Israeli Salad is a delicious, healthy, flavorful Middle Eastern Salad.
It is made with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, mint, parsley, olive oil and lemon juice.
What is an Israeli Salad?
Israeli Salad is described as "the national dish of Israel." You will find it on the menu of most Middle Eastern restaurants.
Traditionally it is served as a side dish, but it is sometimes stuffed in pita as a sandwich, or served with breakfast along side of eggs!
I love it for the healthy ingredients. They are simple, fresh, and colorful.
Watch how to make it
What are the ingredients?
- Persian cucumbers or English cucumbers- I do not recommend using regular garden cucumbers, but if you do, you will need to peel the skin.
- red onion- Red onion is best. You can substitute with white or yellow onion.
- lemon juice- fresh squeezed
- fresh mint
- fresh parsley
- salt and pepper
What type of cucumbers should you use?
You really want Persian cucumbers for this recipe.
The Persian cucumbers can sometimes be hard to find.
If you can't find them, the long, pretty English cucumbers will work.
You don't peel the cucumbers in this salad, so you don't want the typical waxy, thick skinned garden cucumbers.
Their peels sometimes can taste bitter and will take away from the simple flavor of this salad.
How do you make Israeli salad?
Making Israeli Salad is so easy! Follow these simple steps:
- Dice cucumbers and tomatoes into bite sized pieces. Try to keep them the same size.
- Finely chop mint, fresh parsley, and red onion.
- In a small mixing bowl, mix together fresh lemon juice and olive oil.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the ingredients.
It is best to refrigerate an hour or more before serving to build the flavors. However, you can serve it immediately.
Note: The key to a perfect Israeli Salad is dicing the vegetables. You really want the cucumbers and tomatoes diced into similar sizes. Some people prefer to dice them into very tiny pieces similar to a salsa... while others prefer bite sizes. I personally like the bite size pieces for my salad.
If you like this salad, be sure to also check out: Quinoa Tabouli, Mediterranean Beet Salad, Mediterranean Tuna Pasta Salad with Capers and Olives.
- Quinoa Tabouli
- Mediterranean Beet Salad
- Simple Chickpea Salad
- Dill Cucumber Salad
- Greek Black Eye Pea Salad
- Mediterranean Tuna Pasta Salad with Capers and Olives
Please leave me a comment below if you make this Israeli Salad and tell me what you thought about it. I would love to hear back, and so would my readers.
Also post your picture of your salad on Instagram or Facebook, and tag @aforkstale with #aforkstale hashtags! I will share with my followers! xoxo!
Recipe
Israeli Salad
Ingredients
- 2 English cucumbers or 3 Persian cucumbers
- 3 tomatoes
- ½ red onion
- 2 tbs fresh chopped mint
- 2 tbs fresh chopped parsley
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 tbs lemon juice freshly squeezed
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Dice 2 cucumbers and 3 tomatoes into bite sized pieces. Try to keep them the same size.
- Finely chop ½ red onion.
- Finely chop 2 tbs fresh chopped mint and 2 tbs fresh chopped parsley.
- Mix cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, mint, and parsley together.
- In a small mixing bowl, mix together 2 tbs fresh lemon juice and 2 tbs olive oil.
- Mix lemon dressing with salad. Salt and pepper to taste.
- It is best to refrigerate an hour or more before serving to build the flavors. However, you can serve it immediately.
Video
Notes
- Note: I do not recommend using regular garden cucumbers, but if you do, you will need to peel the skin.
