This tomato basil salad is a great way to use up the abundance of summer veggies. This fresh salad has been a staple in my house for years. It started as a topping for bruchetta (which I highly recommend) but soon morphed into it’s own dish at my house. I make big batches of it and serve it along side of eggs and avocado in the morning, mixed in with zoodles for an easy fresh lunch or dinner. I also pile it high on flat bread pizza crust with a bit of melted mozzarella for a quick margarita style pizza. This tomato basil salad is low fat, vegan, paleo, Whole30 approved and is packed with flavor.
My favorite part of the summer is the abundance of tomatoes, zucchini, squash, and bell peppers. I wait all year long for the smell of basil and tomato plants on my back porch. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go to your local nursery and smell the plants, they are heavenly! I used to get my tomato plants from an older gentleman who sold heirloom tomatoes he grew from his greenhouse. I told him that if I could bottle up the smell of tomato plants and wear it as perfume I would. He loved this and gave me 6 free plants that year because he had never met someone as enthusiastic about tomatoes as he was!
I love to have recipes like this on hand. I remember when I first started cooking for myself, I never really knew how to tone down the bite from the red onions and I was almost convinced that I didn’t like them raw. But I soon discovered that the addition of vinegar to dishes like this helps mellow out the onions and also enhances the flavor of the tomatoes as well. The sweet tomatoes pair well with a splash of balsamic or sherry vinegar. You can also add chunks of fresh mozzarella, which is my sisters favorite way to enjoy this salad, but I like to leave it out, since I really love to use this dish in so many different ways.
This recipe used the heirloom cherry tomatoes I found at Trader Joe’s. I already have a basil plant growing outside and I look for any reason to go out there and pluck a few leaves off the plant, it’s so fragrant! The salad comes together in just a few minutes, chopping the ingredients is the hardest part.
Get ready for summer with this fresh tomato basil salad #vegan #fitfluential @pancakewarrior_ Click To Tweet
- 1 pound fresh tomatoes, chopped
- 5-10 leaves basil, cut into ribbons
- 2-3 tbs. red onion
- 1-2 tbs. white balsamic vinegar
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp fresh cracked pepper
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl, Stir with a spoon and let sit 5 minutes before serving. Store in air tight glass container for up to 2 days in the fridge.
- Cook time indicates rest time.
What about you?
- Do you have a garden?
- What is your favorite summer veggie?
- Do you have a go-to recipe for all the veggies in the summer?
My favorite summer veggies are the different varieties of peppers! I am a little partial to the fruit since there is so much good stuff to choose from once summer gets a little closer.
Tomatos and basil (with balsamic) just screams summer to me!
tomato and basil is one of my favorite combinations ever! love it so much 🙂
Yum, yum! As I was reading your opening I was loving each of your serving suggestions! Like, “yeah, this would be tasty with eggs! Oh… tossed with noodles (or zoodles) would be SO good! Like a pizza, genius!” They all sound amazing! Thanks for sharing! I’ve pinned. 🙂
This looks amazing and so summery! I am definitely bookmarking this!
Yum! I love tomato basil salad. I also toss this with pasta and mozzarella cubes/balls for a cold summer pasta salad!
Yeah I second the fresh mozzarella thing. This is totally one of my favorite fresh bites.
Yum! This looks so fresh and delicious.
Tomato salads are my go to all summer long with flavored balsamic and mozzarella
I’m growing my own tomatoes I can’t wait to try this out!!
The colors alone make me want to enjoy this delicious looking salad! Yum!
Oh, I love tomatoes & basil. I know I am going to make this. Every ingredient is great! Thanks for posting.
There’s nothing quite like tomato and basil together! MMMM!
YUM! I love how simple and delicious Summer salads are. I can’t wait to make this with tomatoes from my garden!
Oh my goodness, i am so excited about this because, well we have a ton of basil growing in the garden and we have a bunch of onions so all i need really, is the tomatoes to make this perfect. Thanks for sharing!
I have everything to make this except the white balsamic vinegar- any suggestions for substitutions?
Ah, so many of my favorite things in this salad! <3 I'm really loving all the colors, and hooray indeed for summer veggies! <3
On of my favorites! So simple and delicious! We have a pretty big garden and I missed it so much last year. We already have it planted this year, lost a couple plants due to the frost last week or the week before but got replacements. Now just wait for it to start booming!
I LOVE basil. I don’t like raw tomatoes though… but this in the oven roasted and on a pizza would taste amazing, haha!
LOVE!! This recipe reminds me of my dad! He always makes one of these!
Tomatoes and fresh basil <3 I can just taste the fresh summer beauty from here! Haha <3
Oh my goodness- delicious and beautiful! I will need to add this to our meal plan!
Great summer recipes! I love fresh summer tomatoes 🙂
I love how vinegar brings all of those ingredients together. Great recipe, Sam!! I love basil so so much. Now, if only I could learn to keep a basil plant alive…
the salad looks amazing! I always have a garden but not this year because I am moving. I love fresh tomatoes picked from the vine!!! Nothing better!
This looks SO yummy! Fresh and summer-y! 🙂 Yum!
This looks delicious! Sometimes I get sick of salads with lettuce and want to try different salad variations 🙂
This sounds simple and delicious – I’ll be it’ll be a BBQ side hit! Found you at What to Do Weekends.
Oh yes, so perfect for a bbq – no refrigerator needed!!
Yum!! Thanks for sharing on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday!! Hope to see you tomorrow! Pinned!
This will be my summer go to salad. Love all the tomatoes.
This looks so amazing! I can’t wait to try it. Pinned and tweeted! Thanks for being a part of our party. I hope to see you, Monday at 7 pm. Lou Lou Girls
This is my kind of recipe! I love it so much that I’ve picked it as one of my top 5 for Share The Wealth Sunday! I’ll feature it on my blog as well as my FB page. Thanks so much for linking up with us!
xoxo
Lisa
I am not a tomato fan, but this still looks so yummy and fresh! Thanks for sharing with #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup 6/21/15
This is one of my summer favorites! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
This is a big summer favorite for us! I’ve got three tomato plants growing on the deck and we have our CSA but there is never enough tomatoes! Going to try your recipe…so glad you shared it with us at #FoodieFriDIY! Hope to see you this week too!
What a refreshing summer salad. Can’t wait to make them. Thanks for linking up at #HomeMattersParty this week. Hope you will come back and link up and again this week.