This bright and colorful 15-minute Persian Shirazi salad takes uber-fresh ingredients like Persian cucumbers and Roma tomatoes and pairs them with parsley, and sour grape juice (ab gooreh) or lemon to create a crisp, light salad.

Shirazi salad is an Iranian dish, which originates from the city of Shiraz in the south of Iran. The ingredients and flavors in the salad are ones you will see reflected throughout Persian, Iranian, and broader Middle Eastern cuisine.

My mom is from Shiraz, a city in Iran known for its gardens. This no-greens, cooling, cucumber tomato salad is one she would make for us all year long. Salad-e Shirazi is a classic Persian recipe, easy to make and wonderfully refreshing.

🌟Why you’ll love this recipe

Persian cucumbers and Roma tomatoes are a fantastic pairing for a fresh crunchy salad. Unlike English cucumbers, Persian cucumbers are less watery which gives them a crisper bite. They are mild with a very subtle sweetness, which matches the tang and acidity of the tomatoes and sour grape juice or lemon juice in the dressing.
This salad takes only three steps to make, and aside from chopping your ingredients, it needs very little prep at all. This salad is known for its finely diced ingredients, but they don’t have to be perfect by any means.

🧾Ingredients in this recipe

Tomatoes, cucumbers and other salad ingredients.

Cucumber – you’ll be able to recognize Persian cucumbers as they are much smaller and shorter in size.
Tomatoes – Roma tomatoes have a distinct shape, and are a bit bigger than plum tomatoes. You could sub in plum tomatoes but they will be slightly less crisp and more watery in the salad.
Red onion – This is traditional to Shirazi salad. The flavor of most other onions used raw won’t work as well in the salad.
Parsley – Use fresh parsley, not dried.
Mint – This is an optional inclusion, but a great one. Use fresh mint leaves, not dried. out the mint.
Ab Ghooreh (sour grape juice) or Lemons – Sour grape juice and lemon juice are both traditional in this recipe, so use whichever you prefer. This Mediterranean cucumber tomato salad is made with lemon juice and a less fine dice.
Olive oil – Use high-quality olive oil if you can for the dressing. As the dressing is so simple, the oil’s quality really makes it.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

👩‍🍳How to Make This Recipe

First, add all the prepped ingredients to a large serving bowl.

Mix them all together well. Taste the salad and adjust to your liking for salt, pepper, and sour grape juice or lemon.

Serve it fresh. This salad is fantastic alone but works well as a side dish for other great Persian/Iranian dishes like kabob barg and joojeh kabob.

Large platter of cucumber tomato salad with gold utensils.

🥒Serve this salad with…

If you love Persian cuisine, you’ll love to serve this recipe with one or more of these favorites:

Mahi ba Zafferan (Persian Saffron Cod)

Meat kabobs on a plate with tomatoes and rice.

Koobideh (Persian Ground Beef Kabob)

Joojeh Kabob – Persian Chicken Kabob

Kotlet – Persian Meat and Potato Patties

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Author: Candice Walker