I love my greens, but in my Russian Jewish family, I didn’t grow up eating them much. Instead, we had a lot of finely chopped salads, like creamy cucumber salad, tomato cucumber avocado salad, and a variation of this easy Israeli salad recipe. Fresh, chopped veggies are tossed with a simple, refreshing Israeli salad dressing (it’s just a simple lemon vinagrette!) for a bright and crunchy salad. Let me show you how to make Israeli salad – it takes just a few minutes and you’re going to love it! Bonus: If you have kids in the house that refuse to eat lettuce and other greens, this is a great way to get them eating salad! Not that I’d know anything about that problem. 😉
What Is Israeli Salad?
Authentic Israeli salad is a chopped salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, peppers, and fresh herbs (usually parsley). It’s popular in Israel, but also has a history being served in Persian meals. Because it stores very well, this salad is ideal for a meal prep lunch. I kept mine as simple as possible, which makes it the best Israeli salad recipe in my book.
How To Make Israeli Salad
Israeli Salad Dressing Ingredients
Make it with just four pantry staples:
Olive oil – A must in dressings. Because the dressing is so basic, use high quality. Lemon juice – Gives the Israeli chopped salad bright flavor. Fresh is best, but bottled will work! Sea salt – After you toss the salad ingredients together, taste, and adjust salt if desired. Black pepper – Add more freshly cracked pepper to taste.
Is Israeli salad healthy?
Definitely! It’s basically veggies and olive oil.
Is Israeli salad keto friendly?
Yes, this healthy Israeli salad recipe is keto friendly, too. Each cup has 8.3 grams net carbs (a lot of these come from the carbs in tomatoes). TIP: If you want to make it even more keto friendly, throw in some avocado. It’s not authentic, but will add healthy fats, and displaces the other veggies per serving a bit, which would reduce the carbs per cup.
What to serve with Israeli salad
Chicken – Especially chicken breast or chicken drumsticks Fish – Such as baked salmon or cod fish Lamb – Lamb kofta kebab fits well with the flavors Beef – Like juicy burgers or simple steak Eggs – It’s delish with scrambled or fried eggs with avocado Hummus – Serve it in a wrap with cauliflower hummus (or regular if you’re not low carb) Cheese – This isn’t required, but feel free to throw some feta into the salad if you like
Israeli Salad Recipe Storage Instructions
Can you make Israeli cucumber salad ahead?
Yes, you can, but it’s even better fresh. Or you can prep the components ahead of time, so that all you have to do is toss the ingredients together:
Chop tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and onions. Make Israeli chopped salad dressing.
Because the salad doesn’t contain any lettuce, you can make it a few hours in advance. No need to worry about soggy lettuce.
How to store chopped cucumber salad
Store it in the refrigerator for 1-3 days. (You may need to drain it if it sits.)
More Keto Salad Recipes
If you like this simple Israeli salad, you might also like some of these other low carb keto salad recipes:
Keto Coleslaw – A great side dish for summer meals or grilled meats! Five ingredients, five minutes, and just 2 grams net carbs! Classic Wedge Salad – My keto version of the classic wedge. Great with steak or all on it’s own. Chopped Avocado Caprese Salad – Classic caprese flavors get a healthy boost of avocado. Creamy Cucumber Salad – If this salad doesn’t scream summer, I don’t know what does. Great to make-ahead as it gets better in the fridge.
Wooden Salad Bowl – My favorite for a gorgeous presentation. Glass Storage Containers – Leftovers? Easily store them in these glass containers with lids.
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