The Best Tomato Salad | The Modern Proper (2024)

Wondering what to do with all those fresh summer tomatoes? Our simple tomato salad recipe is the best solution, we promise!

Photography by Gayle McLeod

When Life Gives You Tomatoes, Make Our Tomato Salad Recipe

Summer is in full swing! And you know nothing says summer like fresh tomatoes. Heirloom, cherry, beefsteak, we can’t get enough of them. And we’ve got just the dish to celebrate summer’s favorite savory fruit - the best tomato salad! The bright, fresh flavor of tomatoes are perfectly complemented by the delicious crunch of fennel and the buttery sweet texture of castelvetrano olives, all topped with a mouthwatering, easy to make, tangy dressing. It’s the perfect snack or appetizer for a summer picnic or beach trip! Serve as a side dish or pair with something substantial, like white beans, to take this summer tomato salad from appetizer to a main dish! Get ready to choose your own adventure with our Mediterranean-style tomato salad.

So What is a Tomato Salad Made of?

What we love about this tomato salad is that it’s so simple! With only a few ingredients, the trick is to make sure that they’re of good quality and prepared well. Tomatoes have a soft texture, so it’s good to combine them with a crunchy costar. Cucumbers and onions are always good go-to’s, but we’re mixing it up here and using fennel instead. Fennel is a Mediterranean bulb veggie that has a slightly sweet, almost black licorice-like flavor, and packs a good strong crunch. You can also add a soft cheese like feta or mozzarella, but we’re using castelvetrano olives! That’s right, this is a vegan tomato salad recipe, so it’ll be a hit with any crowd. Castelvetrano olives have a soft, buttery texture (like cheese!) and they’re mild in flavor. Grab this short list of ingredients to make our version of summer in a bowl.

• Tomatoes

• Fennel bulb

• Castelvetrano olives

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• Garlic clove

• Fresh dill

• Olive oil

• Mustard

• Salt & Pepper

We Say Tomato, You Say What is the Best Salad Tomato?

There are lots of types of tomatoes out there. Beefsteak, cherry, grape, Roma, heirloom, the list goes on! So which one is best for a tomato salad? The answer is that it really depends on what you like, you can’t go wrong. You can use large, thick cuts of heirloom tomatoes or beefsteak tomatoes, halved cherry or grape tomatoes, or wedges of Roma tomatoes- whatever you have available! You can even use multiple kinds for extra variety, flavor, or color.

Let’s Talk About The Best Tomato Salad Dressing

Since we’re using a lot of mildly sweet vegetables here, it’s great to pair them with a dressing that’s savory and tangy. This makes for the perfect balance! Our dressing recipe is the ideal addition to our tomatoes, fennel, and olives. We start things off with vinegar and garlic. When combined with tomatoes, they’re the holy grail of flavor. Then we add even more goodies to this mix that perfectly compliment each other, like fresh dill and stone ground mustard. Since we’re combining oil and vinegar, give it a good stir (or shake) before pouring it over the tomatoes so that it doesn’t separate.

How to Make Our Simple Tomato Salad Recipe

This tomato salad recipe comes together so quickly and easily you can even make it five minutes before your guests come over. Just a bit of slicing, grating, and stirring then voila, you’ve got a beautiful Mediterranean tomato salad that will make you feel like you’re in Italy!

1. Get a small bowl and mix the dressing ingredients together- vinegar, garlic, dill, olive oil, mustard, salt and pepper. Stir vigorously until everything comes together.

2. Slice the tomatoes and fennel and layer them together on a large platter. Then, sprinkle on your olives and dressing. Topping it off with some fresh dill and flaky salt really kicks it up a notch! Then finito, you’re done!

Tools You’ll Need

• Measuring spoons

• Microplane grater

• Sharp kitchen knife

• Whisk

What to Eat With Our Simple Tomato Salad

Our Greek tomato salad is a delicious start or accompaniment to many kinds of meals. Because it is so light and flavorful, it goes well with seafood dishes, but can also hold its own alongside lamb, beef, or chicken. Here are some recipes that go hand in hand with our perfect tomato salad.

• Fish Puttanesca

• Salmon en Papillote (Salmon in Parchment)

• Roasted Salmon with Spring Pesto

• Grilled Rib Eye Steak with Italian Salsa Verde

• Chicken Cacciatore

Time for Tomato Salad Season!

Celebrate summer and grab all of those beautiful tomatoes that are filling up the grocery store and farmers markets! Whether you’re having friends over for a meal or just looking for a quick way to use those extra tomatoes, our simple tomato salad recipe is officially here for the summer! Get slicing and show us your tomato salads on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper!