This 5-ingredient Cherry Tomato Salad recipe is one of my go-to BBQ side dishes - quick, easy and perfect for potlucks or easy weeknight dinners. Ready in 10 minutes!
I found this Cherry Tomato Salad recipe in an old Cooking Light magazine from years ago. (Anyone else remember that magazine?) It was one of those side dish suggestions buried in the sidebar of an actual recipe.
I can't even remember why it caught my eye, but thank goodness it did because I've been making it ever since.
Hands down, this Tomato Salad with feta cheese and sweet onion is my go-to summer side dish.
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Why this recipe works
- This tomato salad is super easy to throw together (chop, dice and stir) and tastes fantastic at room temperature.
- You can use any type of tomato you want here, but a combination of different colored cherry tomatoes is a real show-stopper.
- Did I mention versatility? It's a tasty side dish for everything from humble burgers and brats to fancy steaks and salmon.
- Clearly you have to like tomatoes to enjoy this recipe, but I think the combination of juicy tomatoes, salty feta and sweet onion (balanced with a little oil and vinegar) is swoon-worthy, especially when tomatoes are at their peak.
I'm telling you, put this in your recipe rotation, and you'll marvel at how many times you serve it.
Ingredients
This recipe gets a ton of flavor from a handful of simple ingredients.
Instructions
This salad goes from garden to table in about 10 minutes!
FAQs
Sweet onions are just what they sound like - an onion with a milder flavor due to a higher sugar content. Popular varieties of sweet onion include Vidalia and Walla Walla.
Some people claim you can eat a sweet onion raw like an apple. I’ve never tried that, but I do enjoy sweet onions in this feta and tomato salad. The relatively mild flavor of a sweet onion means you can eat them raw in this recipe without the typical sharp, pungent taste of a regular onion.
I love to use cherry or grape tomatoes in this salad because they are readily available in a rainbow of colors at either the grocery store or farmer's market. I love how they look like colorful little gems in the bowl.
If you’re lucky enough to have heirloom varieties in some beautiful hues, by all means use those. But really, any ripe, juicy tomato will do well here.
I don't recommend making this salad long before you eat it. Even though there is just a small amount of vinegar in this recipe, it doesn't take long for it to start to break down the tomatoes.
If you are short on time, you can chop the onion and slice the tomatoes a few hours in advance and toss with the remaining ingredients just before serving.
This salad does not keep well, so don't count on it to enjoy as leftovers. Need to make a smaller batch? Just scale the recipe as needed.
Expert tips for making tomato salad
✘ Even though the name of this recipe is Cherry Tomato Salad, you can use whatever type of tomato you like.
✘ I love this salad because it doesn't need time for the flavors to meld; you can make it and eat it right away. Unfortunately, it doesn't keep well as leftovers, so try to make the amount you will eat in one sitting.
✘ Don't have any sweet onion? You can still make this recipe with regular onions. Simply dice your onions and soak them in a bowl of ice water for 20 minutes before draining and adding to the recipe. This extra step reduces the pungency you usually get with regular white or yellow onions.
✘ You can easily swap in red wine vinegar for the white wine vinegar if that's what you have on hand.
More Summer Side Dishes
Looking for more inspo? We have even more side dish recipes in our archives.
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Recipe
Cherry Tomato Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 cups halved grape tomatoes
- ⅔ cup diced sweet onion
- 2 ½ teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place tomatoes and onion in a bowl. Whisk together vinegar and oil and pour over tomato and onions. Stir to combine.6 cups halved grape tomatoes, ⅔ cup diced sweet onion, 2 ½ teaspoons white wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Sprinkle with feta cheese and gently fold into tomato mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley, if desired. Serve immediately or allow to sit for up to one hour.½ cup crumbled feta cheese, Kosher salt, Freshly ground black pepper
Notes
- This recipe is barely adapted from an old Cooking Light magazine issue.
- I prefer sweet onions in this recipe, but if you don't have one, feel free to use a regular yellow, white or even red onion that has been soaked in ice water for 20 minutes, drained and blotted dry to reduce its sharpness.
- Block feta cheese that you crumble yourself is my favorite because it has more flavor than the pre-crumbled variety but the crumbled version works great, too.
- Multi-colored cherry tomatoes are gorgeous in this recipe but you can really use any type of tomato you have on hand. If using beefsteak or similar variety, core and remove some of the seeds before adding to the salad so it doesn't get too runny.
- Make this recipe just before serving as the vinegar will start to break down the tomatoes and make them mushy if made too far in advance. Leftovers do not keep well so try to make the amount you will eat.
- Out of white wine vinegar? Use red wine vinegar instead!
Nutrition
Nutrition info not guaranteed to be accurate.
I just love this easy salad! And it's gorgeous, too!
This salad looks so yummy. My cherry tomatoes are just starting to turn red so I plan to make this soon. Thank you for sharing
It's truly the best with fresh from the garden tomatoes. Enjoy!
These are the kind of simple, fresh, flavorful dishes I LIVE for in the summer! Lovely recipe, Anna!
I'm with you, Georgia. Bring on the bounty of summer!
I love tomatoes in the summer! I have been waiting for this time of year because they just don't taste as good the rest of the year. My farmers market opens this weekend and I can't wait to buy some tomatoes and make this salad. It looks delicious.
Nothing beats those summer tomatoes!