Mediterranean Salad with Za’atar Spiced Walnuts comes together quickly, is full of amazing flavors and textures and is pretty too! The za’atar spiced walnuts add extra crunch and flavor.
This post is sponsored by California Walnuts but all opinions are my own.
This Mediterranean salad is the perfect summer salad or side dish for your next BBQ or potluck. I’m headed to a potluck event this Sunday and I’m thinking this salad will be the perfect guest.
This year I am partnering with California Walnuts and they recently sent me a box of seasonings from around the world and asked me to come up with a recipe using one of them as part of their Walnuts Around the World challenge. I decided to use the za’atar. Mainly because it was one of the only seasonings in the box I was familiar with! Za’atar is the star of one of my favorite chicken dishes – Parsley Chicken.
I’m looking forward though to experimenting with some of the others ones they set me too! Today’s salad is dressed with a light lemon vinaigrette which uses za’atar. Za’atar is a Mediterranean spice that includes a mixture of dried herbs such as oregano and marjoram as well as sesame seeds and sumac.
Another fun way to use za’atar is to just mix it with some olive oil and dip your bread into it. Sprinkle it on salads, vegetables and any meats you are grilling or roasting for some great flavor.
Za’atar combines perfectly with the lemon, honey and olive oil and gives the dressing a nice subtle flavor, it’s not overpowering at all.
I used a spring mix of greens and then added in cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red pepper, garbanzo beans, feta cheese and some yummy za’atar spiced walnuts. The walnuts gave the salad the perfect amount of crunch and the subtle flavor of the za’atar dressed them up a bit. The nuts are covered in a mixture of egg white, sugar and za’atar and baked in the oven. So easy to do!
Do you have a favorite go to summer salad that you make over and over again and is the perfect guest for the summer BBQ or potluck? I’d love to hear what it is.
Some of my other favorite great summer salads are:
Copycat Panera Asian Sesame Chicken Salad
Mediterranean Salad with Spiced Walnuts
Ingredients
Vinaigrette
- 1 Tbsp minced onion
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 2 lemons
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp za'atar
- 2 tsp honey
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Salad
- 1 pkg spring greens
- 1 cup cucumber sliced
- 1 cup garbanzo beans drained
- 1 cup red pepper diced
- 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup spiced walnuts
Spiced Walnuts
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp za'atar
- 1 egg white
- 1/4 cup sugar
Instructions
Vinaigrette
- Mix together minced onion, lemon zest, lemon juice, za'atar, salt and olive oil. Allow to sit for a while for flavors to combine.
Salad
- Put lettuce in bowl and add all ingredients on top. Drizzle with vinaigrette and then mix to combine.
Spiced Walnuts
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Beat egg white until foamy.Combine all other ingredients except walnuts and mix into egg whites.Stir in walnuts and coat well.Spread mixture evenly on an ungreased baking sheet.Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and stir, toss and seperate nuts.Reduce heat to 250 degrees F and cook for another 10 minutes or until medium brown.Remove from oven and toss and stir again. Allow to cool (they will crisp up as they cool)Sprinkle on top of salad.
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Looking forward to trying this recipe! Didn’t see the amount of walnuts used?
Leta, You can really use as many as you like but I have added in 1 cup into the ingredient list for the salad Enjoy!
Some many colors and flavors vying for your attention! The salad looks delectable and your pictures have me dreaming of food at work. This would a great one bowl meal with some cooked farro or quinoa, or even plain steamed rice. Your recipe is perfect, although I’d skip the eggs (allergic to it) and sprinkle some chopped and spiced walnuts instead. Zaatar does add a fresh taste and punch to dishes. Though, quality of zaatar mixes vary a lot. Most of the mixes in the market sadly contain fillings like wheat, too much salt, and even citric acid in place of sumac. They have very little of the real zaatar herb (grown in the middle east), That’s why I trust this online shop for my sumac and zaatar. If allowed in the comment, I’d suggest this site –https://www.eatzaatar.com.
Thanks for the info Jill.