Italian Tomato Onion Salad is a great starter for any Italian dinner. Made with fresh vine tomatoes, red onion, garlic, and balsamic vinegar, this simple salad is a great side dish or a meal served over mixed greens and sliced fresh mozzarella.
Sometimes it's the simplest dishes that are the tastiest. This healthful and delicious Italian Tomato Onion Salad will satisfy all of your tastebuds without weighing you down.
What I love about this salad is how simple it is to make and how quickly it comes together. It's great served as a starter course or as a side dish. Moreover, you can serve over sliced fresh mozzarella cheese and side of crusty bread for a simple and delicious lunch.
Tomatoes, onions, and garlic, are the perfect combination. When combined with balsamic and a good quality olive oil, like Partanna Extra Virgin Olive Oil, their flavors really shine.
This dish is great served with a loaf of crusty Italian bread too. It's a common misnomer that Italians only eat heavy sauce-ridden foods. This simple and fresh salad is a staple in Italy.
So be sure to whip up with simple Italian Tomato Salad and you'll be eating like an Italian in no time!
How to make Italian tomato onion salad
This fresh and delicious salad couldn't be easier to make. However, because tomatoes shouldn't be refrigerated, this is a salad that is best eaten and served shortly after being put together.
Firstly, you need to clean, core, and cut the tomatoes. To do this, simply cut the tomatoes into about eight wedges. Use clean hands to remove some the seeds from the tomatoes. Add cleaned tomatoes to a your mixing bowl.
Next, slice the onion in half lengthwise from top to bottom. Peel the skin of the onion and use a sharp knife to slice into thin half moon strips. Add to the tomatoes.
Then add the minced garlic. I prefer to use fresh garlic. To make life easier, it's always a good idea to use a good quality garlic press like the Zyliss Garlic Press. You can just press the garlic into the salad without having to chop or get that garlic smell on your hands.
Lastly, drizzle on the balsamic and olive oil, then sprinkle on the kosher salt and oregano. Then, toss gently to combine being careful not to break up the tomatoes.
Serve immediately on chilled plates with a side of crusty bread or on top of mixed greens. Add a side of fresh mozzarella for a heartier dish. This would also make a great side dish to go along with Italian Turkey Sausage Meatballs.
For another delicious Italian side dish, be sure to try Antipasto Pasta Salad or Farro Salad recipe, or, if you love potatoes, try this Italian Roasted Potatoes recipe. Moreover, you can serve this tomato and red onion salad along side Easy Vegetable Lasagne for healthy and delicious meat free meal.
Italian Tomato Onion Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ripe tomatoes washed, seeded, and cut into wedges
- ½ large red onion peeled and cut lengthwise into slivers
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Place tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a large bowl. Pour on the olive oil and balsamic, and sprinkle with salt and oregano. Toss gently to combine.
- Spoon on to chilled serving plates and top with extra oregano if desired.
stella
this salad is truly delicious and great for a quick lunch
angelakallison
The perfect quick lunch for sure!
Nathan
I'm not typically a huge fan of tomatoes, but this tomato onion salad looks pretty fantastic! Can't wait to give it a try and see how it goes!
angelakallison
I know you're going to love it!
Teodora Grujic
Simple, healthy, and delicious! Perfect combination! Thanks!
Heidy
I love simple recipes like this! It turned out very well, and we will be making it again this weekend for our gathering!
Heather Perine
Love the idea of this fresh salad...going to pair with some fresh mozzarella and put on top of arugula salad for dinner. Yum!
Arturo
I love this salad, it is one of my favorite salads. It’s easy to make and delicious, what more do you need.
When I was a young kid, my Aunt loved making it for me because she knew how much I like it.
John
I make this every summer, great recipe! Instead of Mozzarella I usually usually use Feta cheese, sometimes Blue Cheese, and rarely Stilton Cheese.
Mikie
Right On used this recipe very
Similar to mine I add a touch
more good Aged Balsamic
Vinegar NICE JOB ! !
Retired 🧑🍳 Chef 👨🍳
Renee Richardson
So simple and so delicious. I will be making this again and again. Can't wait to make it for Thanksgiving, at dad's.Thank you ☺️
Carl
I normally don’t include much of the tomato seeds but I was recently old that the seeds add a lot of flavor. Which way is best, include the seeds or don’t?
angelakallison
I choose not to add the seeds so that the salad isn't too runny, but as far as flavor goes, I don't notice a difference either way.