Middle Eastern Chopped Vegetable Salad

4.67 from 3 votes
30 minutes
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Middle Eastern Chopped Vegetable Salad is light, crunchy and over-the-top flavorful!  All the vegetables are in season now and it’s like summer in a bowl!

Photo of Middle Eastern Vegetable Salad in a white bowl garnished with mint sprigs and lemon slices.

Here’s a lively and lovely summer salad that is worth every knife stroke!

I really wasn’t sure what to call this salad because it’s similar to numerous other Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Israeli-inspired salads but probably most similar to an Israeli Chopped Salad.

Whenever I create and share a recipe that’s a classic or has deep ethnic origins, I’m always a little apprehensive if I’m not of that heritage because I don’t want to get it wrong.

Photo of Middle Eastern Chopped Salad in white serving bowl on gray background with gray napkin garnished with lemon slices.

At any rate, let’s just call this one DELICIOUS!  Middle Eastern Chopped Vegetable Salad is like summer in a bowl!

How to make Middle Eastern Chopped Vegetable Salad:

  • Gather the ingredients:
    • Tomatoes
    • Cucumbers
    • Red onion
    • Yellow bell pepper
    • Jalapeno pepper
    • Garlic
    • Fresh mint
    • Fresh parsley
    • Lemon juice
    • Olive oil
  • Then, start chopping!  This takes a little while but you really want to do it by hand especially if you’re serving it to guests.  With a food processor, it’s difficult to get the vegetables chopped consistently and you can end up with mush and lots of water.
Photo of salad ingredients in glass mixing bowl before being stirred.
  • With a good knife, the chopping process goes fairly quickly.  Just put your favorite podcast on and zen out!  If fine chopping really isn’t your thing, no need to chop everything super small.  Just chop everything larger or “chunkier.”  Here’s some good information on knife skills:  Basic but Life-Changing Knife Skills.
Photo of salad in glass mixing bowl after being stirred with white mixing spoon.
  • Chop, combine and that’s it!

Oh, let me tell you about something that was life-changing.  At the bottom of this post, look for an affiliate link for a juicer that has made my life so much easier!  I used to use a wooden reamer, squeeze the juice over a sieve into a bowl to remove any seeds.  That always gave me two extra items to wash on a cook date at the client’s home.

With the juicer shown below, you can juice right into what you’re making!  Here’s the lowdown on how to use it:  How to Use A Citrus Juicer.

Photo of Middle Eastern Vegetable Salad in glass mixing bowl after being stirred with white mixing spoon.

Stir it up and you’re done!  The salad can get watery quickly as you can see below.  However, those juices are DIVINE and you won’t want to waste a drop!  Serve this Middle Easter Vegetable Salad with some great pita bread to soak up every last one!

Photo of finished Middle Eastern Chopped Salad in white serving bowl on gray background with gray napkin garnished with lemon slices.

Other Middle Eastern and Mediterranean-inspired salads you may enjoy:

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Middle Eastern Chopped Salad in a white serving bowl garnished with mint sprigs and lemon slices.

Middle Eastern Chopped Vegetable Salad

4.67 from 3 votes

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By: Carol | From A Chef’s Kitchen
Middle Eastern Chopped Vegetable Salad is like summer in a bowl and the perfect salad to make now with what's in season!
Prep Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Side Dishes – Salads
Cuisine Middle Eastern
Servings 4
Calories 233 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 4 large cucumbers - thin strips removed from around cucumber with peeler, then seeded and chopped
  • 4 large tomatoes - chopped
  • 1 small red onion - finely chopped
  • 1 large red or yellow bell pepper - chopped
  • 1 medium jalapeno pepper - seeded if desired, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic - minced
  • 2 large lemons - juiced
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley - preferably flat-leaf
  • 1/4 cup chopped mint
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste

Instructions
 

  • Combine cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper in a large bowl.
  • Whisk together garlic, lemon juice and olive oil in a small bowl.
  • Pour over vegetables, add parsley and mint.
  • Add salt and black pepper to taste.
  • Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

MAKE AHEAD:
  • Do not add the dressing if you plan to make it ahead.
  • Vegetables may be chopped and combined 1 day ahead and refrigerated without the dressing and fresh herbs.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 233kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 22mg | Potassium: 1068mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 3487IU | Vitamin C: 128mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 2mg

These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you’re using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.

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4.67 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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6 Comments

  1. I made this to go with lamb kabobs served with Naan bread. I forgot the olive oil in the salad. Not a problem! So good with the lamb, tzatziki and naan. Excellent ingredients! Flavors that dance together!

    1. Hi, Jan, Thanks so very much and glad you enjoyed. Your meal sounds divine!!! Thanks again and hope you’ll try some of my other salads.

  2. Delicious. What a fresh way to make a vegetable salad. I really liked using the fresh herbs.

  3. 5 stars
    I was looking for a salad recipe for the whole family and I stumbled on this article. I read and followed the instructions carefully and I made it deliciously! Every member of my family is so happy! Thanks for this!