my family recipe, feta cheese is the cheese of choice. However you can find another hit of a tomato salad with mozzarella in this Caprese Salad. If you’re making this dairy free or vegan, you can skip or use vegan cheeses.

How To Eat More Raw Tomatoes?

Again, I absolutely would suggest this recipe! It’s heavily based on tomatoes and only tomatoes.

Which Tomatoes are Best For A Salad?

Cherry tomatoes, large beef tomatoes, tomatoes on the vine and pretty much all tomatoes are unique in their own way. Today I’ve used on the vine as this is a family recipe and I didn’t want to change a thing about it.

What Goes with Tomato Salad?

• Grilled meats, chicken, fish and veggies.
• It’s a great lunch meal as is.
• Pizza
• Your morning eggs and avocado!
• A nice plate of Chicken Shawarma Platter with Tahini Sauce
• A side of soup

How do you keep tomato salad from getting watery?

Salt tomatoes lightly, let them release juices, and drain excess liquid before adding bread.

What tomatoes are best for tomato salad?

Ripe vine or heirloom tomatoes with deep color and fragrance.

Can tomato salad be made ahead?

Prepare components separately and combine just before serving.

What cheese goes in tomato salad?

Feta is traditional in Mediterranean versions.

More Mediterranean Recipes

• Spaghetti aglio e oli- Olive oil Pasta
• Tuna Salad Recipe with Olive Oil Dressing
• Labneh Dip with Zaatar Pistachio Mint Olive Topping
• Olive Oil Cake
• Mediterranean Baked Fish
• Mediterranean Turkey Sandwich
• Spicy Harissa Lamb Shoulder Chunks in Pita Cones with Tahini Sauce
• Garlic Sauce
• Hummus Toast