Arabic Chopped Salad (سلطة). My Arabic Chopped Salad recipe is super fresh and delicious! It is a staple side dish with many meals through the middle east and makes a great maqluba side salad or kabsa side salad!
I have been learning so many new Arabic recipes that I just had to share this salad recipe. Honestly, it is one of my favorite summer salad recipes because it is such a great way to use up fresh summer produce like cucumbers and tomatoes. And this year I am growing a ton of parsley in the garden so it's perfect for this chopped salad recipe!
Arabic food is so flavorful and delicious. Most Arabic meals are really heavy so they are accompanied by fresh chopped vegetable salads. The only thing about making Arabic food is that it can be really time consuming! One meal can take up to 4 hours to prepare! This salad is no different. While it doesn't take 4 hours to prepare, all the chopping can take some time. If you want to save time, I would highly suggest using a vegetable chopper for your vegetables.
What is the most popular type of salad served in the middle east?
In the Levant region, the most popular salad served with meals is simply called salad, or "salatah" (سلطة). It is a fresh salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, olive oil, and lemon juice. Sometimes people also add radish, peppers, and different types of onion.
What are other Arabic salad names?
You will hear of many different types of fresh vegetable salads throughout the middle east. Other than this salad recipe, some of the most popular middle eastern salad recipes are fattoush salad and Tabbouleh salad.
Arabic fattoush salad is made with a bed of mixed greens, fresh tomatoes, other vegetables, and always topped with toasted or fried pieces of flat bread.
Arabic Tabbouleh salad is made with a lot of parsley, bulgur, cucumber, tomatoes, and green onions.
But, today I made a traditional salad that many families throughout the levant (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, and Jordan) make with the majority of their main courses. It is easy to make, fresh, and most of all delicious!
Is Arabic Chopped Salad good for you?
Yes! My Arabic salad is loaded with healthy ingredients! It is so healthy you could eat it every day!
Health benefits of the ingredients:
- Cucumbers- fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K2, magnesium, potassium, manganese.
- Tomatoes- fiber, lycopene, vitamin C, potassium, vitamin K1, folate.
- Red pepper- fiber, vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium, vitamin K1, folate, vitamin E, vitamin A.
- Radish- fiber, vitamin C, potassium, folate, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin K.
- Parsley- fiber, vitamin A, K, and C, folate, potassium.
- Green onion- fiber, vitamin C.
- Olive oil- monounsaturated fats.
- Lemon juice- vitamin C.
Fun fact about parsley, it is a natural chelator! Chelators have the ability to bind heavy metals (like lead and mercury) and pull them out of your body. Because of its powerful chelation ability, make sure to buy organic parsley. Just like pulling heavy metals from your body, parsley can also do this in the soil! So it is important to buy organic parsley that is grown in non-contaminated soil.
Watch how I made my Chopped Arabic Salad
Tips on making the best Arabic Chopped Salad recipe
Use a vegetable chopper to save time. Chopping all the vegetables in Arabic salad can take a lot of time.
Use fresh ingredients. Choose the most fresh ripe ingredients for the best flavor! The best time of year to make this salad is summer time when all the ingredients are in season.
Choose organic ingredients. Choose organic ingredients for the highest nutrient density.
Make this salad the day of serving. This salad is best served fresh! The chopped vegetables will start to soften and lose their juice the longer they are stored in the fridge.
FAQ's
Frequently asked questions about middle eastern salad.
What type of tomatoes do you use in Arabic veg salad?
You can use either vine tomatoes or roma tomatoes. Use 2 vine tomatoes or 3 roma tomatoes.
What can I add to salad to make it better?
Make sure to add salt and pepper to your salad! The salt and pepper make a world of difference and really bring out the flavor of the ingredients.
What do you use in Arabic salad dressing?
The most traditional Arabic salad dressing is simply a combination of olive oil and fresh lemon juice! You will not see an Arabic meal without fresh olive oil!!
Can you make Arabic salad with sumac?
Yes! Some people love to add sumac to their salads. If you are unfamiliar with sumac, add a little bit at a time. I would say it has a bit of a sour taste.
Make my Chopped Arabic Salad
Arabic Salad Ingredients
My Arabic chopped salad is loaded with fresh ingredients that are bright, colorful, and good for your health!
Your chopped Arabic Salad shopping list:
- 2 large cucumbers
- 2 vine tomatoes (or 3 roma tomatoes)
- 1 red bell pepper
- 4 radishes
- 1 bunch fresh parsley
- 2 green onions
- Olive oil (3 tablespoons)
- 1 fresh lemon (juiced)
- Sea salt (1 teaspoon)
- Black pepper (½ teaspoon)
How to make it:
First, peel 2 large cucumbers. Cut around the seeds and discard the seeds. Chop the cucumbers very small. Add to a large bowl.
Next, remove the core from your 2 or 3 tomatoes. Chop the tomatoes very small and add to your bowl.
Remove the core from 1 red bell pepper and discard. Also remove any white flesh from the inside of the pepper and discard. Chop your red bell pepper very small. Add to the bowl.
Next chop the ends off 4 radishes. Chop the radishes very small. Add to your bowl.
Chop a whole bunch of fresh parsley. You should chop until where the leaves end. Don't worry about getting a bit of parsley stem in your salad. Parsley stems are actually really flavorful! Add to the bowl.
Chop 2 green onions to the white part of the onion. Add to the bowl.
Finally, add 3 tablespoons olive oil, squeeze the juice of 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper across the top of your chopped vegetables.
Toss your salad well to combine.
Enjoy!
Other colorful rainbow salads you might like:
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Arabic Chopped Salad (سلطة)
Equipment
- cutting board
- vegetable peeler
Ingredients
Instructions
- To make your salad, peel 2 large cucumbers and cut the ends off. Cut around the seeds in the center of the cucumber. Discard the seeds. Chop the cucumber small. Add to a large mixing bowl.
- Core and chop 2-3 tomatoes small. Add to your mixing bowl.
- Core 1 red bell pepper. Chop the pepper small and add to your mixing bowl.
- Cut the ends of 4 radishes. Chop the radishes very small and add to your mixing bowl.
- Chop 1 whole bunch of parsley to where the leaves end. You might get some chopped stem in your salad that is okay! Add the parsley to your mixing bowl.
- Chop 2 green onions till the end of the green section. Add the green onions to the bowl.
- Finally, add 3 tablespoons olive oil, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper across the top of the vegetables.
- Toss very well to combine completely.
- Enjoy!
Christie
Yum this arabic chopped salad looks amazing Rosemary! It's so colourful and sounds so wholesome!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
This is such a great way to take advantage of all the garden fresh veggies available right now. Then your lovely dressing made from olive oil and lemon juice, combined with salt and pepper create the perfect finishing touch!
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It is sooo good! I keep making it over and over again this summer!
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It's such a refreshing summer salad recipe!
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Yes!! It's a perfect salad to use all the in season summer produce!! I grew a TON of tomatoes this year!
Lena
Wow!! You have so many good authentic Arabic recipes on this site! This is exactly like the salad my mom used to make with makluba!
Rosemary
It's so good with makluba! We make this one all the time with big Arabic meals
Yasmine
I made this with my Maqluba this weekend and it was a total hit! A true chopped middle eastern salad that was sooo flavorful!!