Sumac Onions (Turkish Marinated Onion Salad) is a traditional Middle Eastern condiment perfect for grilled meats, fish, or a mezze platter. It’s not only popular in Turkey, but in The Levant as well. Best of all, it comes together in less than 15 minutes!
It’s the perfect addition to grilled meat dishes (like my Chicken Kofta, Beef Kofta Kebabs, Kabob Koobideh or Chicken Shish Tawook).
Table of Contents
A recipe by many names. Whether you call this Marinated sumac onions, Turkish sumac onions, sumac onion salad, Turkish onion salad, Turkish sumac onions, red onion salad or Middle Eastern Sumac onions, the basics are the same. A combination of sliced onions with sumac (and other ingredients that will vary from region to region and family to family).
Is this a simple onion salad or a condiment? That’s up to you to decide! I think of it more as a condiment or something I use to dress up or give extra flavor.
It can also be served as a side with rice dishes. It also goes wonderfully with grilled or fried fish (like my Sayadieh recipe).
This condiment is often added to a mezze platter with other sides and dips. It can also be used to garnish Lebanese chicken shawarma, beef shawarma or falafel wraps and bowls.
What is Sumac?
Feel free to review my dedicated What is Sumac blog post for the full rundown, but essentially Sumac is a popular Middle Eastern spice derived from the berries of the sumac plant, typically found in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions. The deep red, tangy powder adds a citrusy and slightly tart and lemony flavor to dishes and salad dressings.
Commonly used in Middle Eastern cuisine, sumac is sprinkled over salads, shish kebabs, rice, and grilled meats to enhance their taste and provide a vibrant, colorful garnish. It is a staple in Levantine Cuisine.
Sumac is featured in many of my recipes such as Musakhan (Palestinian Sumac and Onion Chicken), Tahini Salad, Turkish Ezme Salad, Authentic Fattoush and Spinach Fatayer (hand pies).
Ingredients
These marinated sumac onions come together in very little time. The ingredients are all pantry and fridge staples.
- Sumac: The star of the show. No substitutions allowed! Sumac powder is now readily available in most grocery stores. You can also find it online or at any Middle Eastern grocery store.
- Onions: Red onions are my go-to, but you can use white onions or Spanish onions. You can also use sweet Vidalia if you are not a fan of the pungency of red onions.
- Parsley: Fresh chopped parsley adds an herbaceous touch to this condiment. I prefer to use flatleaf parsley but you can use curly. I don’t recommend using any other herb here. If you don’t have parsley, just leave it out of the recipe.
- Acid: I like to use a touch of red wine vinegar, but you can certainly use white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or even champagne vinegar. Don’t use dark vinegar like balsamic. It won’t taste or look right. You can use lemon juice or lime juice instead of vinegar if you wish.
- Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil gives the salad a glossy and rich finish.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make this Turkish Sumac Onion Recipe
A simple 2 step recipe. Who doesn’t love that!
Step 1. Mix. In a bowl, combine the sliced onions, parsley, sumac, red wine vinegar, olive oil and a pinch of salt.
Step 2. Marinate. Set the bowl aside to marinate for 20 minutes so the onions can take on some of the flavors.
Expert Tips
- Use a mandoline. For perfectly sized onion slices, use a mandoline. A sharp knife will do.
- Soak the onions. If the raw onions are too pungent for you, they can be soaked in cold water for 10-20 minutes to help tame them. Taste them after soaking, you might want to repeat this step. Careful, don’t use hot water when soaking or else the onion slices will go limp.
- Sumac lacking flavor? This spice will tend to lose its flavor after about 6 months. Make sure to only buy it in small quantities if you don’t intend to use it regularly.
Recipe FAQs
I recommend you don’t make these marinated onions more than a few hours in advance. They are meant to be crunchy, so if you make them too long in advance they will soften. Of course, if that’s what you want to do, go right ahead.
Store any leftover onion sumac salad in a glass airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can use leftovers on sandwiches, grain bowls or add them to a salad. If you want to keep them for up to a week, top with more olive oil and set in the fridge. They will turn soft and luscious and can be added to salads, bowls, and omelettes. The oil can be used to make salad dressings and marinades.
Other Mediterranean Condiments
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Sumac Onions (Turkish Marinated Onion Salad)
Ingredients
- 2 Red onions – Cut into thin slices, crosswise or lengthwise
- ¼ cup Fresh parsley – Roughly chopped
- 2 tsp Sumac
- 2 tbsp Red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
Instructions
- Mix. In a bowl, combine the sliced onions, parsley, sumac, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Massage with your hinds to make sure everything is incorporated and all the onion slices are separated.
- Marinate. Set the bowl aside to marinate for 20 minutes so the onions can take on some of the flavors.
Notes
- Sumac: The star of the show. No substitutions allowed! Sumac spice is now readily available in most grocery stores. You can also find it online or at any Middle Eastern grocery store.
- Onions: Red onions are my go-to, but you can use white onions or yellow onions.
- Parsley: Fresh parsley adds an herbaceous touch to this condiment. I prefer to use flatleaf parsley but you can use curly.
- Acid: I like to use a touch of red wine vinegar, but you can certainly use white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or even champagne vinegar.
- Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil gives the salad a glossy and rich finish.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Yo this recipe is amazing. Easy and quick to make and extremely flavourful. I never tasted Sumac before and wondered why it had no good alternative, and after the first taste I instantly knew why.
Was delicious, would make again. I would love to find more recipes incorporating sumac so I can use my up my spice bag faster.
Glad you enjoyed this recipe!