A Fattoush Salad (basically a bread salad) is a Middle Eastern staple and the lemon and mint dressing just brings it all together. This crunchy and zesty chopped salad is topped with homemade baked pita chips, making it a great way to use up stale pita bread. A great fridge clear out salad and a welcome addition to a BBQ or picnic.
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What is a Fattoush salad?
The fattoush salad was born out of not wanting pita bread to go to waste. So, instead of throwing it away, people made it the star of another dish. Fattoush salad is basically a toasted pita salad and that is music to our ears.
Ingredients for this salad will vary wherever you see it, as the leftover pita was thrown together with whatever other leftover or seasonal ingredients were on hand. So, feel free to change it up and use what you have. It usually has a lettuce base with cucumber and tomatoes and a herby lemon dressing.
Why should you try it?
- A light a fresh salad
- Just 157 calories a bowl
- A great way to use up stale pita bread
- A delicious side to chicken dishes
What you will need
- Pita breads - this salad is a great way to use up leftover pita breads.
- Olive oil - try to use a really good quality olive oil, as it makes up the base of the dressing and you can taste the difference.
- Ground sumac - Pronounces soo-mak, it is made from the dried and ground berries of the wild sumac flower. It is a tangy spice with a sour, acidic flavour reminiscent of lemon juice.
- Romaine lettuce - this adds lots of texture and crunch to the salad. You could swap it for another lettuce, however it wouldn't be as traditional.
- Cucumber - we used a standard English cucumber, however other varieties of cucumber would work. We didn't peel ours, however you could if you could if you don't like the skin.
- Tomatoes - use the juiciest and ripest tomatoes that you can find. We used Roma tomatoes, however you could use basic salad tomatoes or even cherry tomatoes.
- Red onion - this adds some crunch and colour to the salad. However, if you can't tolerate raw onion, like many people can't, then you could soften it a little in a pan first.
- Radishes - another way to add crunch and colour, as well as a nice peppery flavour. You could leave these out though.
- Lemons - a must in the dressing.
- Fresh parsley and mint - these add so much fresh flavour to the salad.
Step by step
One: Put the chopped pita, 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon sumac in to a baking tray season with salt and mix well. Put in a preheated oven at 190°C/375°F/Gas 5 for 10-15 minutes until crispy. Set aside. You could fry the pita chips in a pan with some olive oil instead.
Two: In a bowl, mix together the rest of the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic, sumac, parsley and mint and mix well.
Three: Chop all the salad
Four: Put the salad ingredients in a large bowl and pour over the dressing. Mix well.
Five: Divide in to bowls and top with cooked pita chips.
Fattoush dressing
This is a herb packed dressing, and we aren't complaining about that. We mixed together some really good quality olive oil with loads of lemon juice (the more the better I say), a pinch of salt and pepper, a little garlic, sumac and a lot of chopped mint and parsley.
Not heard of sumac before? It's a really versatile spice that is popular in Middle Eastern cuisine and has a subtle lemon flavour to it, but less tart. It's a delicious addition to a salad dressing.
Baked pita chips
What adds a nice bit of extra crunch to this salad is the baked pita chips. One piece of advice - make loads extra as they are great for dipping in to hummus and tzatziki.
A great way to use up pita bread that is going a bit stale, chop them up in to random bits and then mix with a little olive oil, salt and sumac and then put them in the oven for 10-15 minutes until they are nice and crispy. Try not to eat them all before they get on the salad!
What to serve it with
This is a really versatile salad. If you want to keep it traditional, then it is great served with any Middle Eastern dishes. We love to serve this with chicken skewers or halloumi vegetable skewers.
FAQs
Yes, you can make it in advance. However, we would recommend only adding the dressing just before serving so it doesn't get too soggy. You can chop everything up and keep it in a bowl in the fridge, with the dressing ready made too, and then mix together just before serving.
If you do have any leftover fattoush salad, then it will keep in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 24 hours, but it will start to get very soggy. We wouldn't recommend freezing it.
If you haven't tossed the salad with the dressing, then it will store in an air tight container for up to 4 days.
Yes, you can save yourself some time by using store bought pita chips, however these won't taste as good and they are pretty expensive to buy, but really cheap to make.
Extra tips
- To get a really excellent fattoush salad, the key is the freshest ingredients. Juicy tomatoes and really fresh and flavourful herbs.
- Don't skip the sumac just because you haven't heard of it before. It's an essential in this salad, and you can find it with all the other spices in your local supermarket.
- You could add some crumbled goats cheese for extra flavour and creaminess.
- Add some extra protein by throwing in some cooked chickpeas or lentils, but still keeping it vegetarian.
- Make extra pita chips and dip them in hummus and tzatziki.
- Use the best quality olive oil that you can afford. It really makes a difference to the taste of the dressing.
- Add some extra flavour and colour by sprinkling some pomegranate on just before serving.
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Recipe
Fattoush Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pita breads cut in to chunks
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon sumac
- 1 romaine lettuce chopped
- 0.5 cucumber cut in to chunks
- 3 salad tomatoes diced
- 0.5 red onion thinly sliced
- 6 radishes chopped
- 2 lemons (juice only)
- 1 pinch sea salt and pepper
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 20 g fresh parsley finely chopped
- 10 g fresh mint finely chopped
Instructions
- Put the chopped pita, 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon sumac in to a baking tray and mix well. Put in a preheated oven at 190C for 10-15 minutes until crispy. Set aside.
- In a bowl, mix together the rest of the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic, sumac, parsley and mint and mix well.
- Chop all the salad
- Put the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl and pour over the dressing. Mix well.
- Divide in to bowls and top with cooked pita chips.
Notes
- You could add some crumbled goats cheese for extra flavour and creaminess.
- Add some extra protein by throwing in some cooked chickpeas or lentils, but still keeping it vegetarian.
- Make extra pita chips and dip them in hummus and tzatziki.
- Use the best quality olive oil that you can afford. It really makes a difference to the taste of the dressing.
- Add some extra flavour and colour by sprinkling some pomegranate on just before serving.
Lisa Huff
Oh that lemon and mint dressing! I want to put it on everything!
Suzy
Hands down one of our favorite salads to make! It's also a perfect way to use up some pita bread!
Jacqueline Debono
I've only eaten a fattoush salad a couple of times but never made it. I don't know why because it's so good and as you say a great way to use up pita!
Natalie
Sounds like a really interesting recipe. A healthy too. I must give it a try. It will be perfect for my lunchbox.
Pam
I love any recipe that is versatile in its ingredient list and this one checks that box! It's beautiful, bright and delicious too!
Julia
This salad looks similar to Italian Panzanella. I had no idea they had similar salad in Middle East. Love it!
Toni
Such a tasty salad! My family loved it!
Aimee Mars
This salad is perfect for meal prep! You NEVER get sick of eating it. I can't wait to make it again.
Demeter
This salad is so flavorful! Loved how easy it was to make. We’ll definitely be making it again. Thank you!
kim
I love this recipe! It was so easy and had so much flavor. I'll be making again and again!