Persian Tomato Cucumber Salad

If you have had a chance to buy tomatoes from your farmers market or if you have them growing in your garden, you know that they are at their peak right now. Juicy, flavorful and just plain delicious!

Tomatoes are one of my favorite foods and I eat them a lot. There is nothing like a summer tomato in my opinion.

This Persian Tomato Cucumber Salad uses almost everything that I grow in my garden during the summer months. My kids and I have fun collecting the ingredients when they are ripe and then they help me wash the ingredients and toss everything together after I chop it all up.

It is nice for them to see where their food is coming from. This is such an easy salad to throw together and is healthy, packed with flavor and customizable.

The salad mixes together fresh tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and jalapeños and then tossed with an olive oil lemon dressing.

It makes the perfect side dish to many meals including this Air Fryer Cod, Grilled Beef Kofta Kebabs, Mediterranean Baked Turkey Meatballs or this Black Sea Bass Recipe. 

If you want to eat this Persian Tomato Cucumber Salad for lunch try adding grilled chicken, chickpeas and feta cheese.

Or if you want to pack even more vegetables in try adding cooked eggplant, bell pepper and zucchini.

I love these type of salads because they are so easy to throw together and use simple, fresh ingredients.

Growing up in a Lebanese family meant that we ate a lot of salads similar to this Persian Tomato Cucumber Salad.

A few of our other family favorites include this Summer Orzo Pasta Salad, Mediterranean Bean Salad, Easy Lebanese Salad and this Mediterranean Eggplant Salad.   All of these are perfect salads to use up fresh summer produce, are healthy and a little different than your typical lettuce based salad.

Recipe Ingredients You’ll Need

• Vegetables: This salad is veggie packed! It mixes together fresh tomatoes, seedless cucumbers, jalapeños and red onion.
• Olive Oil: The olive oil is added to the dressing. I suggest using a high quality extra virgin olive oil.
• Herbs: Fresh herbs are the best addition to this salad. Fresh parsley and fresh mint leaves or dried mint are added to this salad.
• Lemon Juice: Fresh lemon juice helps sweeten the dressing. You also can add lime juice in place of the lemon juice.
• Spices: The dressing uses za’atar but you can sub in sumac or something else like Greek seasoning.

For exact ingredient amounts and instructions, see the full recipe card below. 

Ways to Modify this Persian Cucumber Salad

• Cheese: I love adding feta or goat cheese to this salad. 
• Beans: Beans are another great addition. Try white beans, chickpeas or black beans. 
• Protein: I also really enjoy adding meats like salmon, shrimp, chicken or steak to this salad. 
• Tomatoes: You can use whatever tomatoes you have on hand. I think roma tomatoes or cherry tomatoes are great options.
• Herbs: You can add other fresh herbs into this salad like cilantro or dill.
• Veggies: Extra vegetables are always a nice addition. Try bell peppers, zucchini, radish, carrots or celery. 
• Olives: I am a big fan of olives and love them in salads. Try adding kalamata or green olives.
• Greens: Adding greens into this salad is a nice healthy addition. Try arugula, romaine, swiss chard or spinach. 

How to Make Persian Tomato Cucumber Salad

Step 1: Combine Salad Ingredients: In a large bowl combine the tomatoes, english cucumber, jalapeño, red onion, parsley and fresh mint.

Step 2: Mix Together Salad Dressing: In a mason jar or salad dressing container mix together the extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, za’atar, kosher salt and black pepper.

Step 3: Dress Salad: Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss to combine.