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    Home » Recipes » Mediterranean Recipes

    Israeli Chopped Salad

    Published: Feb 1, 2020 · Modified: Oct 5, 2022 by Samantha Ferraro · This post may contain affiliate links · 9 Comments

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    The perfect accompaniment to any Mediterranean dish, Israeli chopped salad is simple and fresh with tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh herbs and bright lemon.

    The perfect accompaniment to any Mediterranean dish, Israeli chopped salad is simple and fresh with tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh herbs and bright lemon juice.

    It wouldn't be a proper Mediterranean dinner party, without the classic Israeli chopped salad, also called Salad Shirazi. I serve this every single time I'm grilling meats or serving a dip, such as Muhammara (Turkish Red Pepper Dip) and of course, classic homemade falafel.

    I'm telling you, serve the salad, with falafel and tahini sauce, maybe a little zhoug, and you, my friends have the most fantastic Mediterranean dinner!

    The base of a classic Israeli Chopped Salad, crispy cucumbers, sweet tomatoes, fresh lemon and lots of fresh herbs.

    Chopped Salad Ingredients

    I grew up on this salad and do all sorts of variations. The base of this chopped salad is cucumbers, tomatoes, lemon juice and fresh herbs. From there, you can add other vegetables, such as radishes or even sweet melon and chiles to make a sweet savory chopped salad, (which I made for my First cookbook Weeknight Mediterranean Kitchen.) Here is my Second cookbook, One-Pot Mediterranean.

    • Cucumber and Tomatoes: The classic base to any Israeli chopped salad. I love using thin skinned Persian cucumbers and sweet roma tomatoes. Though, in the summer, heirloom tomatoes are fantastic here.
    • Lemons: Use fresh lemons if you can, the flavor is unmistakable and brightens up the entire salad.
    • Fresh Herbs: This is where you can have fun. I use a combination or either one of fresh mint, fresh parsley and/or cilantro.
    • Dressing: Olive oil and a touch of balsamic vinegar to sweeten the salad up a bit. I often make this with or without the vinegar and just with olive oil and lemon juice, which is lovely as well.
    • Salt: A given, a good pinch of kosher salt to flavor the vegetables is a necessity. Season and taste as you go and adjust as needed.
    • Other Additions: chopped avocado, chopped radishes, cubed feta cheese, chickpeas and fruit are all fantastic touches.
    The perfect accompaniment to any Mediterranean dish, Israeli chopped salad is simple and fresh with tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh herbs and bright lemon juice.

    A Few Tips (for any salad, really)

    If making the salad ahead of time, chop the vegetables and add them to a bowl and in another bowl whisk the dressing ingredients and toss salad with dressing right before serving.

    Same goes with the fresh herbs, chop them before you are ready to serve so the leaves don't wilt.

    Israeli chopped salad is incredible versatile. Feel free to add feta cheese, chopped avocado, chopped red onion or chopped bell pepper.

    More great salads

    • Easy lemon orzo salad is tossed with a simple lemon vinaigrette, grilled corn, creamy feta and lots of fresh basil.
      Lemon Orzo Salad with Corn and Basil
    • Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing
    • Julia Child's Salad Nicoise
    • Greek quinoa salad with chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, chopped cucumbers, artichoke hearts, olives and cubes of feta cheese. The quinoa salad is tossed with a lemon vinaigrette and fresh mint and fresh dill.
      Greek Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas and Lemon Vinaigrette

    The perfect accompaniment to any Mediterranean dish, Israeli chopped salad is simple and fresh with tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh herbs and bright lemon.

    Israeli Chopped Salad

    Samantha Ferraro

    LittleFerraroKitchen.com

    The perfect accompaniment to any Mediterranean dish, Israeli chopped salad is simple and fresh with tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh herbs and bright lemon.
    5 from 12 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 5 minutes mins
    Total Time 15 minutes mins
    Course Salad, Side Dish
    Cuisine Mediterranean, Middle Eastern
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories 156 kcal

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 6 Persian cucumbers peeled and chopped
    • 3 Medium sized tomatoes
    • 1 Lemon juiced
    • 1 Small bunch of mint roughly chopped
    • ¼ cup Extra-virgin olive oil
    • ⅛ cup Balsamic vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt or to taste
    • ¼ teaspoon pepper

    Instructions
     

    • Begin by chopping the cucumbers and tomatoes into small-medium sized cubes and reserve a bowl.
    • In another smaller bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic and lemon juice until it slightly emulsifies and add dressing to chopped vegetables along with the chopped herbs.
    • Season with salt and pepper and taste for seasoning. Serve immediately.

