Traditional Arabic Salad Recipe (2024)

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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.

Traditional Arabic Salad Recipe (1)
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  • Recipe Ingredient
  • What do I serve with this salad recipe?
  • Step by Step Instruction
  • Tips and Hints
  • Variation
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 addingYogurt Garlic Sauceas 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.

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

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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

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Arabic Salad Recipe

Traditional Arabic Salad Recipe (10)Saif Al Deen 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

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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.

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

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Traditional Arabic Salad Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is Arabic salad made of? ›

Arabic salad is a traditional Middle Eastern dish that is typically made with a combination of sliced lettuce, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, parsley, mint, and a dressing made from freshly squeezed lemon juice and olive oil.

What is Lebanese salad made of? ›

Fattoush Lebanese Salad has cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, and toasted low-carb pita chips, and it's flavored with lemon juice and Sumac. And Fattoush Salad is something I look forward to making every summer!

What are the ingredients in fattoush salad? ›

Now popular throughout the Middle East, fattoush first originated in Lebanon as a way to repurpose leftover bread. The fresh ingredients can vary, but they commonly include lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and herbs like parsley or mint. Red and green onions are frequent additions as well.

What are Arabic salads called? ›

Varieties of Arabic salad: Arab salad, Fattoush, Palestinian salad, Tabbouleh and Raheb. Pita, also known as "Arabic bread", and other flat breads are commonly served alongside salads, as are leavened breads and varieties of other sour doughs.

What is the most common Arabic food? ›

Arabic dishes like hummus, falafel, and kebabs are popular worldwide and a staple of meals in the Middle East. These all come from Levantine cuisine, the traditional food of the Bilad ash-Sham region. The most distinctive aspect of Levantine cuisine is mezze, small dishes served at the beginning of a multi-course meal.

What are 4 dishes traditionally eaten in Lebanon? ›

Well-known dishes include baba ghanouj, tabbouleh, sfeeha, falafel and shawarma. An important component of many Lebanese meals is hummus, a chickpea puree dish, and many dishes are eaten with flatbread. Well-known desserts include baklawa, sfouf and ka'ak.

What is the most traditional Lebanese food? ›

Kibbeh is the national dish of Lebanon and is a hearty, artsy, flavorful treat. It's made by pounding bulgur wheat and minced meat together with pine nuts and spices. The mixture is then rolled into balls and served raw, grilled, or deep-fried.

Why is Lebanese food so healthy? ›

The focus on fruits and vegetables in particular is where Lebanese food gets its reputation for being such a healthful diet. Big salads brimming with garlic crumbs and olive oil overflow with essential vitamins and minerals, in addition to the necessary amount of protein that the human body needs.

What is the name of the salad in Dubai? ›

Tabbouleh is a salad, made from tomatoes, green onions and cucumber and is seasoned with fresh mint and lemon juice. Needless to say, it is the best food in Dubai for foodies who are looking for healthier options.

What is the difference between tabouli and fattoush? ›

Whereas Tabbouleh contains bulgar wheat to give it greater substance, the unique element in the Fattoush salad is the addition of toasted arabic bread (or pita bread).

What does fattoush mean in Arabic? ›

Fatteh or fattoush in Arabic means crushed or crumbs, hence the dish uses pieces of stale, toasted or fresh flatbread (pita).

What is the most eaten food in Israel? ›

Falafel is probably the most recognizably Israeli food there is. In almost every town in Israel you can find a choice of shops attracting the hungry with the delicious smell of frying falafels. The Shuk (market) Betzalel area in Tel Aviv, for example, is famous for its excellent falafel.

What is the difference between Israeli salad and Shirazi salad? ›

The difference boils down to herbs. Shirazi salad often has the refreshing bite of fresh chopped mint mingling with the ingredients, while Israeli salad has the more bracing bitterness of parsley. The former typically makes use of verjuice in its dressing while the latter opts for citrus.

What is a traditional Greek salad made of? ›

A traditional Greek salad consists of sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, green bell pepper, red onion, olives, and feta cheese. This classic combination is delicious, so I stick to it, just adding a handful of mint leaves for a fresh finishing touch. My olives of choice are Kalamata olives.

What is Arabic food made of? ›

Arab cuisine uses specific and unique foods and spices. Some of those foods are: Meat—lamb and chicken are the most used, followed by beef and goat. Other poultry is used in some regions, and fish is used in coastal areas including the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea.

What does Arabic food consist of? ›

Rice is the staple and is used for most dishes; wheat is the main source for bread. Bulgur and semolina are also used extensively. Legumes: Lentils are widely used, as well as fava beans and chickpeas (garbanzo beans).

What kind of food is Arabic? ›

Arabic Food in The World

Within these can be found lamb cooked on a vertical rotisserie for use in doner kebabs, as well as falafels and a selection of fresh shredded salad ingredients. Hummus, tahini, tabbouleh, pickled vegetables, and tzatziki are other ingredients used to fill a pita bread to create a kebab.

What are the common ingredients in Arabic food? ›

Common ingredients include olives and olive oil, pitas, honey, sesame seeds, dates, sumac, chickpeas, mint, rice and parsley, and popular dishes include kebabs, dolmas, falafel, baklava, yogurt, doner kebab, shawarma and mulukhiyah.

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