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This Lebanese Fattoush Salad is the quintessential salad that you’ll find at all Lebanese restaurants and throughout the Middle East. It’s a fresh and bright salad made with seasonal vegetables and topped with the iconic fried pita bread – perfect for serving with chicken tawook or beef kafta.
What is Fattoush?
Fattoush is basically a Mediterranean fried bread salad that typically includes lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes and fried pieces of pita bread. You’ll also typically see green peppers, green onions and parsley.
In Arabic, the word “fattoush” is derived from “fatteh” which literally means “crumbs.” As you can imagine, this Fattoush Salad is basically a hodgepodge of pita bread that’s been seasoned then fried (or baked) in addition to other vegetables that are in season. For that reason, there are no rules when it comes to the vegetables you use in Fattoush! It’s a great base recipe that you can build upon and dress up how you’d like.
Recipe video tutorial
typical ingredients
- Lettuce: You can use romaine or iceberg lettuce, and you can even throw in some spinach.
- Parsley: Chop it up finely to add a fresh brightness to the salad.
- Tomatoes: Very common in fattoush salads and usually it’s the large varieties like roma or vine tomatoes, but you can also use cherry or grape tomatoes.
- Green peppers: Other types of sweet or spicy peppers work too.
- Cucumbers: It’s a key ingredient in many Middle Eastern salads, especially this one. Any cucumbers work, but Persian cucumbers are most popular.
- Green onions: While you can use white, yellow or red onions, green onions have a sweeter and more mellow flavor so they don’t overpower the dressing.
- Radishes: Try throwing radishes in fattoush to add a mild spicy and zesty flavor that’s crisp and fresh.
How to make fattoush salad
Chop the ingredients
- It’s a good idea to small dice all the ingredients so that every bite of fattoush is complete with all the textures and flavors of the salads.
Make the dressing
- Made with extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic, mint, sumac and pomegranate molasses, this zesty dressing is what separates authentic fattoush from all other fattoush. It helps the salad come together with a distinguished taste.
Fry the bread
- Cut the pita into the desired shapes (triangles, squares or strips). Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and fry on medium heat.
- Make sure to stir frequently until the pita bread is lightly golden brown.
assemble
- Start building the fattoush salad by adding all the chopped ingredients to a large bowl.
- Pour the dressing on top.
- Toss everything to combine well. But keep the pita bread on the side so that it can be added when served to stay crisp.
Tips for making the recipe
- Use the freshest ingredients possible for the best salad. It can be hard to do that during the winter months, but selecting high quality fresh vegetables will create the best results!
- Keep the fried pita on the side when serving. You can toss it on top right at the table or allow everyone enjoying the salad to add as much as they want.
- Make the dressing in a blender or small food processor. That will really help to emulsify the dressing so that it doesn’t separate. If you’re mixing by hand, it helps to press or grate the garlic to keep it fine.
Frequently asked questions
If the salad has not been tossed, you can store it in an airtight container for up to 4 days. If it has been tossed, it’s best to eat within 24 hours since it will be soggy after that. The dressing will keep well for up to 1 month in the fridge.
If you prefer to bake the pita bread, you can toss the bread, olive oil, salt and pepper in a baking dish and bake at 425° for 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the pita bread you use.
This Arabic salad makes a great side that can be served along fish, chicken, meat or vegetarian and vegan dishes. It makes a great salad to serve at cook outs. Try it with:
Honey Lemon Salmon
Creamy Pesto Chicken
Vegan Creamy Tomato Pasta
Grilled Chicken Kabobs
This fattoush recipe is vegan, fresh and fabulous and the best part is you can make it with with any vegetables you prefer. It’s a great side salad any time of year!
More Mediterranean salads:
- Mediterranean Pasta Salad
- Kale Tabbouleh
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Lebanese Tabbouleh Salad
- Tomato Avocado Cucumber Salad
- Bulgur Chickpea Salad
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Lebanese Fattoush Salad recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
Lebanese Fattoush Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 large head romaine lettuce chopped
- 1 large vine-ripe tomato diced
- 2-3 Persian cucumbers quartered
- ½ large green pepper chopped
- 5 radishes diced
- 2 green onions sliced
- ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
Dressing
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves pressed or grated
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses
- ½ teaspoon dried mint
- ½ teaspoon salt
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Fried Pita Bread
- 1 large double ply pita bread cut into triangles
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Make the Dressing: Whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, sumac, pomegranate molasses, dried mint, salt and pepper. Slowly stream in olive oil, whisking continuously until emulsified. Set aside.