    Notes

    If making the salad ahead of time, chopped the vegetables and add them to a bowl and in another bowl whisk the dressing ingredients and toss salad with dressing right before serving.
    Same goes with the fresh herbs, chop them before you are ready to serve so the leaves don't wilt.
    Israeli chopped salad is incredible versatile. Feel free to add feta cheese, chopped avocado, chopped red onion or chopped bell pepper.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 156kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 1gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 588mgPotassium: 280mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 476IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 1mg
    Did you make this recipe?Let us know by leaving a comment and 5 star rating!

    This recipe was originally posted in 2012 and has been updated February 2020 with added notes and updated photos.

    More Flavorful Weeknight Mediterranean Recipes

    • Mediterranean charcuterie board with tzatziki, hummus and more.
      Mediterranean Charcuterie Board
    • Over 50 recipe ideas for shish kabob side dishes.
      50+ Delicious Recipes for Shish Kabob Side Dishes
    • Healthy Greek salmon salad with fresh dill and mint.
      Greek Salmon Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
    • Zhoug sauce with fresh herbs, jalapeńo and cardamom.
      Zhoug Sauce (Spicy Cilantro Sauce)

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Pat says

      June 07, 2012 at 7:41 pm

      5 stars
      how much balsamic vinegar... 1/4 cup, teaspoon, tablespoon?

      Reply
      • Samantha says

        June 08, 2012 at 8:08 am

        It is supposed to be a 1/4 cup. Just realized I did not put the measurement. Thanks for the heads up. To be honest, I just eyeball it, but I do like the tang of the vinegar.

        Reply
    2. Christilynn Corrigan says

      May 04, 2012 at 9:36 am

      5 stars
      Going to make this for my kick off to summer BBQ! Thanks 🙂

      Reply
    3. Kim Bee says

      May 03, 2012 at 9:12 pm

      5 stars
      This salad is gorgeous Sam. And so is the blog. I dig it completely. I love the color and I love the lemon at the top. The little admin cartoon is adorable.

      Reply
    4. Isabelle @ Crumb says

      May 03, 2012 at 4:16 pm

      5 stars
      Love the new look! Kita's obviously more than just a pretty face and a kickass cook.... but we already knew that, right? 🙂
      I love this salad too... I must've eaten a metric ton of it when I visited Israel a couple of years ago! it's so refreshing, especially on hot summer days, so I'm sure it'll be making an appearance on my table soon... especially once the ripe summer tomatoes finally show up.

      Reply
    5. Jen @ Juanita's Cocina says

      May 03, 2012 at 4:00 pm

      5 stars
      Not only is your blog ABSOLUTELY beautiful, but so is this salad.

      Also, your font is ROCKIN'!

      Reply
    6. Kiri W. says

      May 03, 2012 at 1:27 pm

      5 stars
      Love the layout! 🙂 Well done, Kita, as always!
      And the salad looks perfect for hot days, such a refreshing mix of flavors 🙂

      Reply
    7. Val Sweeney Cathell says

      May 03, 2012 at 11:03 am

      5 stars
      Sam ~ this site is BEAUTIFUL!!!! Your pics are awesome and it's a very pleasing and easy-to view site!

      Reply
    8. Nami | Just One Cookbook says

      May 03, 2012 at 9:21 am

      5 stars
      Hi Samantha! Congratulations on your new design! It looks really nice! Kita has been helping a lot of bloggers with website design (I've seen her work on several blogs) and I'm really impressed! Mine needs update one day... This Israeli salad looks so easy to prepare and very delicious. Perfect for spring/summer weather! I love your step by step picture shape/size. It's really cool. 😉

      Reply

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