Lebanese Fattoush Salad
Updated Mar 15, 2026
This authentic healthy Lebanese Fattoush Salad is made with seasoned fried pita bread, fresh vegetables and tossed in a zesty sumac dressing.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Jump to Section
The Most Popular Lebanese Salad
This Lebanese Fattoush Salad is an iconic 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 pita bread – it’s so good for serving with chicken tawook or beef kafta.”
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Fattoush 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 kinds 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 fattoush. 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 flavor that’s crisp and fresh.
- Dressing: You’ll need extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, sumac, pomegranate molasses, dried mint, salt and pepper.
How to Make Fattoush Salad
Recipe Video Tutorial
Lebanese Fattoush Salad
Video
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 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
- 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
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Tips
- 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.
Serving Ideas
- With Chicken Dishes: Grilled Chicken Kabobs, Shish Tawook, Chicken Shawarma
- With Beef Dishes: Beef Kafta, Beef Shish Kabobs, Lebanese Kibbeh Balls
- With Vegetarian Meals: Falafel, Mujadara, Rice Bowl
FAQs
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” comes from “fatteh” which literally means “crumbs.” So this Fattoush Salad is like a hodgepodge of leftover pita bread with seasonal vegetables, with lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers being the most common.
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.
Comments
Hi Yumna,
This looks amazing, did you use curly or flat parsley. And, can we use the regular balsamic vinegar or does it have to be thick.
Hi! I usually use flat-leaf parsley for fattoush because it has a fresh, clean flavor and is easier to chop finely, but curly parsley will also work if that’s what you have. You can use regular balsamic vinegar, but the flavor and texture will be a little different. Pomegranate molasses is thicker, tangier, and more concentrated, so if using regular balsamic, I’d start with a small amount and add to taste. A balsamic glaze would be closer in thickness, but regular balsamic works if it’s all you have!
See All Comments