What Sets This Recipe Apart: This heirloom tomato salad recipe combines sweet, ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados, and onions. Tossed with a lemon olive oil dressing, it’s a lettuce-less salad that’s bright, refreshing, and quick to make!

Looking for more salads? Try our cucumber onions and vinegar salad and corn feta salad.

heirloom tomato salad this recipe

Featured Comment: “This is a staple in my home! I make it allll the time.” ~ Olga

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This is the Only Summer Salad You Need!

Growing up, my mom used to use tomatoes from our garden to make salads with tomato, cucumber, and a little sunflower oil. They were always one of my favorite dishes. Now, I look forward to fresh summer tomatoes all year long so that I can make this heirloom tomato salad.

A slight twist on my mom’s recipe, my version combines summer tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, red onion, and cilantro tossed in a lemon olive oil dressing. Sweet, tangy, and crisp, it’s my go-to appetizer or side for every warm weather meal. However, I love this recipe so much that I often serve it as a meal on its own with a side of crusty bread.

All it takes is nine simple ingredients and a few minutes, and it’s ready to serve. The bright colors make an excellent addition to any table. Plus, with no cooking required, the process is failproof and always delicious.

close up of heirloom tomatoes on newspaper

Heirloom Salad Ingredients

  • Heirloom tomatoes
  • Cucumber
  • Avocado
  • Red onion
  • Cilantro
  • Olive oil
  • Lemon juice
ingredients for heirloom salad

Best Tomatoes for a Salad

The majority of this heirloom salad is made up of heirloom tomatoes. You can find them at supermarkets and farmer’s markets during the summer months. They’re insanely delicious and juicy.

Also called heritage tomatoes, they are open-pollinated, non-hybrid heirloom cultivar of tomato. Known for their superior flavor, texture, and uniqueness varying in size and color. They’re quite juicy and can range from sweet-tart to deeply complex and sweet.

Heirloom tomatoes taste the best at room temperature.

How Do You Cut a Heirloom Tomato for a Salad?

Start by washing the tomatoes thoroughly, removing any dirt or debris. Then, pat it dry with a clean paper towel.

To cut, place a tomato stem-side up on a cutting board, and remove the green stem and leaves. Then, use a serrated knife to cut the tomato in half, slicing through the core.

Remove the core from each half, cutting around it in a “V” shape. Next, place the tomato cut-side up, and slice each half into thin wedges.

How to Make Heirloom Tomato Salad

Making heirloom tomato salad is very easy. You want to thinly slice the cucumber and red onions. I like to dice the avocado but you can slice it into small chunks. For the heirloom tomatoes, since they’re usually pretty big in size, I like to cut them into thin wedges. 

  • To a large salad bowl, add the tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, red onions, and cilantro.
how to make heirloom tomato salad recipe
  • Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Gently toss to combine. Serve immediately.
heirloom salad tossed in a bowl

What to Serve with Tomato and Cucumber Salad

This salad goes with just about anything and everything. Here are some favorite main dishes that go well with heirloom salad:

close up heirloom tomato salad recipe

More Like this Heirloom Salad

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heirloom tomato salad

Heirloom Tomato and Cucumber Salad

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Katya
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Total Time: 10 mins
  • Yield: 6 1x
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Chop
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Juicy heirloom tomatoes tossed with cucumbers, avocado, onions, and cilantro. This is the best summer salad to make!

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 ½ pounds ripe heirloom tomatoes, about 2 large, cut into thin wedges
  • 1 English cucumber, thinly sliced
  • 1 large ripe avocado, chopped
  • ⅓ cup thinly sliced red onion
  • ¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil or avocado oil
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • Kosher salt and fresh black pepper

Instructions

  1. Add the tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, red onions, and cilantro to a large salad bowl.
  2. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Gently toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Notes

  • For best flavor, do not store tomatoes in the refrigerator. Instead, keep them on your counter at room temperature.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 138
  • Sugar: 4.4 g
  • Sodium: 10.5 mg
  • Fat: 10.9 g
  • Carbohydrates: 11 g
  • Protein: 2.2 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg