Loaded Fattoush Salad

You are going to love this authentic Loaded Fattoush Salad recipe. With outstanding depth of flavors it makes you wonder where this amazing salad has been all your life!! Filled with crisp veggies from a traditional fattoush salad and I added in chickpeas with feta cheese for even more flavor and protein. The delicious zesty Mediterranean dressing with fresh herbs helps to give it a top spot in one of our best salads ever from local restaurants.

Try my other salad recipes like loaded house salad, my favourite green salad, easy chickpeas salad, kale salad, spaghetti pasta salad, and my strawberry & spinach salad.

this recipe!

Fattoush salad recipe

Enjoying this salad at my favorite Mediterranean restaurants over the years I never thought I could create all the amazing flavors of this salad at home.

I am excited to say that now you can and share this salad so you can enjoy it as much as we do.

The surprise in this healthy salad with lettuce, cucumbers, red onion, radish and cherry tomatoes is the crunchy baked pita chips that add such a wonderful texture.

This is a must serve salad with my bang bang chicken skewers, baked chicken kabobs, chicken tikka masala, marry me chicken, honey garlic chicken bites and my firecracker chicken wraps.

Fattoush salad ingredients

Salad

• Olive Oil – extra virgin olive oil divided for the dressing and pita chips
• Pita Bread – cut into pieces, you can use either day old (stale) pita bread or fresh in fact it is said that making fattoush was a way of using up stale flatbread
• Green Leaf Lettuce – 4 cups washed and chopped about one head, or use red leaf and your favorite lettuce something with a nice crunch like Romaine or butterhead are best
• English Cucumber – 1 cup peeled and sliced, English cucumber have smaller seeds and thinner skin which are perfect for the fattoush salad
• Cherry Tomatoes – halved, also use grape tomatoes as well as whole tomatoes cut into bite sized pieces
• Radish – thinly sliced adds a bit of a crunch with a hint of spicy flavor
• Red Onion – thinly sliced adds some sharpness to the salad without being too strong
• Chickpeas – is an optional ingredient, use drained canned chickpeas or cook your own from scratch
• Feta Cheese – crumbled feta cheese is optional but adds a great salty tang flavor, I like to use real feta if you can find it as it is so creamy with a hint of tang perfect to level up this salad, if you do not have feta you can refer to my substitutes for feta cheese reference
• Mint Leaves – torn is a classic addition to fattoush salad that really brings the dish tougher you can use Moroccan mint or peppermint

Fattoush Salad Dressing

• Olive Oil – extra virgin olive oil divided for the dressing and pita chips
• Lemon Juice – fresh squeezed lemon juice, do not use the bottled stuff here it will be way too acidic and ruin the dressing
• Sumac – ground sumac for extra floral and citrus notes in the dressing and as a garnish, you can find it supermarkets and import grocery stores or you do not have it you can leave it out and garnish with extra grind pepper and or a sprinkle of paprika
• Pomegranate Molasses – can be found at import or middle eastern grocery stores and supermarkets in the vinegar aisle, made from reduced pomegranate juice adding a tangy slightly sweet flavor that’s thick like molasses. An integral part of the fattoush dressing, if you do not have it use one teaspoon of honey and one teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
• Salt
• Garlic Cloves – grated fresh garlic makes a big difference in this recipe, use a microplane zester or mince as finely as possible with a knife and a cutting board, in a pinch you can use bottled minced garlic but it will not have the same kick of fresh garlic

How to make fattoush salad

STEP ONE – Preheat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Brush both sides of each pita bread with one tablespoon of olive oil, using two tablespoons total. Place the pitas on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and cook in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, turning the pitas once halfway through cooking. Once cool enough to touch, break into bite-size pieces and set aside.

STEP TWO – Meanwhile, prepare the salad dressing by whisking together the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil, lemon juice, sumac, pomegranate molasses, salt, and grated garlic in the bottom of a large serving bowl. 

STEP THREE – Add the cucumbers, tomatoes, chickpeas, radish, and red onion to the bowl and toss to coat in the dressing. Add the lettuce and toasted pita pieces to the bowl and toss well. Serve topped with crumbled feta cheese, torn mint leaves, and a sprinkle of sumac.

Can I make this Fattoush salad ahead of time?

If you are taking this to a party or want to prepare it ahead of time. Make the dressing and keep it in a mason jar and after making the pita chips keep them wrapped in a paper towel inside a plastic bag. Prepare the cucumber, tomatoes, radish and red onion to keep in the same container but the lettuce should be in its own container so not to get soggy. Feta and mint can be in their own plastic bags along with the sumac. Store the dressing, veggies, mint and feta in the fridge. Put the salad together when ready to eat.

Storage instructions

Best served and eaten right away as the lettuce will wilt. Follow my make ahead instructions to store the salad not made.

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