This refreshing heirloom tomato salad is perfect for your next lunch, summer BBQ, potluck, or picnic! Made with juicy heirloom tomatoes tossed in a delicious vinaigrette, serve this salad with slices of toasted baguette or on its own as a delicious side!

A hand serving a bowl of heirloom tomato salad.

The star of this salad is the heirloom tomatoes. With them being in peak season right now, this is the best time of the year to make a refreshing heirloom tomato salad with a handful of simple ingredients.

Enjoy it as a delicious side or on its own. It makes a delicious side salad for lunch, a dinner party, or even a picnic or summer BBQ!

What are Heirloom Tomatoes?

What makes an heirloom tomato so special is its seeds. Seeds are passed down season to season, from one generation to another, to produce the fruit with the desired size, shape, color, and juiciness level.

Heirloom tomatoes are pollinated naturally by nature, thus no genetically modified tomatoes. And while there are actually many types of heirloom tomatoes, it comes down to the following four:

Commercial heirlooms
Family heirlooms
Mystery heirlooms
Created heirlooms

Pro-Tip: Since heirloom tomatoes are more delicate and have thinner skin, handle them with care and don't pile them up in a bag.

What You'll Need to Make this Salad

You'll need the following ingredients to make this juicy and delicious heirloom tomato salad:

Heirloom tomatoes: When heirloom tomatoes are in season, you can find them at most farmers markets and grocery stores.

Cherry tomatoes: These can either be heirloom cherry tomatoes or just regular ones. These will add variety in flavor and shape!

Corn: Fresh seasonal corn adds sweetness to this salad and a little crunch. You can either use steamed, roasted, or grilled corn! However, for this recipe, I'm using steamed corn.

Fresh greens: I'm using fresh arugula for this recipe but you can also use a spring mix or spinach.

Fresh herbs: Chopped basil, thyme, parsley, all make delicious additions to this salad and add even more flavor.

Dressing ingredients: For the dressing, we use a simple dressing consisting of extra-virgin olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper.

How to Make an Heirloom Tomato Salad

1. Prepare the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

2. Make the salad: In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, corn, and fresh herbs. Drizzle with dressing and gently toss.

Enjoy it with a slice of toasted baguette or as a side salad to a bigger meal.

Pro-Tip: because of how tomatoes hang on the vine, their sweetest part is usually at the bottom. Cutting the tomatoes from the top will give each piece some sweetness whereas cutting them cross-wise is more visually appealing.

Tips on Making the Best Heirloom Tomato Salad

Don't add the dressing until you're ready to serve the salad to prevent the greens from getting soggy. Or skip the greens altogether.

In my experience, tomatoes taste the best within a few days of purchasing. I don't store them in the fridge as they tend to get fleshy and lose their juicy sweet flavor.

If you eat dairy, fresh mozzarella cheese or goat cheese make tasty additions to this salad.

To get a tangier salad, replace the lime juice in the dressing with balsamic vinegar.

Add slices of avocado for a creamier texture. Avocados pair well with tomatoes, corn, and make a lovely addition in this salad!

More Delicious Salad Recipes

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Heirloom Tomato Salad

5 from 14 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep time: 10

Total time: 10

Servings:

Calories: 204kcal

Author: Sapana Chandra

Make this refreshing heirloom tomato salad for your next lunch, BBQ, potluck, or summer picnic! Made with juicy heirloom tomatoes tossed in a delicious vinaigrette, serve this summer salad with slices of toasted baguette!

Ingredients

▢ 2 pounds heirloom tomatoes, about 4 heirloom tomatoes
▢ 1 cup cherry tomatoes or heirloom cherry tomatoes
▢ 1 cup fresh corn kernels
▢ 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
▢ 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
▢ 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

Dressing:

▢ ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
▢ 1 tablespoon lime juice
▢ salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, corn, and fresh herbs. Drizzle with dressing and gently toss.

Notes

Don't add the dressing until you're ready to serve the salad to prevent the greens from getting soggy. Or skip the greens altogether!

In my experience, tomatoes taste the best within a few days of purchasing. I don't store them in the fridge as they tend to get fleshy and lose their juicy sweet flavor.

Nutrition

Calories: 204kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 23mg, Potassium: 744mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 2448IU, Vitamin C: 49mg, Calcium: 37mg, Iron: 2mg

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

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