- Fry the Pita Bread: In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add the pita bread and season with salt and pepper. Cook stirring frequently until the pita break becomes crispy and golden in color, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside.
- Place the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, radishes, green onions and parsley in a large serving bowl. Pour the dressing on top and toss to combine.
- Add the fried pita bread to the salad immediately before serving.
Notes
- Sumac can be found at specialty retailers in the spice section or on Amazon. If you can’t find it, substitute lemon zest for the closest taste.
- Pomegranate molasses can be tricky to find, but you’ll have the best luck at Middle Eastern Grocery stores or on Amazon. You can also make your own by reducing down pomegranate juice (with or without sugar). You can leave it out of the recipe or substitute balsamic glaze.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
For the mint, peppermint or spearmint? Thanks in advance.
Hi Nan, you’ll want to use peppermint leaves. Hope you enjoy!
Ah, that explains it. It was good, but not great. Next time I’ll omit the bell pepper. I used it this time, trying to stay true to the recipe, but I really don’t like them. I need to get some peppermint! Thanks.
This salad is delicious. The dressing is my new favourite. I could not find pomegranate molasses so I simmered down pomegranate juice until it was quite thick (without adding any sugar or lemon as some recipes suggest). Just 100% juice. The juice was expensive ($10. for a bottle in Canada). Adds a GREAT dimension to the dressing. The fact that it will keep so long in the fridge is an added bonus. I quadrupled the dressing when I made it. I blended it in my mini cuisinart. I wanted some leftovers. A healthy, fantastic dressing. Thank you for the recipe. I will make this a lot. I also liked the thinness of the pita chips. Much nicer than crunching down on croutons in other salads.
Thank you so much, Terry!
Made this to go with grilled kabobs and a basmati rice pilaf. The salad is wonderful! Love the flavors in the dressing and the pita bread. I was able to find the “pomegranate glaze” at my grocery store; the main ingredient is balsamic vinegar, so nice to know either could work. I want to try others’ suggestions to add real mint, and some other spices to the pita bread. Thank you!
You’re so welcome, glad you liked it Sharibee!
Delicious. Made a few minor tweaks. I did’t have sumac so I substituted lemon zest but probably put too much. So I then tripled the pomegranate molasses. Also used fresh mint instead of dried. For the salad, I addd chopped up parsley and for the pitas, I added Ras el Hanout. Soooo good!!!
So glad you liked it, Diana! Love the substitutions!
3rd time I’ve made the fatoush salad in less than a month. I love it! I don’t like cooking but find a lot of inspiration from you ❤️🫶🏻 thank you xXx
Aw, thank you, Silvia. I really appreciate that!
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. I am addicted to making it. One question, I made a large batch of the dressing then placed it in the fridge and after one or two days, it became rather solid. Is that normal? I had to throw it away as it was a mush of solid bits when I mixed it with a spoon.
With the oil and the molasses, it can seize up when kept in the fridge. I would just pull it out and let it sit at room temperature for 30 to 45 before you’re ready to eat, and then it will be easier to blend back together. Hope that helps!
Absolutely delicious! I used fresh mint, instead of dried, in both the dressing and a little in the salad. Also, added sumac to my pita chips. A great find just in time for summer.
Love the sumac and mint addiition!
This sounds great. I don’t have to make it vegan, so I’ll put chunks ot Salmon or chicken right into it.
Let me know what you think of it when you make it!
Love this salad, but especially the dressing.
A little tart and full of flavor. I make my own herb dressing, and have been looking for something different, this brings a whole new flavor that’s delicious with everything I’ve added it to.
So glad you liked it, Tiffany!!
Made this salad, it was amazing! I think I had salad 4/5 times in the last two days. I substituted balsamic glaze for the pomegranate. I also use the dressing on the side so it wouldn’t gets too soggy within 24 hours. I also added chicken one time and salmon another. I also love the chopper… It sure got a work out lol.😍
Love the idea of adding the chicken and the salmon!