This homemade Turkish Shepherd Salad mezze (appetizer) is made with fresh vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion and a yummy lemony dressing. It can be used as a dip or rolled up in a pita/ flatbread with falafel. The secret ingredient with this recipe is sumac. It gives it that wonderful authentic flavor.

Turkish salad on a plate, with tomatoes and parsley.

This dish is light, fresh and satisfying. It has a variety of textures from the bursting tomatoes to the crunchy peppers and cucumbers. It has a delicious robust flavor and is so good with shawarma and other Mediterranean dishes.

This was inspired by our greek spaghetti and chickpea salad. It pairs well with our chicken vegetable shawarma with tzatziki.

Try our other great sides like Roasted Sunchokes with Thyme, Jerusalem Artichokes, dinner roll recipe, or Broccoli Salad.

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Ingredients
How to Make Turkish Shepherd Salad
Substitutions and Variations
Storage
How to Serve Turkish Salad
Top Tip
Recipe

Ingredients

Below is a list of ingredients needed for this recipe. Follow our tips on each ingredient for best results.

cucumber, parsley, olive oil, tomatoes, mint, lemon and fresh spices.

Roma tomatoes- you can use any tomato, but I've found this works best with a more firm tomato. Cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half lengthwise also work great.
Cucumber - while recipe testing, we found that crunchier cucumbers work better in this recipe. For crunchy cucumbers, use any variety with small, few seeds.
Red Onion- for an authentic taste, stick with red. We tried a few different onions and while they tasted fine, red onions provide the most authentic flavor.
Fresh Flat Leaf Italian Parsley- for the best taste, use fresh! We tested this recipe with dried and it wasn't the same at all. Make sure to use fresh.
Green Bell Pepper
Shallot- minced garlic will also work
Fresh Mint - there is no substitution that will work to replace fresh mint in this recipe. If you absolutely cannot use it, just omit it.
Lemon Juice
Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar- apple cider vinegar will work in a pinch, but red wine is recommended for the best flavor.
Sumac - sumac is the heart of this dish and gives it an amazing flavor. It can be a little difficult to find, but I've seen it at some major grocery stores and it can be found at an Asian food market.
Parika
Salt
Black Pepper

See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Turkish Shepherd Salad

Use these process shots to help get the results you are wanting. The pictures can help with texture and be a visual guide for best results.

chopped tomato, cucumber, onion, mint and parsley in a bowl.

Start by chopping the vegetables and herbs. Chop tomatoes and cucumber up into cubes roughly ½" wide or slightly smaller and place them in a medium sized mixing bowl. Thinly slice the red onion, then chop some of them a few times into smaller pieces and add to the bowl. Finely chop the shallot and add to bowl. Chop the parsley and mint and add to the bowl.

olive oil being drizzled over a bowl of fresh vegetables.

Drizzle olive oil then red wine vinegar over the vegetables.

lemon juice being squeezed onto tomatoes cucumber and parsley.

Squeeze lemon juice over the vegetables. Stir to combine.

vegetables for turkish salad in a bowl with sumac and paprika on top.

Next sprinkle spices (sumac, paprika, salt and pepper) over vegetables and herbs and stir to combine again.

Hint: fresh lemon juice is more flavorful than lemon juice concentrate, but concentrate will do in a pinch.

Substitutions and Variations

We love switching things up when we're in the kitchen. Try any of these variations for something a little different.

Colored Bell Pepper - instead of a green bell pepper, substitute a colored one in.
Grape or Cherry Tomatoes - use grape or cherry tomatoes for a little bit more tomato flavor.
Apple Cider Vinegar- feel free to use apple cider vinegar instead of red wine vinegar. It won't change the taste very much.
Spicy - add 1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes to the spices for a little extra spice!
Extra Vegetables - add one zucchini and one summer squash for some extra vegetables and flavor. Greens beans and more colored bell peppers would make a great addition too.
Deluxe- top with avocado, Greek yogurt and feta cheese.

turkish salad in a bowl, pitas, tomato and parsley in the background.

Storage

Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Turkish shepherd salad is best eaten fresh, but it will hold up for about 2 days. After 2 days the tomatoes will start to mush and the leaves will wilt.

We do not recommend to freezing this salad.

How to Serve Turkish Salad

I love taking this yummy recipe to any gathering or party. I like to serve it with pita chips. You can also use this as a side when making other Turkish or Greek foods such as shawarma or pitas or souvlaki.