Tomato Artichoke Salad
Simple, fresh ingredients combined for a quick and easy tomato artichoke salad with a homemade basil mint salad dressing that is full of punchy summer flavours. This is a vegan and gluten free salad perfect for barbecues, picnics and potluck gatherings.
Why You’ll Love Our Tomato Artichoke Salad
Fast and Furious. Ha, no, we are not talking about cars. I love how this is a super quick artichoke tomato salad that I can prepare in less than 20 minutes and is packed with furious flavour.
The combination of sweet tomatoes and marinated artichoke hearts with fresh basil and mint dressing shouts everything that is summer with a nod to classic Tuscan flavours.
It’s a great easy no cook salad recipe to have up your sleeve as it only requires a few simple ingredients that you most likely have in your kitchen or simply purchased at your local supermarket.
And just like our Tomato panzanella recipe, this is an easy tomato recipe to whip up for vegan friends.
This artichoke tomato salad recipe is a simple and flavourful side dish that’s great to transport for picnics, barbecues and potluck gatherings.
What Are Marinated Artichoke Hearts?
As a lover of antipasto, my pantry and fridge are often stocked with marinated goodies. Whether it be olives, anchovies, baby cornichons, octopus or a jar of marinated artichoke hearts.
You never know when friends will pop over for a casual catch up or when a glass of red wine is needed. Having these antipasto staples in the kitchen makes life so much easier.
Marinated artichokes are usually made with artichoke hearts preserved in extra virgin oil and vinegar, plus added herbs and spices such as oregano, garlic and chilli pepper.
You can, of course, make your own marinated artichokes, but I prefer to buy mine marinated in a jar as the prep work in going into cutting and cooking artichoke hearts is a bit much for me.
Having a jar of marinated artichoke hearts can really be a lifesaver as there are so many uses for them.
How To Use Marinated Artichoke Hearts?
Other than a delicious antipasto platter, have you considered other marinated artichoke recipes?
Here are five great ideas to use marinated artichoke hearts:
- Toss with pan fried potato to make a delicious and hearty potato salad.
- Add as pizza or bruschetta toppings.
- Mix into a light pasta recipe with capers, arugula and parmesan cheese.
- Thinly slice them and, together with mushrooms, add them in an omelette for lunch.
- Blitz together with spinach and ricotta for a delicious dip.
Marinated artichoke hearts are a versatile ingredient that I think no pantry should do without.
Recipe Overview
Flavour/Texture: This salad is quite simple with only a few ingredients. I love the freshness of how everything comes together.
Sweet tomatoes with tangy marinated artichoke hearts, tiny pops of salty capers, and red onion mixed with zippy basil mint salad dressing deliver a fresh, tangy, and herbaceous flavour.
Ease: This is a super easy salad to make as there is not much work other than slicing a few ingredients and blitzing the salad dressing. No cooking involved.
Time: Depending on how quickly you can slice and blitz. You need approximately 20 minutes.
Ingredients
These are the main ingredients you need for Tomato Artichoke Salad:
Tomatoes: I chose a couple of larger beefsteak tomatoes, smaller sweet golden grape and red cherry plus medium sized truss tomatoes. They were chosen for the varying sizes, colours and flavours. It definitely creates more interest in the salad than in having one tomato variety.
There is no need to choose the same varieties as I have, just use what you like and can find.
Marinated artichoke hearts: I buy my pre-marinated artichoke hearts in a jar at a local supermarket. You can also buy canned artichoke hearts but I don’t find them as flavourful.
Red onion: For extra colour and punchy flavours, I added thin slices of red onion for balance.
Micro red sorrel: I found a punnet of micro red sorrel leaves at my green grocer and loved the colours for this artichoke salad recipe.
Red sorrel has a lemony and slightly piquant flavour which is a great counterpoint to the other flavours of the salad.
Capers: I love pops of salty capers in salads. Use any leftovers for this delicious caper vinaigrette.
Basil / Mint: Beautiful, aromatic and refreshing, both basil and mint create a wonderful base for this salad dressing. They are perfect companions for tomatoes as well.
