Jerusalem Salad

The flavors of Israeli salad are fresh, light, and bright, with a crisp texture and a balance of juicy tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, and pungent onions, all seasoned with the bright tang of lemon juice and the richness of olive oil.

Israeli salad is also known as Arab salad, Palestinian salad, and Jerusalem salad – it is often referred to as Jerusalem salad because the dish is popular in Jerusalem, and is considered a staple of the city's cuisine.

When in Jerusalem, don't skip trying Israeli salad in Sabich – one of Israeli's most love street foods (and one of our favorite sandwiches, ever!)

We were inspired to recreate this recipe after touring Israel with Visit Israel and the Israel Ministry of Tourism. All opinions are our own.

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

How to Make Israeli Salad

Israeli Salad Recipe Ingredients

To make this dish, you'll need:

• Tomatoes: Tomatoes provide a juicy sweetness that balances out the tanginess of the lemon juice and the saltiness of the feta cheese.
• Cucumbers: Cucumbers add a fresh crunch to the salad and a light, slightly sweet flavor.
• Yellow Bell Pepper: we love the color addition and nice crunchy bite of bell pepper. You can use any color sweet bell pepper you want.
• Red onion: Red onion adds a sharp bite to the salad and a slight sweetness.
• Parsley: Parsley adds a bright, fresh flavor and a pop of green color to the dish.
• Lemon juice: Lemon juice provides a tart and tangy flavor that brings all the ingredients together.
• Extra virgin olive oil: Olive oil adds richness and depth of flavor to the dish, and also helps to bring out the flavors of the other ingredients.
• Salt: Salt enhances the flavors of all the ingredients and helps to balance the flavors.
• Black pepper: Black pepper adds a slightly spicy, earthy flavor that complements the other ingredients.

Once you've gathered your ingredients, we will use the following process:

1. Chop vegetables. Dice the tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion into small pieces and place them in a large bowl. Chop the parsley and add it to the bowl with the diced vegetables.
2. Make dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper to make the dressing. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and parsley in the large bowl.
3. Toss. Toss everything together until the vegetables are evenly coated with the dressing. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed, adding more salt, pepper, lemon juice, or olive oil as desired.
4. Enjoy! Serve the Israeli salad immediately or refrigerate it until ready to serve.

Jerusalem Salad Recipe Tips

Taste as you go. We don't think of this recipe as much of a recipe – as the quick, fresh nature allows it to be incredibly adaptable. Taste your salad as you're mixing and add more lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper – or parsley, vegetables – to your liking.

Use tomatoes without tons of juice. We try to use cherry tomatoes or other tomatoes without much liquid – it waters down the salad too much and can make other vegetables soft and soggy.

Keeping leftovers

Leftover fresh salad can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days.

Serve it with

We love to eat Israeli salad with roast chickenlamband homemade sabich – but this light vegan salad can pair with almost any dish.

A few answers

Is this recipe kosher?

Most fresh fruits and vegetables, even if unlabeled, are considered kosher – so in most cases, this salad is a good and easy dish to prepare for guests who keep kosher.
We are not Jewish and do not keep kosher, so this should not be seen as an authority. For more information on what a non-kosher home can serve kosher guests, please read this informative post.

More ways to serve Israeli Salad

For more on our travels to Israel, please visit the following posts, and enjoy some of the photos we took around Jerusalem:

• Israel: Slow Touring through the Land Of Milk and Honey
• Roasted Tahini Pomegranate Eggplants

We love Israeli salad with sabich, falafel Baba GanoushTahini Sauceor Roasted Tahini Pomegranate Eggplants!

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Ingredients

• 2 cucumbers, diced
• 2 large tomatoes, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 red onion, diced
• ¼ cup parsley, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• ½ teaspoon sumac, optional
• ½ teaspoon aleppo pepper, optional

Method

1. Place the tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, and red onion into a large bowl.
2. Add the parsley to the bowl with the diced vegetables.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper to make the dressing.
4. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and parsley in the large bowl.
5. Toss everything together until the vegetables are evenly coated with the dressing.
6. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed, adding more salt, pepper, lemon juice, or olive oil as desired.
7. Serve the Israeli salad immediately or refrigerate it until ready to serve.
8. Enjoy!