This Mediterranean tomato salad is studded with fresh parsley, red onion, and capers, all tossed in a lemony dressing for serving as a simple side salad or as a topping for chicken, fish, or pork.
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“I made this today into a pasta salad per your suggestion. We have also had in on your greek marinated chicken. Wonderful, both staples in our house.” -Snewton, FoodieCrush reader
Serve This as a Side Salad or Spoon it Over Pork, Fish, and Chicken
Through every stage of my calling as a home cook, my love of tomatoes is one thing that’s never wavered. The other could very possibly be my love of anything and everything with a pucker. Yep. Pickles, capers, olives, and kisses included.
I have several beloved tomato salad recipes on my site, including my tomato and hearts of palm salad, dilled cucumber and tomato salad, and my burrata and tomato salad with avocado.
This Mediterranean tomato salad is a new favorite of mine. It’s optimal at the height of summer’s tomato season, but its lightly brined, bright lemon flavor make grocery store tomatoes acceptable any time of year.
It came together as many of my salads do, off the cuff with inspiration from mastering a few flavors that work together. It’s a stellar side dish to any summer meal, but I especially love it spooned over these juicy grilled pork chops.
Enjoy!
A Few Ingredient Notes
- Tomatoes — I use medium size campari or cocktail tomatoes from the grocery store. They’re sweeter and smaller than the large cutting tomatoes used on sandwiches. Sweet cherry tomatoes would be perfection as well. And of course, summer’s freshest tomato harvest is the optimal choice.
- Red onion — Slice your onion into thin quarter moons so it doesn’t overpower each bite. This handheld mandoline is perfect for the job.
- Capers — Adding a bite of pickle power is classic Mediterranean. Capers are pickled flower buds that add a mild and savory pucker to every bite.
- Fresh parsley — I use flat-leaf parsley in this recipe, and lots of it. The parsley adds the freshness that makes this salad a total flirt. Curly parsley would be tasty too, just chop it more fine.
- Garlic — I am a BIG fan of pressing garlic rather than mincing it to avoid those pungent bites of garlic bits. Pressing the garlic melds into the salad better. This is my all-time favorite garlic press, and it’s cheap too.
- The best olive oil + lemon — If there’s one thing to splurge on IMHO, it’s olive oil. A good quality, fruity olive oil will totally make a simple salad like this one — and a cheap one will ruin it — so don’t wimp out. A squeeze of fresh lemon gives this salad the acid to balance it all out.
Ways to Serve This Tomato Salad
This salad is like a chameleon, making everything it tops even more beautiful without taking over. The following are a few ideas for enjoying it:
- Enjoy by itself as a tangy side salad, or make it a meal and use it as a topping for a smattering of arugula or other greens. Add sliced chicken or canned tuna for more protein.
- Make this salad cheesy with chunks of feta cheese, and sliced mozzarella cheese balls, or serve it over grilled halloumi for more savvy Mediterranean-ness.
- Use it as a relish for grilled or baked fish, my favorite Greek chicken, a salsa for grilled pork chops, and for sure alongside steak with chimichurri sauce.
- Top slices of toasted baguettes with olive oil and sea salt then add spoonfuls of the salad for an easy appetizer or snack.
- Turn this into the easiest pasta salad. Toss the tomato salad with cooked noodles and more olive oil and lemon juice for a crowd. Add kalamata or green olives for the forever win.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
Mediterranean Tomato Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds medium-sized tomatoes , cut in half and then quartered (about 6 cups)
- 2 cups fresh Italian flat leaf parsley leaves , roughly chopped
- ¾ cup sliced red onion
- ½ cup capers , drained
- 2 cloves garlic , pressed or minced
- ¼ cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon , juiced (about ¼ cup)
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients. In a large bowl, gently toss the tomatoes, parsley, red onion, capers and garlic.
- Add dressing. Drizzle the olive oil and lemon juice over the tomato mixture and season with kosher salt and black pepper. Toss to coat and taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if needed.
- Let rest before serving. Let the salad marinate for about 15 minutes for the flavors to meld. Serve or refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
Other Ingredients You Can Add
- Add even more briny bites in the form of kalamata or green olives, artichoke hearts, or pickled asparagus
- Go veg crazy by adding avocado, red bell pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, cucumber, or thinly sliced zucchini
- Bulk up the salad with chickpeas or cannellini beans
- Try a dash of red wine vinegar instead of the lemon juice
- Salty hunks of feta cheese would be a super delicious addition to this tomato salad
- Swap the parsley for tender herbs like mint, basil, or marjoram
More Side Dish Recipes Using Tomatoes
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Snewton
I made this today into a pasta salad per your suggestion. We have also had in on your greek marinated chicken. Wondeful, both staples in our house.
Agreed! Such good combinations!! Thanks for the comment and rating!
Ashley
Really good! I added chickpeas to make it a full meal instead of a side salad and served with yogurt & chickpeas.
That sounds like the perfect veg meal. Thanks for the tip Ashley.
Diana
This was delicious!
I made it as a side dish with garlic butter chicken thighs and orzo They went together perfectly!
Happy to hear you enjoyed it Diana!
Gary
I made this and
thoroughly enjoyed it. I did add diced cucumbers and extra parsley. In addition I cooked pita wedges and made them into chips. I made homemade tapenade and placed it on the pita chips. Also served this breakfast meal with scrambled eggs cooked in butter and topped with gruyere cheese.
Rebecca
I love it – I include olive
Daniel Hodge
I have an incredible surplus of tomatoes and so was looking for ways to step my consumption. This recipe hit the spot as I read it and, really hit the spot as I consumed it. Thanks for making it available.
Jaimie
What olive oil do you recommend?
Ana
Love the flavors, but found that there was too much parsley. I’ll try this again with less parsley in the future.