This easy Fattoush Salad Recipe is one of the best salads to come out of the Middle East. It’s quick, easy, salad made with vegetables, a dark lemony vinaigrette, and crispy pita chips.
Full disclosure — I’m a Middle East kid, a third culture kid to be exact, and my love for Lebanese cuisine runs deep, second only to desi food. Fattoush Salad and Saudi Champagne are my two absolute favorites, and the day I figured out how to make both at home, restaurant style, changed everything. Now I always have pita chips in the house. Because Fattoush emergencies are real ok
To give my new cooks an intro, Fattoush is a Middle Eastern Salad extremely popular in the region, it’s like Kachumber in a Desi house or Caesar Salad in the West. Everyone knows it, everyone loves it! It has a colorful salad base with lots of vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, and it has a dark, zesty, sweet, and tangy salad dressing made with pomegranate molasses. And the star of the show, it has these crazy crispy pita chips on top that OMG I kid you not, changes Salad “crunch” meaning.
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Ingredients
Fattoush is definitely a regional dish, and while the veggies are very basic, you will need some specific ingredients for the dressing. Here’s what you need:
For the Salad
A fattoush salad is essentially a “tossed salad,” so there aren’t any hard rules for what vegetables you can add to it. The most common in restaurants are romaine lettuce, radishes, capsicum, cucumber, onions, tomato, fresh mint, and parsley. Pick your favorites or whatever you have at hand and just roll with it.
For the Dressing
- Sumac – A red lemony spice powder commonly used in Middle Eastern cooking – Just use extra lemon juice if you don’t have this.
- Pomegranate Molasses – This is pomegranate juice concentrate that gives the fattoush dressing its characteristic dark color and flavor. This one is UNSKIPPABLE for the perfect fattoush dressing, yeah, sorry! Check the ingredients label to see if it has sugar listed in the ingredients. If there isn’t any added sugar, you will have to add honey or a sweetener of your choice to the dressing. You’ll find them in the ethnic section of your grocery store or just run into your local Arab grocery store.
- Dried Mint – Add aroma, but you can work without it too.
- Salt and Pepper – Of course
- Olive oil – Very important for any salad, really
- Lemon Juice – For the acid.
For Pita Chips
Use the real Khubs to make pita chips at home by deep frying or air frying. Here’s a little secret: if you are unable to get your hands on the authentic khubs, buy samosa leaves instead, cut them into pieces, and fry! That is a much better alternative to buying thick pita bread, which won’t crisp up how we want it to.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
Instructions
Let me walk you through the steps in this simple pictorial.
Step 1a: To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a jar and put a lid.
Step 1b: Shake the jar 5 to 10 times or until you see a smooth dressing. Set aside.
TIP: If you are like me and have fallen in love with the dressing, make a large batch of the dressing in one go and just place it in the fridge for instant fattoush.
Step 2: Cut up the khubs/pita into thin strips and then small 1/2 inch squares.
Step 2: You can airfry or bake the pita chips by spreading it out on the pan, drizzling some olive oil, and baking for 5 minutes or until golden brown.
TIP: Separate the layers of khubs before or after cutting to make sure they aren’t stuck together. This is to ensure that you get nice crispy chips
Step 2: OR you can fry them in medium-hot oil for 2 minutes tops.
Step 2b: Allow your pita chips to cool down and set aside.
Step 3a: Toss all the sliced/chopped vegetables in your salad bowl.
Step 3b: Give it a good toss.
Step 3c: Add your salad dressing.
Step 3d: Top with homemade pita chips and serve.
Top Tip
Share something here that you think is key to making this recipe well, such as: Don’t overcook the burgers! Sear the outside and cook to a minimum internal temperature, but they should still be juicy for best results.
- Use the real thin pita for crispy pita chips or go for samosa leaves instead of using the thick bread like pita. Best tip I’ve ever received by a local and passed on to you now.
What to serve with Fattoush
It’s crazy how this Middle Eastern salad pairs so well with Desi and Western food! My family especially loves it with Fish Tahiri and raita. Here are some top-tier fattoush pairings:
- Serve it with Desi barbecue like Chicken tikka, Malai Boti, or Bihari Tikka
- Pairs so well with mild rice dishes like Malai Boti Pulao and Matar Pulao
- Serve it with a full roast chicken like Lahori Chargha or Chicken Sajji
- I love making Fattoush as individual mini servings for high-teas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Oh, for weeks! I prep my salad dressing in a large batch and keep it in the fridge in an airtight container. I use it whenever I need some. Easily lasts for 14 days in the fridge.
Prepare the elements separately. The salad dressing, the pita chips, and the veggies. You can prepare the salad dressing and pita chips even 4 to 5 days in advance. Cut the veggies the night before and assemble right at the time of serving.
Yes absolutely!
Um hell yeah! Add chat masalaaa, and you will have the perfect fusion-style salad ready!
More Salad-y Recipes for you to try:
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Do you have any questions? I’m happy to help! And of course, If you try this recipe, I’d loveeeee to see it or simply hear about it! Hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to asap! Happy Cooking!
Fattoush Salad
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 5-6 whole Romaine Lettuce leaves or any available salad leaf
- 1-2 whole Radish
- 6-7 whole Mint leaves
- 1 medium onion
- 3 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- 1 whole cucumber
- 1/2 medium tomato
- 1/2 medium green bell pepper optional
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate seeds
Salad Dressing
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon sumac see notes
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper or powder
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey optional- see notes
- 1/4 teaspoon dried mint leaves optional
Topping
- 1/2 piece Khubs or Pita bread
- dash olive oil
Instructions
- To make the pita chips, use the piece of khubus that you have at hand and cut it into small square 1/2 inch pieces. Separate the layers of khubs to open it up.
- For a traditional deep frying method, put the chips in a frying pan with atleast 1 to 1 cm of cooking oil. Heat the oil to a medium and add in your chips in batches without crowding the pan. Fry for a minute or 2 or until you see the chips turn light golden brown in color.
- Use a spider or a slotted spoon to remove the chips from the oil and onto a plate lined with paper towel. You can seasoning it with salt and pepper if you like, but thats totally optional
- To airfry or bake, put the pita chips onto a baking tray and drizzle olive oil generously. Use your hands or spoons to mix up the pita chips to make sure they are coated with some oil. Spread them out on the tray and bake at 180℃ or 375℉ for 3 to 4 minutes or until a good chunks of them turn light golden. Remove from the oven and leave on the counter for 10 minutes to allow them to cool down and crisp up. They wont change color but they will still be cripsy.
- To make the dressing, add all the ingredients in a jar with a tight lid and shake until you see an even dressing.
- Chop up all the vegetables into small cubes and slice the radish thinly.
Assembly
- Toss all the prepared vegetables into the salad serving bowl.
- Drizzle the salad dressing all over it and give it a good toss.
- Top with crispy pita chips. Serve as an appetizer or a side salad.
Notes
- If you are using pomegranate molasses made from pure pomegranate juice, then it may not be sweet, and you will have to add just a dash of sweetener like honey, maple syrup, stevia, or sugar. You may also get sweetened pomegranate molasses, in which case, you can skip the sweetener. Check the label on the back of your bottle to see which one you have.
- Sumac is a red lemony spice powder. If you don’t have it at hand, skip it and use the zest of a lemon instead.
- You can fry or bake the pita bread in advance and store it in containers for weeks. You can also make the salad dressing in advance and store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Assemble the fattoush when you are ready to eat. But you can chop up the veggies in the morning or the night before when needed.
Questions? Thoughts? Leave them below