Variations and Substitutions
Marinated vs canned artichoke hearts: In general, marinated artichoke hearts in jars are preserved in oil and have extra seasonings such as spices and herbs. Whilst canned artichoke hearts are preserved in brine.
You can use canned artichoke hearts for this recipe, but I would toss the canned artichoke hearts in extra virgin olive oil and dried oregano before adding them to the salad.
Red sorrel substitute: If you cannot find red sorrel, fresh basil leaves are a fantastic substitute to create a more classic Tuscan-inspired tomato artichoke salad combination.
Other ingredients: You can add other ingredients to create your own variation for tomato artichoke salad, including:
- chickpeas
- olives
- marinated peppers
- feta cheese
- arugula or leafy greens
- chives
Alternative salad dressing: If you don’t have basil and mint on hand, you can switch the basil mint salad dressing with an easy oregano vinaigrette or classic Italian dressing.
Instructions
Step by step instructions for how to make tomato artichoke salad:
How to Make The Salad
For the larger tomatoes like beefsteak, we want to cut them crossways. Place the tomato sideways and slice the tomato into ½ cm thick slices.
For the smaller tomatoes, cut them in half from top to bottom. If you have very small cherry tomatoes, you can leave some of them whole too.
Cut marinated artichoke hearts into quarters.
Peel and slice red onion into half moons.
How To Make Basil and Mint Dressing
I used my food processor for this salad dressing as it was the quickest way to combine the ingredients. You can finely chop everything if no food processor is available.
Place basil and mint into a food processor and blitz until well blended. Add lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and olive oil and blend until combined.
Finally, add lemon zest and stir together.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
How to Assemble the Salad
On a large serving plate, place larger tomato slices first around the plate. Then layer the smaller tomatoes around the slices. Mix them around so you can have a variety of colours and flavours.
Layer cut artichoke hearts on top of tomatoes.
Pick micro red sorrel leaves and scatter over salad.
Scatter sliced red onions and capers.
Drizzle fresh mint dressing over salad. Serve immediately.
How to Make This Salad Perfectly (Expert Tips)
Buy fresh tomatoes: There is no hiding for this tomato artichoke salad recipe. Therefore it is important to use fresh, ripe tomatoes that are in season.
Drain marinated artichoke hearts well: If you are using jarred marinated artichokes, be sure to drain the excess oil. As we are using a dressing, you don’t want the salad to drown in oil. And if you are using canned artichoke hearts, be sure to drain all the water/brine properly.
Great Mains for This Salad
What to serve with Tomato Artichoke Salad? Try these delicious main dish recipes:
These homemade chicken doner kebabs are made with succulent chicken thighs and would be perfectly married up with our tomato artichoke salad.
For those pescatarian days, this grilled salmon with lemon and herbs is super simple yet flavoursome while you can’t go wrong with a classic moussaka recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can cut the salad ingredients in advance and then assemble when ready to serve.
Great zippy basil mint dressing that would work well not only for leafy green salads but with boiled potatoes, roast lamb or steamed greens.
I lovetomatoes. I’m quite happy to pop cherry tomatoes as a snack. I also get very excited when I see the huge variety of tomatoes we can get when they are in season.
With more than 3000 tomato varieties cultivated across the globe, there are plenty of options to choose from. Depending on the variety, tomatoes can be sweet, tart or tangy.
Larger varieties like beefsteak can be less sweet compared to smaller varieties. I love using them in classic Caprese salad or Burrata tomato salad.
Smaller cherry tomatoes or sweet tiny tomberry tomatoes are perfect in tossed salads like
Tomberry and Pomegranate salad or Fattoush salad.
Get inspired with all the tomatoes available for salads in our must-try tomato salad collection.
Red sorrel is a leafy herb with a distinct lemony flavour and slightly acidic bite. I had never tried it before and couldn’t resist the beautiful colours when I saw them at the local green grocer, so I had to buy a pot of micro red sorrel and give it a go.
