Fattoush Salad

Fresh and delicious Lebanese Fattoush Salad is a Middle Eastern favorite, and easy to make at home! This salad is just as good (or better!) as the one you order at your favorite Lebanese restaurant, with lots of veggies herbs, fried pita croutons, and a bright, simple fattoush dressing.

What Is Fattoush?

Fattoush is a popular salad in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine, and especially Lebanese cuisine, as that’s where this dish is said to have originated. You’ll find this salad served in homes and restaurants all across the Levant, and across the world!

In Arabic, the word “fatteh” means crumbs, and so you can loosely translate the name for this salad (fattoush, fatoosh, fattush) to mean “a salad with pieces of crushed bread on it”.

In this way, fattoush is sort of similar to Panzanella, which is an Italian version of bread salad, but the flavors are very different.

This fattoush salad recipe features fresh greens, crunchy vegetables, and fried pita bread croutons, all with the most amazing and authentic homemade dressing flavored with sumac and pomegranate molasses.

Be sure to try my Shirazi Salad and Tabbouleh Salad recipes too! I have tons of authentic Middle Eastern recipes for you to make.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

1. Easy Preparation – There’s just a small amount of cooking needed to make this salad, in the way of frying up some pitas to make croutons. Everything else just needs to be washed and chopped.
2. Traditional Flavors – This salad will be just as good, if not better, than anything you’ve ordered in a restaurant!
3. Tips and Tricks – Whether you’re an experienced cook or just learning, this recipe will give you plenty of useful tips and information so that your salad is the best it can be. Let’s go!

Ingredients In Traditional Fattoush Salad

Here’s everything you need:

• Lettuce: Traditionally, fattoush is made with Purslane, which is a seasonal lettuce available in the summer (I attached a picture below for you to see). In this recipe, I’m using Romaine instead since it’s easier to find. You can also use other greens such as iceberg, baby spinach, or butter lettuce.

• Fresh Herbs: Fresh mint and parsley give this salad the best bright flavor.
• Vegetables: Ripe tomatoes, English or Persian cucumbers, green bell pepper, green onion, yellow onion, and radishes. Scroll down just a bit to see exactly how to chop them!
• Fattoush Dressing: This dressing is so simple but also so bright and flavorful! You’ll need extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, sumac, salt, and pepper. Look for pomegranate molasses and sumac at your local Middle Eastern grocery store, or check Amazon!
• Pita Bread: You can use any type of flatbread to make croutons for fattoush, just make sure that it’s not too thick. Lebanese pita is typically very thin, but regular pitas work just fine, and that’s what I’m using in the photos.

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

How To Make Fattoush Salad

First, I’ll show you how to cut and prep all of the fattoush salad vegetables. Next, we’ll fry pita bread to make delicious homemade crispy croutons. Finally, we’ll make fattoush dressing and put everything together!

How to Cut Vegetables for Fattoush

• Cucumbers, tomatoes, and bell pepper: Chop them into ½-inch pieces.
• Romaine Lettuce: I like to chop the lettuce into small pieces, but you can also tear it if you prefer.
• Fresh Mint and Parsley: First, measure the herb leaves by packing them into your measuring cup. Then roughly chop the fresh herbs. You don’t want them to be chopped too finely. The best bites have plenty of earthy, herby flavors.
• Onions: Slice green onions into thin rounds, discarding the tops. Dice the yellow onion.
• Radish: Cut each radish in half, then thinly slice to create pretty half-moons.

How to Fry Pita Croutons

1. Cut your pita into 1-inch pieces. It’s fine if the layers come apart, you’ll have some pieces that are thinner and some that are thicker.
2. Heat Oil in a saucepan or deep skillet to around 350°F/180°C. Add the pita squares and cook for 1-2 minutes until crispy and golden brown. Keep in mind that they will get a bit darker after they are removed from the oil.
3. Drain on paper towels to absorb some of the excess cooking oil, and let cool while you make the rest of the salad.

To Assemble and Serve The Salad

1. Make the Salad Dressing: Combine olive oil with lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, sumac, salt, and pepper. Whisk or shake in a jar until well combined and emulsified.

2. Add Veggies to a Bowl: Combine the chopped lettuce with tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, radishes, onions, mint, and parsley.

3. Dress: Add the dressing to the salad and gently toss to combine.
4. Serve: Right before serving, add the fried pita croutons to the salad. You can either toss them in with the vegetables or serve them as a topping. Sometimes I serve the pita croutons on the side so that everyone can take as much as they’d like!

Recipe Tips

• To make the very best fattoush salad, be sure to use the very best, freshest ingredients that you can find. This includes using fresh herbs, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and good quality olive oil.
• Feel free to include other vegetables in your version of fatoosh. This is a great recipe to use up extra garden veggies or farmer’s market finds like cabbage, red bell peppers, micro greens, or carrots.
• There are a few different ways to serve this salad. The crunchy pita pieces can be tossed in with the dressing so that they are well-incorporated, or added as a topping, or served on the side. Either way is fine!

Storing Tips

Fattoush salad is best enjoyed fresh! The vegetables, the dressing, and the croutons are at their best that way.

If you haven’t yet tossed the salad with the dressing, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 or 4 days. With the dressing, you should try to enjoy it within 24 hours.

You can make pita croutons ahead of time. They will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

You can store Fattoush salad dressing in the fridge for up to 1 month.

What to serve with fattoush salad

This authentic fattoush salad will be delicious with all of your favorite Middle Eastern dishes!

Create a selection of small dishes, or “Mezze” with this salad and other Middle Eastern appetizers. You’ll definitely want to have dips, like classic Hummus, Baba Ganoush, and Labneh, and plenty of pita or homemade Yogurt Flatbreads for dipping!

Cook an amazing meal like you’d get at your favorite Lebanese restaurant with this salad, and pair it with Shish Tawook or Beef Kafta.

Fattoush salad is also delicious with simple proteins like Pan Seared Steak, Baked Salmon, or Grilled Chicken.

Recipe FAQs

I know you’re going to love this easy recipe for Fattoush Salad that you can make at home, whenever you have a craving for some fresh, delicious Middle Eastern food!