This simple cherry tomato salad takes only five minutes to toss together, making it a super easy recipe for summer and early autumn. Celery complements the cherry tomatoes, giving the salad a nice crunch while bacon brings a punch of salt. Like other summer vegetable recipes, this recipe makes heavy use of ripe tomatoes and vibrant green herbs.
Key Ingredients
Plump, ripe cherry tomatoes form the foundation of this salad. Building on that foundation, you add crunchy celery as well as dill, parsley, and green onions that complement the tomatoes and give the salad a little extra life. It's an excellent alternative to another summer classic: tomato and cucumber salad.
Bacon brings a pleasant salty note to the salad and helps make it all the more satisfying while celery seed and nigella bring a deeply aromatic note. To this blend of cherry tomatoes, celery, and herbs, you'll finish the salad off with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar as well as a good sprinkling of salt.
Tips for making the salad
While making a cherry tomato salad simple, and needs only about five minutes of active time in the kitchen, there are a few tips to keep in mind to ensure it comes out great every time.
- Try Sungold tomatoes. Sungolds are an orange-colored cherry tomato with a robust sweet and acidic flavor. You'll find them in summer at farmers' markets, and they're a great choice for this salad, but regular cherry or grape tomatoes work fine too.
- Precook the bacon. You'll want to cook the bacon in advance and allow it to cool completely before you toss the salad, therefore preventing the salad from wilting. Baking it on a rack in the oven allows the fat to drain off and the bacon to cook evenly.
- Salt the salad and let it sit a few minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste with salt, and let it rest a few minutes before serving. This allows the tomatoes to release their juices which marry with the olive oil and vinegar to dress the salad.
Other tomato recipes to try
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Amber says
I’ve made this a dozen times and it’s still a favorite.
Anna says
Easy and very delicious!
Amy says
This was so good! I used cucumber instead of celery. Everything else was according to recipe. This is be on repeat all summer! Thank you!
4waystoyummy says
I recently ordered the nigella seeds recently and wondered how should I store them? In the refrigerator? Love them and this recipe! We raise our own pigs-bacon is home grown.