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    Home » Recipes » Levantine

    Traditional Arabic Salad Recipe

    Published: Jun 26, 2023 · Updated: Dec 22, 2023 by Saif Odeh with 10 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

    Arabic Salad Recipe is a traditional Middle Eastern salad that is mixed with cucumber, tomatoes, parsley, olive oil and sumac spices. It is commonly serve as a side dish for main meals that has meat and rice dishes.

    Arabic Salad mixed with cucumber, tomatoes, parsley, olive oil and sumac spices served on a plate bowl.
    Jump to:
    • Recipe Ingredient
    • What do I serve with this salad recipe?
    • Step by Step Instruction
    • Tips and Hints
    • Variation
    • 📋 Recipe Card
    • 💬 Comments

    As a half Middle Eastern, I love Arabic food since their foods are flavorful and rich in spices. Furthermore, their foods are very healthy and delicious. For example, in Jordan and Levant, the locals love adding olive oil, vegetables, sumac, and other spices in their dish.

    When I went to Jordan, the locals always serve salad during dinner and lunchtime. For example, when I visited my relatives in the local city, they were serving a traditional Jordanian chicken dish called Maqluba, and along with it, they serve the salad. When I lived in Kuwait, the locals always serve salad together with their rice and meat dishes.

    They are many kinds of Middle Eastern Salad since some of them use a specific type of cheese or crispy pita bread. But in this post, I will be showing you a very simple yet a traditional Middle Eastern Arabic Salad Recipe.

    Arabic Salad mixed with cucumber, tomatoes, parsley, olive oil and sumac spices served on a plate bowl.

    Recipe Ingredient

    There are several ingredients you need when making a delicious Arabic salad recipe. They are not really that much and it is even simple.

    Firstly, these are the list of chopped vegetables I used for my salad:

    • Lettuce
    • Parsley
    • Cucumber
    • Tomatoes

    In some middle eastern salads, they also add other vegetables such as carrots and onions. But I am not a fan of these vegetables, so I don't add them to my salad.

    Secondly, I am using sumac spices and extra virgin olive oil in my salad. These are two important ingredients that will give you a rich sour flavor, and without them, you can make an Arab salad. The sumac spices are found in any middle eastern or Arabic grocery stores.

    Lastly, I need salt and black pepper for seasoning the salad. These two ingredients must be done right before serving, or else the salad will be watery.

    Note: The sumac spice gives a sour flavor of the salad. If you don't have sumac, you can just use lemon.

    What do I serve with this salad recipe?

    This Arabic Salad Recipe is a vegetarian side dish that is eaten and serves with other main course meals. This includes meat, seafood, and rice recipes.

    Here are the list of Middle Eastern food recipes you can serve and eat with this Arab Salad:

    • Majboos
    • Chicken Maqluba
    • Arabic Biryani
    • Beef Kebab and other Middle Eastern Meat Dishes.

    Lastly, I love adding Yogurt Garlic Sauce as a dressing for my salad. The yogurt sauce blends perfectly with the salad which I highly recommend eating this using pita bread. Not only it tastes good, but it is very healthy.

    Note: You don't have to serve this salad with only Middle Eastern Food. Any foreign dish with meat, seafood, and rice is perfect. Also, this dish is a vegan friendly if you don't eat meat.

    Step by Step Instruction

    The step to make an Arabic Salad is very easy and straight forward.

    Step I
    Step II

    Firstly, chop the cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce and parsley. Once you are done chopping the vegetables, transfer them into a large bowl.

    Step III
    Arabic Salad Recipe mixed with cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce and parsley in a large bowl
    Step IV

    Add olive oil and sumac, and give it a quick mix. Lastly, you add the salt and black pepper for taste. Serve them with any main course meal that has rice and meat and you are done.

    Tips and Hints

    • Use fresh vegetables since they have better taste and texture.
    • Use cucumber with fewer seeds to control the amount of water in the salad. You don’t want to have a watery salad.
    • If you don’t have sumac, you can use lemon or citrus juice since they both give a sour and acidic flavor to the salad
    • Deseeds the tomatoes to prevent the salad from becoming watery.
    • You can customize your salad by adding bell pepper, olives, or red onion.
    • This salad is best consumed within a day since the next day, it becomes watery.

    Variation

    Shepherd Salad- A Turkish salad mixed with cucumber, tomatoes, feta cheese, olive oil, and olives.

    Tabouleh Salad- A Levantine salad mixed with tomato, cucumber, onion, soaked bulgur wheat and large amount of parsley

    Fatoush Salad- Similar to Arabic Salad but it contain fried khubz/ pita bread

    📋 Recipe Card

    Arabic Salad Recipe

    Saif Odeh
    This is a traditional middle eastern salad which is mixed with cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, lettuce, sumac spices and olive oil.
    4.93 from 28 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time 3 minutes mins
    Total Time 8 minutes mins
    Course Side Dishes
    Cuisine Middle Eastern, Arabic
    Servings 4
    Calories 81 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 cup of chopped cucumber
    • 1 cup of chopped tomatoes
    • 1 cup of chopped lettuce
    • ½ cup of chopped parsley
    • 2 tablespoon of olive oil
    • 2 teaspoon of sumac spices
    • Salt and Black Pepper for taste

    Instructions
     

    • Chop the cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce and parsley
    • Transfer them into a large bowl
    • Add sumac spices and olive oil in that bowl. Mix them with the vegetable well.
    • Add salt and black pepper for taste
    • Serve it with any main course meal preferably meat and rice dish.

    Video

    Notes

    • You can add feta cheese or crispy pita bread if you like
    • Other vegetables you can add include red onion, carrot or mints.
    • If you don't have sumac spices, you can add 2 tablespoon of lemon or citrus juice.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 4gCalories: 81kcalCarbohydrates: 4.5gProtein: 1gFat: 7.2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gSodium: 95mgPotassium: 244mgFiber: 1.3gSugar: 2.3gCalcium: 24mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword Arab Salad, Arabic Salad, Arabic Salad Recipe, middle eastern salad
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      4.93 from 28 votes (28 ratings without comment)

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Nart at Cooking with Nart

      July 01, 2020 at 6:37 am

      This salad looks very unique and interesting! I'll definitely have to try it!

      Reply
    2. Kushigalu

      July 01, 2020 at 7:26 am

      Love this side dish. So flavorful. Something new to try!

      Reply
    3. Adrianne

      July 01, 2020 at 10:41 am

      This salad sounds like it would go with everything!! I love the fresh healthy ingredients and I can't wait to give this a go, cheers!

      Reply
      • Saif

        July 30, 2020 at 7:05 am

        Thanks Adrianne. Let me know if you already made it 🙂

        Reply
    4. Dannii

      July 01, 2020 at 11:41 am

      I always order this in my favourite Lebanese recipe. I can't wait to try this.

      Reply
      • Saif

        July 30, 2020 at 7:05 am

        It is a popular salad in Arab countries including Lebanon. Thanks for sharing your experience.

        Reply
    5. Marie-Charlotte Chatelain

      July 01, 2020 at 12:11 pm

      This is my favorite side and the sumac adds such a nice sour tangy note to it! A must for bbq season! Thanks

      Reply
      • Saif

        July 30, 2020 at 7:03 am

        Thanks Marie. The sumac give a nice sourness of the salad. They blend really with bbq dishes.

        Reply
    6. LaRena+Fry

      July 16, 2020 at 3:00 am

      Love sumac. I bet this salad is amazing!

      Reply
      • Saif

        July 30, 2020 at 7:07 am

        I love sumac too and yes it is one of the best Middle Eastern salad. Thanks for the comment

        Reply

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