Tomato Basil Salad (Vegan, Whole30)

Tomato Basil Salad is a quick and healthy recipe that only takes 5 minutes to make and is incredibly delicious! This salad is light and refreshing and perfect for weeknight meals, cookouts, brunch or appetizers! Vegan, dairy free, gluten free, paleo, Whole30 and low carb friendly!

If you have fresh tomatoes on hand, you should try salsa with grape tomatoes or roasted cherry tomato pasta sauce.

Why this recipe works:

• This healthy salad only has 6 ingredients and is so easy to make
• This salad is great for topping eggs for breakfast, as brunch, for lunch or dinner.
• This tomato basil salad recipe is gluten free, dairy free, paleo, vegan and Whole30.

Ingredients:

• Cherry or grape tomatoes
• Fresh Basil
• Red Onion
• Vinegar (white balsamic, balsamic, white wine vinegar)
• Salt
• Pepper (optional)

Directions:

• Step 1: Start by halving the cherry tomatoes (or slicing up a larger tomato). Add the tomatoes to a large bowl. 
• Step 2: Finely chop the red onion so that there are no huge chunks to bite down on. Add the red onion to the bowl with the tomatoes. 
• Step 3: Chop the basil. The best way to do this is to chiffonade the basil. Simply stack all the basil leaves on top of each other. Then roll the basil up into a log. Cut thin strips down the basil shaped log.
• Step 4: Pour the vinegar over the mixture and add salt and pepper. Stir well. Serve immediately or allow to sit to further combine.

What else can you add?

• Chopped cucumber
• Avocado
• Chopped chicken, shrimp, salmon, steak, chickpeas or white beans (vegan)
• Feta cheese, goat cheese, mozzarella cheese, blue cheese
• Chopped green onion
• Fresh parsley, oregano, thyme
• Drizzle of creamy basil dressing

How to serve this salad:

This salad is great as a side dish. It can also be used as part of the meal or as an appetizer.

• Serve over pasta or zucchini noodles
• Stuffed in an omelet or on top of eggs
• On flatbread like pizza (like a margarita style pizza)
• Top crusty bread (like bruschetta)
• On top of grilled chicken, grilled salmon

FAQs

Why should you add vinegar to this tomato basil salad?

The vinegar actually helps neutralize the bite from the red onion and helps it taste sweeter. This is a trick I learned years ago. If I have time I often allow red onions to soak in vinegar before adding them to a salad.

What kind of vinegar should you use?

I like to use white balsamic so that the vinegar doesn’t take away from how pretty the tomatoes are. You could also use regular balsamic vinegar, white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar.

Why cherry tomatoes?

Cherry tomatoes are great in this recipe because they are easy to chop and make a great presentation. Larger tomatoes are often full of seeds and can make the tomato basil salad a little too watery. 

What if you don’t have fresh basil?

If you don’t have fresh basil, you can use fresh parsley, mint, oregano or thyme. It will change the flavor but still be very refreshing. You can also try dried basil (about 1 tsp per pint of tomatoes). 

If you love this recipe you should try:

• Blistered tomatoes
• Italian White Bean Salad
• Easy Watermelon Gazpacho
• Greek Spaghetti Squash Salad

★ Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!

Tomato Basil Salad

This fresh, light tomato basil salad is the perfect way to celebrate the summer season! Fresh basil, tomatoes paired with balsamic vinegar and red onions will easily be a staple in your summer meals.

5 from 5 votes

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: salad, Tomato Basil Salad

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 10 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Author: Samantha Rowland

Guided Recipe Video

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh tomatoes - chopped
• 5-10 leaves basil - cut into ribbons
• 2-3 tbs. red onion
• 1-2 tbs. white balsamic vinegar - or balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper

Instructions

• 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.

Notes

• If you don’t have fresh basil, you can use fresh parsley, mint, oregano or thyme. It will change the flavor but still be very refreshing. You can also try dried basil (about 1 tsp per pint of tomatoes). 
• White balsamic vinegar doesn’t take away from how pretty the tomatoes are, but regular balsamic or champagne vinegar is great as well!
• If you don’t have access to cherry tomatoes, you can use regular tomatoes, However regular tomatoes have more seeds so they can make a more watery salad. 

Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts

Amount per Serving

Calories

26

Carbohydrates

 

5

g

Fiber

 

1

g

Sugar

 

3

g

Protein

 

1

g

Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database.

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Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in May of 2015, but was published again in May of 2019 to include step by step directions, new photos and a video.