Shirazi Salad

5 from 154 votes

This Iranian Shirazi salad is a quick to make side dish full of fresh and vibrant flavors. Dressed with olive oil & lime, it pairs well with many dishes!

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

This simple salad is fresh, delicious and so quick and easy to make. Made with simple ingredients, this popular Mediterranean shirazi salad takes minutes to make and it works as a side dish for so many meals.

Close up shot of the shirazi salad in large serving bowl
Want to save this recipe?
Just type your email below and I’ll send it to you. And as a bonus you’ll get delicious new recipes from me!

Why is it called shirazi salad

The salad is named for the city in Southwestern Iran, also called salad-e Shirazi. Very similar to a classic Greek salad or a simpler Fattoush salad. The texture, flavor and simplicity are what make it so appealing and it’s often served with Persian meals alongside rice and stews.

Ingredients for salad-e Shirazi

  • Persian cucumbers: Persian cucumbers are smaller than English cucumbers and they have less seeds. You can use an English cucumber if you can’t find Persian.
  • Tomatoes: I use roma tomatoes as they have quite a firm texture, but any tomatoes will work
  • Red onion: Red onion is milder than white and works wonderfully in salads.
  • Green pepper: I love the slight bitterness that the green pepper adds to this salad. This is optional though in an authentic Shirazi Salad.
  • Fresh herbs: Cilantro and parsley are very common. You can use either one of the two if you prefer. Check out my top tips for how to chop cilantro, which is what I used here. I also like throwing in some dried mint.
  • Dressing: Extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper, which you can whisk together before or just add when serving. Instead of lime juice, sour grape juice is the common acid added to the salad dressing.
Ingredients to make the recipe on a white chopping board

RECIPE VIDEO TUTORIAL

How do you make a shirazi salad

Dice and chop all of the salad ingredients – it’s great if you can make them all pretty uniform in size.

If you’re serving the salad right away, I recommend whisking the olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper together in the serving bowl, then adding the vegetables on top and gently tossing. It makes for less clean up that way.

Collage of 4 images to show how to make the salad

Tips for making shirazi salad

  1. De-seed the tomatoes for best results. There’s a lot of water content in the Roma tomatoes, especially when diced in the size needed for this salad. If you have time, remove the seeds and toss in a soup or stew.
  2. Chop everything evenly. It helps to give the salad the uniform look it’s known for and makes every bite more enjoyable with all the different flavors and textures.
  3. Toss the salad immediately before serving. The salad should be crunchy and fresh and tossing it right before enjoying gives the best results.
  4. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and lime juice as needed. Depending on the size and taste of the other ingredients, you may need to adjust to your liking.

Frequently asked questions

Can you make it ahead of time?

The salad is best served straight away so that the vegetables are crunchy. You can chop the veggies and keep them covered in the fridge for a day or two and the dressing can be mixed and stored separately for up to 5 days.

What do you serve it with?

Traditionally this salad is served with Persian rice and stews, but it’s also great with mains like chicken and steak. Try it with:
Lebanese Bean Stew
Oven Baked Chicken Breast
Beef Shawarma Wrap
Middle Eastern Rice Pilaf

What else can you add to shirazi salad?

This salad is usually served as a side dish, but you can easily turn it into a fuller meal by adding some shredded chicken. Keep it vegan, but mix in in some chickpeas for more protein.

Shirazi salad in a large white bowl with serving spoon

More Mediterranean salad recipes

If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feelgood Shirazi Salad recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!

preorder MY book

The Feel Good Foodie Cookbook is now available everywhere books are sold!

Shirazi Salad

This Iranian Shirazi salad is a quick to make side dish full of fresh and vibrant flavors. Dressed with olive oil & lime, it pairs well with many dishes!
5 from 154 votes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 139
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Video

Ingredients
  

  • 3 Persian cucumbers chopped
  • 3 Roma tomatoes chopped, seeded
  • ½ red onion chopped
  • ¼ green pepper seeded and chopped (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
  • ½ teaspoon dried mint

Dressing

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, place the cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, green peppers, cilantro and parsley.
  • In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper until well combined.
  • Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine. Serve immediately.

Notes

Make Ahead: You can make the dressing up to 5 days in advance and you can prepare most of the salad up to 1 day in advance. 

Nutrition

Calories: 139kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 300mg, Potassium: 474mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 759IU, Vitamin C: 27mg, Calcium: 42mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

Cuisine Iranian
Course: Salad, Side Dish

Rate and comment

Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. We often have this salad at our local Persian restaurant and I love theirs. Instead of 3 tbsp of olive oil, they add two drops of oil and 1 tbsp of water, salt and pepper and sumac. Virtually no calories and so very refreshing. I envy those of you that can eat peppers. I loathe them so there’s no peppers in mine, but I do add radishes if available.

    1. That is such a great alternative for those looking for a lighter version of this salad. Radishes are a great idea!

  2. I was super excited to finally try your Shizari salad recipe, I had the salad 3 days in a row for lunch as a side salad, a topping on my fish and with some chicken bits mixed with spanish rice. I couldn’t find dried mint at my local store so I ordered it online just for this recipe, loved it. This is so good and so easy to make, Thank you for sharing this recipe…my NEW favorite! Highly recommended

  3. Stellar tastes! I made it as a centre piece just for me. Added small four bean tin, hazelnuts and feta. Beautiful thank you.

    Hooked on your dishes, love Middle Eastern/Southern Mediterranean food and so healthy.
    Found you instagram and love it. Also discovered Bulghur wheat through you recipes which is a revelation and now always on the stove.
    Adrian- Australia (work in Dubai sometimes)

  4. I made your recipe for a gathering the other day and everyone kept asking for the recipe. It was totally a hit!

  5. I even have a taste of this salad in my mouth even when I look at those vibrant images of this beauty. As a persian, this is the right way to make it but to improve its tasteyness, we tend to chop tomato, onion, and cucumber in smaller slices. It helps the olive oil and lemon juice and spices gets into the texture of these vegetables so easily and become more tasty. (Although it’s not in the original recipe, try out even adding green bell papers, this makes wonders in the overall taste in my opinion 😁)

    1. Great idea about chopping everything more finely! I think I will do that next time. And I added green bell peppers but many people on Instagram said I shouldn’t have. I love the way it tastes though!