Fattoush Salad

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.

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

✔ Jut 157 calories a bowl

✔ A great way to use up stale pita bread

✔ A delicious side to chicken skewers

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.

How To Make Fattoush Salad - Step by Step:

One: Put the chopped pita, 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp sumac in to a baking tray season with salt and mix well. Put in a preheated oven at 190C 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 hummusandtzatziki.

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 Fattoush Salad 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

Can you make a fattoush salad in advance?

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.

How to store leftover fattoush salad?

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.

Can you use store bought pita chips?

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.

Want to try some other salad recipes?:

Winter Lentil Salad
BBQ Chicken Salad
Healthy Caesar Salad
Cucumber Salad
Chicken Pasta Salad

If you’ve tried this Fattoush Salad please leave a comment below, we love hearing from you!

Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - we love sharing photos when people make our recipes. You can use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.

DON’T FORGET TO RATE THE RECIPE ↓

Fattoush Salad

A Fattoush 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.

5 from 27 votes

Pin Recipe Print Recipe

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 157kcal

Ingredients

UK measures - US measures

• 2 pita breads, cut in to chunks2 pita breads, cut in to chunks
• 4 tbsp olive oil4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp sumac2 tbsp sumac
• 1 romaine lettuce, chopped1 romaine lettuce, chopped
• 0.5 cucumber, cut in to chunks0.5 cucumber, cut in to chunks
• 3 salad tomatoes, diced3 salad tomatoes, diced
• 0.5 red onion, thinly sliced0.5 red onion, thinly sliced
• 6 radishes chopped6 radishes chopped
• 2 lemons (juice only)2 lemons (juice only)
• 1 pinch sea salt and pepper1 pinch sea salt and pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 20 g fresh parsley, finely chopped20 g fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 10 g fresh mint, finely chopped10 g fresh mint, finely chopped

Instructions

• Put the chopped pita, 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp 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.

Nutritional Information

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 157kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 109mg | Potassium: 314mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1290IU | Vitamin C: 35.1mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 1.1mg

Have you tried this recipe?Mention @hungryhealthyhappy on Instagram and tag #hungryhealthyhappy!

DisclaimerThe nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.

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