I learnt through searching what red sorrel pairs well with that it is a detoxifying herb. Mature leaves are often used to prepare juice or steeped in hot water as a tea to help cleanse and reduce inflammation.
However, due to the oxalic acid in the leaves, overconsumption can cause irritation in the tummy, so best to use sparingly.
Young red sorrel leaves are great in salads but more mature leaves can be cooked like spinach which is perfect in soups, sauces or tarts.
Easy. Fresh. Delicious. I love how simple ingredients can come together with minimal effort and create a super tasty tomato artichoke salad. This recipe can be easily prepared in under 20 minutes and is a fantastic side dish recipe for barbecues, fish or vegetarian tart.
Our tomato artichoke salad with basil mint dressing is worth adding to your weekly menu.
That’s all!
More Summer Salad Recipes
Tomato Artichoke Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 500 g tomatoes
- 5 marinated artichoke hearts
- ¼ red onion
- ½ cup red sorrel
- 50 g capers
Click on the toggle below for conversion to US Cooking Units.
Instructions
Salad
- Cut larger tomatoes crossways into ½ cm thick slices
- Cut smaller tomatoes in half.
- Cut marinated artichoke hearts into quarters.
- Peel and cut red onion in half. Thinly slice red onion in half moons.
Salad Dressing
- Using a hand blender, blitz basil and mint finely.
- Add lemon juice, olive oil and red wine vinegar and blend until combined.
- Finally, add lemon zest and stir together.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Assembly
- On a large serving plate, place larger tomato slices first around the plate.
- Then layer the smaller tomatoes around the slices. Mix them around so you can have a variety in colour and flavour.
- Layer cut artichoke hearts on top of tomatoes.
- Pick red sorrel leaves and scatter over salad.
- Scatter sliced red onions and capers.
- Drizzle fresh mint dressing over salad. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Buy tomatoes as fresh as possible. It is important to use fresh, ripe tomatoes that are in season.
- You can use marinated artichoke hearts in jars or canned artichoke hearts. Ensure you drain the marinated artichoke hearts well to remove excess oil or brine.
- If you are unable to find red sorrel, fresh basil leaves are a fantastic substitute for a more classic Tuscan inspired tomato artichoke salad combination.
- You can switch the basil mint dressing for an easy oregano vinaigrette or classic Italian dressing if you don’t have basil and mint on hand.
Nutrition
*Disclaimer: Nutritional information provided is an estimate only and generated by an online calculator.
Disclaimer: This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.
This Tomato and Artichoke Salad looks really refreshing to eat especially with that Mint Dressing!
It sure is Dennis!
I have a mint and basil plant out back that I have been looking for a recipe to use them in. This is perfect!
Do you really? That’s great! This recipe is perfect for you!
I am always looking for new salad recipes. This looks light and refreshing, and I am sure my whole family will love!
Hope they enjoyed it Christie! It really is light and refreshing. Great as a side dish for dinner.
What an amazing and fresh salad! I love the fresh herbs, especially the mint!
Thanks Emily. Mint changes everything doesn’t it?
I adore all the fresh flavors in this! The combo i=of different types of tomatoes is a great tip – thank you!
Thanks Sue! It’s a really fresh salad to have as a side to something perhaps heavier for main course.
What a beautiful salad recipe, so colorful. And I love the fact that the salad is ready in just 20 minutes.
Yup, nice and easy. Great for whipping up for dinner if you’re in a hurry!
This is a beautiful recipe! Love how easy it seems and pretty it looks!
It really is easy! Under 20 minutes and you’ll have yourself an awesome salad.
The salad has a beautiful presentation. It is delicious and healthy
Awesome! Thanks so much!
This salad looks gorgeous! I love anything with basil and mint and the fact that you can prepare it in 20 minutes is an added bonus.
We’re a sucker for basil and mint too. Love the peppery and aromatic notes. We love a quick salad too!
I love the combination of sorrel and marinated artichoke hearts in this salad – healthy and delicious! I almost always have a little jar of marinated artichoke hearts in the pantry so this recipe will be super handy.
Perfect Michele! We love artichoke hearts too. So versatile and love that we can get that anywhere.