Name: Turkish Shepherd Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 3 Roma tomatoes; 1 regular sized cucumber; 1 green bell pepper; 1 large red onion, thinly sliced; 1 shallot or 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic; 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley; 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint; 1 Tablespoon olive oil; 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar; juice of one lemon, about 1/3 cup lemon juice; 2 teaspoons sumac; 1/2 teaspoon paprika; 1 teaspoon salt; fresh black pepper

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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 was inspired by our easy greek salad, and pairs well with our chicken vegetable shawarma with tzatziki.

Try our other great sides like Roasted Sunchokes with Thyme, Jerusalem Artichokes.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Equipment
Storage
Top tip
Recipe

Ingredients

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
Red Onion- for an authentic taste, stick with red.
Fresh Flat Leaf Italian Parsley- for the best taste, use fresh!
Green Bell Pepper
Shallot- minced garlic will also work
Fresh Mint
Lemon Juice
Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar- apple cider vinegar will work in a pinch, but red wine is recommended
Sumac
Parika
Salt
Black Pepper

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

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

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.

Variations

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.

Equipment

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.

Top tip

Use fresh ingredients. It might be tempting to use dry herbs, but the flavor is so much better when using fresh!

Recipe