This delicious Middle Eastern fattoush salad combines fresh veggies and herbs with crispy pita chips all tossed in a sumac dressing. Serve it as a side or with protein for a full meal.
This fattoush salad is one of my favorite salad recipes! This Middle Eastern salad is packed with crunchy vegetables, fragrant herbs and crispy pita chips, all tossed in a tangy lemon sumac dressing. The combo is seriously so good!
I usually top this salad with grilled chicken or this apple cider vinegar chicken for some protein and to make this salad more filling. As you know, I’m all about that protein!
What is Fattoush Salad?
Fattoush salad is a traditional Middle Eastern salad that originated in Syria. It’s typically made with fried pieces of flatbread, herbs, and vegetables (typically radishes cucumbers and tomatoes) all chopped and mixed together. The vegetables are usually chopped a bit larger than they are for tabbouleh salad, another popular Mediterranean salad.
Fattoush salad is typically tossed with a lemon and olive oil dressing that includes sumac, an essential Middle Eastern spice that has a tart flavor similar to lemon juice or vinegar. Another common ingredient typically found in the dressing is pomegranate molasses, which adds a touch of sweetness to the dressing, but we’re skipping that ingredient for this recipe as it’s not an ingredient I typically have on hand.
Ingredients Needed
- Persian cucumbers – a normal cucumber or an English cucumber will work here too, but Persian cucumbers are used in the traditional recipe.
- cherry tomatoes – these little guys add such great flavor to the salad.
- radishes – I love the added flavor and crunch the radishes add!
- romaine lettuce – I prefer to use romaine as the base of this salad as it adds such a great crunch to this salad and the texture holds up nicely with the other veggies. That said, feel free to use a different green here. Mixed spring greens or leaf lettuce would work well.
- fresh parsley and fresh mint – fresh herbs are key for this salad. Don’t skip these!
- pita chips – instead of using pan-friend pita bread like the traditional recipe calls for, we’re using my homemade pita chips. I personally like the baking method because the pita seems less oily and I add some garlic and salt so it has more flavor as well. That said, if you want to pan-fry your pita see the recipe card below for my tips on that method.
- sumac lemon dressing – a super simple dressing made of fresh garlic, lemon juice, white balsamic or white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, ground sumac, salt and pepper. If you’re unsure where to find ground sumac it’s widely available at Middle Eastern markets, but you can also find it in the spice aisle of most larger grocery stores and on Amazon. I was able to find it at my local Whole Foods.
Substitutions & Variations
- Pita chips: Short on time? Swap the homemade pita chips with store-bought ones for convenience.
- Veggies: Feel free to swap the veggies with whatever you have on hand.
- Add protein: Add grilled chicken, shrimp, or chickpeas to make the salad more filling.
- Add cheese: Crumble some feta cheese or goat cheese on top for an extra layer of flavor.
- Add olives: Olives would make for a great addition to this salad.
How to Make Fattoush Salad
Step 1: Make the dressing by whisking together the minced garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, sumac, salt and pepper in a bowl.
Step 2: In a large bowl, toss cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, romaine, parsley and mint with the lemon dressing. Break the pita chips into pieces and add half to the salad. Plate salad and top each portion with extra pita pieces. Enjoy immediately.
Recipe Tip!
If you have a salad chopper bowl (aka one of my favorite kitchen items) you can throw all of the ingredients for fattoush salad in the bowl and chop them up or you can pre-chop your ingredients and then simply mix together!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can chop the vegetables and make the dressing in advance. Store them separately in the fridge, and combine them with the pita chips just before serving to keep everything fresh and crunchy.
If you can’t find sumac, you can substitute it with a mix of lemon zest and a small amount of ground coriander to mimic its tangy, citrusy flavor.
To keep the pita chips from getting soggy, add them to the salad right before serving. If you have leftovers, store the pita chips separately and mix them in just before eating.
More Salad Recipes
Be sure to check out the full collection of salad recipes on EBF!
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