This Tahini Salad recipe is so incredibly easy to make it comes together in under 15 minutes. Pair it with a hearty main dish or grilled and fried seafood. It’s also very adaptable and you can modify it to suit your tastes.
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As with many Middle Eastern recipes, this salad has many names depending on the speaker and where they are from. It’ll often be referred to as Tahini Salad, Lebanese Tahini Salad, Middle Eastern tahini salad or creamy chopped salad. This recipe is similar to my traditional Palestinian tomato and cucumber salad. What’s different here is the creamy tahini dressing which will give you a richer and nutty salad.
Middle Eastern cuisine is known for its fresh salads. Make sure to also try my Authentic Fattoush and Lebanese Tabbouleh.
Traditionally tahini salad is served with fish dishes like Sayadieh (fried fish and rice). But it will also work with other Levantine mains like pulled lamb, chicken shish tawook, beef kebab, chicken kebab, Meat-Stuffed Pita (Arayes), Palestinian maftoul, za’atar chicken thighs, Moghrabieh, musakhan (sumac chicken) and musakhan rolls.
I also love serving it with rice dishes like maqluba (upside down chicken and rice).
What is Tahini?
Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds. It is a staple in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines and is a key ingredient in various dishes such as homemade hummus, Mutabal (roasted eggplant dip), and halva.
Tahini has a smooth, creamy texture and a nutty flavor, and it can be used as a condiment, a dip, or an ingredient in both savory and sweet recipes. Though it used to be challenging to find, it is now commonly available in supermarkets, Middle Eastern grocery stores and health food stores.
Use it in other recipes such as musabaha (creamy warm chickpeas) and fattet hummus.
Ingredients
A few standard fresh ingredients and nutty tahini are all you need to make this delicious chopped salad.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Cucumbers: Persian cucumbers are my go-to for this or any salad recipe. They are tasty and have a very small seed cavity making them easier to work with. You can also use English cucumbers but you might want to consider scooping out the seeds first. The seeds tend to add more moisture to the salad making it rather soupy and we don’t want that!
- Tomatoes: I like to use heirloom slicer tomatoes and ripe tomatoes on the vine. They are easy to chop into small cubes. You can use cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes so, but keep them in halves/quarters rather than trying to chop them up.
- Bell Peppers: A red or green bell pepper gives this salad a sweet touch. Try my Fiesta Salad recipe too if you like a hearty chopped salad.
- Onions: For this recipe, I am using red onions. The bite and spiciness from it balance well with the tahini sauce, but do feel free to use white onion or green onions (scallions)
- Fresh Herbs: Fresh parsley is a must. You don’t need much.
- Acid: Fresh lemon juice is the traditional acid used in Levantine salads. You can use vinegar if you wish but that won’t make it as traditional. If you do use vinegar, use a light-colored one like white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar or champagne vinegar.
- Tahini: The star of the show. Make sure to shake up or stir the tahini in the bottle especially if it has been sitting for a while. Tahini tends to split like natural peanut butter does.
- Fresh garlic: You can totally omit the garlic here or use garlic powder instead.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make Tahini Chopped Salad
So easy to make, this recipe comes together in a few easy steps.
Step 1. Make the tahini salad dressing. To a large bowl, add the lemon juice, tahini and garlic. Mix well. The dressing will likely turn into a paste. That's ok!
Step 2. Thin the dressing. Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of cold water and whisk. The dressing should loosen up. Don’t add too much water. The dressing should feel similar to ranch or Caesar dressing.
Step 3. Add Vegetables. To the same bowl, add the chopped vegetables and parsley.
Step 4. Mix and serve. Stir everything well and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with extra parsley and some optional sumac if you like.
Expert Tips
- Keep it even. Chop the ingredients as evenly as possible into small pieces about ½ inch (1cm) in size. We want the tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers to all be roughly the same size.
- Tomato Seeds. If your tomatoes are very seedy and juicy, consider cutting out the seed cavities and discarding them.
- Peel the cucumber. If you are using large cucumbers like English or Pickling, consider peeling them before chopping.
- Use fresh tahini. If your tahini is a relic from the past, consider buying a new jar. Tahini is the star of the show here so you want to use the best quality.
- No need for oil! Tahini is essentially an oil, so you don’t need to add any extra olive oil to this salad.
Recipe FAQs
This salad can be made 1 day ahead of time, just don’t mix in the dressing in advance. Keep the chopped produce separate from the Tahini and lemon in individual airtight containers and mix everything before serving. I also suggest you avoid salting the salad if you plan to make it ahead of time. Salt it before serving.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Note that this salad doesn’t stay fresh the next day.
If you make this Tahini Salad (Levantine Salata with Cucumber and Tomato) recipe or any other side dishes on Urban Farm and Kitchen, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe.
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Recipe Card
Tahini Salad (Levantine Salata with Cucumber and Tomato)
Ingredients
Lemon Tahini Dressing Ingredients
- ¼ cup Tahini
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 1 Garlic clove - Finely minced (use more garlic if you like)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Salad Ingredients
- 3 Medium Tomatoes - trimmed and chopped into small ½ inch cubes
- 3 Persian cucumbers - trimmed and chopped into small ½ inch cubes
- 1 Red bell pepper - trimmed and chopped into small ½ inch cubes
- ½ Red onion - Finely chopped
- ¼ cup Flat leaf parsley - Finely chopped
- Sumac or chili flakes for garnish
Instructions
- Make the tahini salad dressing. To a large bowl, add the lemon juice, tahini and garlic. Mix well. The dressing will likely turn into a paste. That's ok!
- Thin the dressing. Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of cold water and whisk. The dressing should loosen up. Don’t add too much water. The dressing should feel similar to ranch or Caesar dressing.
- Add Vegetables. To the same bowl, add the chopped vegetables and parsley.
- Mix and Serve. Stir everything well and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with extra parsley and some optional sumac if you like.
Notes
- Cucumbers: Persian cucumbers are my go-to for this or any salad recipe. You can also use English cucumbers but you might want to consider scooping out the seeds first.
- Tomatoes: I like to use heirloom slicer tomatoes and ripe tomatoes on the vine. They are easy to chop into small cubes.
- Onions: For this recipe, I am using red onions. The bite and spiciness from it balance well with the tahini sauce, but do feel free to use white onion or green onions (scallions)
- Fresh Herbs: Fresh parsley is a must. You don’t need much.
- Acid: Fresh lemon juice is the traditional acid used in Levantine salads.
- Tahini: The star of the show. Make sure to shake up or stir the tahini in the bottle especially if it has been sitting for a while. Tahini tends to split like natural peanut butter does.
- Fresh garlic: You can totally omit the garlic here or use garlic powder instead.
Randa says
Very good to see and try out a Palestinian recipe. Very tasty.
Luay Ghafari says
Glad you liked it!