This Fattoush Salad is a delicious Lebanese salad with mint, and a special spice called sumac. This salad is fresh, loaded with tantalizing herbs, and so healthy!
Fattoush Salad
Quite a few years ago, I used to work at a bank in Troy, MI and there used to be a Lebanese restaurant called La Shish nearby. That’s where I had my first Fattoush Salad. It was amazing and delicious – probably the best salad I ever had in my life! I’ve been hooked since but haven’t been able to find one that compares here in Calgary.
As the sun has finally been breaking through and giving us our first taste of spring, I’ve been craving something refreshing and scrumptious. The ingredients for this salad are very basic, sometimes without protein and sometimes with. I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I did!
What Is Fattoush Salad?
Fattoush is a Lebanese dish. It’s a simple fried bread salad with mixed greens and lots of veggies, typically tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. I used mint and sumac as well today. For those who are unfamiliar with sumac it is a lemony, tart spice that packs so much flavor.
The first time I had it was when some Syrian friends of mine cooked it with roast chicken and potatoes and I was hooked. It is even a great addition to a bowl of popcorn! You may not be able to find this spice on the shelves of your local grocery store, but any specialty spice store will definitely have it!
Ingredient Notes
- Pita bread or tortillas – Traditional recipes use khubz, also known as Arabic bread. It’s a middle eastern flatbread that I wasn’t able to get my hands on! Instead I used regular pita bread which I broke into small pieces.
- Veggies – I used english cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, radishes, and lots of green onion.
- Herbs – Lots of fresh herbs are vital to the flavors we want to achieve! I used parsley and mint.
- Dressing – Fresh lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper are all we need for this simple dressing.
- Sumac – Believe me you’ll want to keep using this spice after tasting it in this! If you just can’t find any lemon pepper can be used to substitute.
How To Make Fattoush Salad
- Prepare the pita chips: Break the pita bread into small pieces and fry them in some olive oil on the stove top. Take them out as soon as they are golden brown and crispy. Alternatively you can toss them with olive oil, salt, pepper, sumac and place them under the broiler for a couple minutes until crispy.
- Chop up the base: Chop up your veggies into small cubes and add to a large bowl. Chop the herbs finely and add this to the same bowl.
- Prepare the dressing: In a small bowl whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and sumac together till thick.
- Combine your salad: Toss together the dressing, salad and pita chips. Serve up!
Tips For Making The Best Fattoush
- Look for fresh Arabic bread if you’d like to make this recipe more authentic! Feel free to season it before crisping up if you’d like something with a bit more zing.
- Radishes are a great crunchy addition to this salad! I love to use them when I have some on hand so if you can find them don’t skip them.
- If you’d like to add a little protein, this dish also tastes amazing with chicken.
- Add some romaine or other greens to bulk up with salad if you’d like!
Storing Fattoush Salad
This fattoush salad recipe can be stored in the fridge for 3 – 4 days in an airtight container but be sure to store the tortilla separately to prevent it from getting soggy. Unfortunately defrosted tomatoes tend to be very mushy eaten raw so I don’t recommend freezing this dish.
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Fattoush Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pita breads broken in small pieces
- 1 english cucumber chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 3 medium tomatoes chopped small
- 6 green onions chopped
- 1/2 cup radishes sliced
- 1/3 cup parsley fresh, chopped
- 2 tbsp mint finely chopped
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp pepper or to taste
- 1 tbsp sumac
Instructions
- Prepare the pita chips: Break the pita bread into small pieces and fry them in some olive oil on the stove top. Take them out as soon as they are golden brown and crispy. Alternatively you can toss them with olive oil, salt, pepper, sumac and place them under the broiler for a couple minutes until crispy.
- Chop up the base: Chop up your veggies into small cubes and add to a large bowl. Chop the herbs finely and add this to the same bowl.
- Prepare the dressing: In a small bowl whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and sumac together till thick.
- Combine your salad: Toss together the dressing, salad and pita chips. Serve up!
Recipe Notes
- This fattoush salad recipe can be stored in the fridge for 3 – 4 days in an airtight container but be sure to store the tortilla separately to prevent it from getting soggy. Unfortunately defrosted tomatoes tend to be very mushy eaten raw so I don’t recommend freezing this dish.
Miss all the wonderful labanese restaurants in Ohio and michigan. Thanks for sharing. Making this tomorrow
I’d love to hear how you like it!
I can’t believe how much we have in common. I work for a bank in Troy, MI right now, have grandparents that came to the US from Macedonia, I work in IT as an Applications Analyst and I loved La Shish. They went out of business several years ago. There are many really good middle eastern restaurants around to get Fatoush Salad but I’m so excited to try this at home!
Small world 🙂 You’ll love this salad Karen. Although I miss La Shish and getting some good Lebanese food, this really hits the spot for me whenever I crave Fattoush Salad.
This looks amazing! I found your blog through Instagram & I’m a new follower. I hope your having a great weekend.
Thanks Leslie, you too!
I am lucky to be married to a Lebanese man and have been fortunate to have learned classic recipes from the masters! …. His mother and numerous amazing lebanese cooks!
The fettush dressing i make has been handed down, i make it in big batches and use it as almost a “mother dressing”.
Thought i might share:
Juice of 2 lemons
1/3 cup water
1 cup olive oil
1 tbs. honey or agave nectar
2 cloves of garlic…. Smashed only
4 sprigs of thyme
Salt and pepper.
Put all in a jar, shake, let flavors marry for 6 hrs before using.
I add sesame oil or soy sauce to it if i want a sressing with an Asian flair, or cayenne pepper to give it heat.
Enjoy!!!!
Thanks for sharing Tija!
I forgot to add one REALLY essential ingrediant to put this over the top!!!!!
Sprinkle palmegranite seeds over the fettush!
They add beautiful color, and add an authentic sweetness that counteracts the tart of the lemon and sumac.
Yes I mentioned they’re usually done with Pita bread, but all I had was nacho chips, so nacho chips it was. 🙂
I lived in Farmington Hills and I loved La Shish as well. I’m in CA now, so there’s no shortage of Lebanese/Middle Eastern food here, yet I still miss La Shish. They had something special. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’ll definitely try it!
You’re very welcome. Let me know how you like it. 🙂
Very good salad and I would recommend it to all of my friends whenever we have potluck! Thanks!
Thank you Janie, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I must say, the picture and write up of this wonderful salad was exactly what I envisioned! It was such a cool relief with the cucumbers the mint and all the other welcoming veggies. It is so hot and dry in Texas this year and it just was exactly what we needed. Thank you for sharing your recipes. I love your website!
I can’t stop eating Fattoush salad and make it 3-4 days a week however there is one important ingredient left out in this recipe and that is Sumac. It’s a sour berry that’s dried and ground into a wonderful lemony spice, the deep red colour looks and tastes wonderful when mixed into the olive oil and lemon juice and garlic dressing. The Lebanese and Turks use this profusely, since I’ve discovered it I can’t get enough! try it in this recipe, you won’t be disappointed!
Leone
Thanks Leone, I since then found sumac and updated the recipe. You are right, it does make the salad.
Thank you, it truly was very good.
This looks so good, I have never had fattoush salad, but I will try it this weekend. It looks just gorgeous.