🥔 SIDE
Salad Shirazi (Persian Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad)
Cucumber, tomato and red onion cut into a fine, even dice and dressed simply with verjuice or lime juice, olive oil and crushed dried mint, the bright side salad for rice and kebabs.
Iranian · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 0 min
~100 cal · 2g protein · 9g carbs · 7g fat · 2g fiber · 5g sugars · 1g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Salad Shirazi comes from Shiraz, in the south of Iran, and is so common across the country that it is sometimes called Iran's national salad. It sits beside almost any Persian meal: rice dishes such as adas polo and lubia polo, kebabs, and stews that want something cool and sharp alongside.
The work is all in the knife. Cucumber, tomato and onion are cut by hand into a small, careful dice, as even as you can make it, so that every spoonful holds a little of each. The dressing is simple: abghooreh, the sour juice of unripe grapes, or fresh lime juice, a little olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed dried mint, which is more traditional here than fresh.
It is dressed just before serving so the vegetables stay crisp, and the juices at the bottom of the bowl are often spooned over rice.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 3 (about 350 g) Persian or small cucumbers
- 2 medium firm ripe tomatoes
- 1 small red onion
- 1 tbsp dried mint, crushed
- 3 tbsp verjuice (abghooreh)Hard to find? 3 tbsp fresh lime juice - the everyday Iranian alternative; sharper and more citrusy than the soft sourness of unripe grape
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- 1Trim the cucumbers and cut them into a small, even dice, about half a centimetre, leaving the skin on. Put them in a bowl.✎ Chef’s noteTake your time over the dice. An even, fine cut is the mark of a proper salad Shirazi.
- 2Halve the tomatoes and scoop out most of the watery seeds if they are very juicy, then dice the flesh the same size as the cucumber. Dice the onion finely and add both to the bowl.
- 3Rub the dried mint between your palms over the bowl to crush it.
- 4Just before serving, add the verjuice, olive oil, salt and pepper and toss well. Taste for salt and sourness and serve with rice, kebabs or stew.
Shirazi and Iranian home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Tehran. Tehran cooks refined Persian food, herb-stuffed stews (khoresh), saffron rice with golden tahdig, and delicate kebabs. Dried lime, pomegranate, and fresh herbs perfume the capital's table.
🗺️
Iran. Persian cuisine is elegant and aromatic, balancing sweet and sour with saffron, dried limes, pomegranate, and herbs. Slow-cooked stews (khoresh), jeweled rice, and delicate kebabs reflect millennia of refined court and home cooking.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Iran
Ghormeh SabziIran’s beloved herb stew: mountains of sautéed greens, kidney beans, dried limes, and lamb over saffron rice.
AdasiA warming Persian lentil breakfast stew spiced with turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon.
Ash-e ReshtehOne of Iran’s best-loved thick soups: legumes and a mountain of herbs simmered with reshteh noodles, finished with tangy kashk, sizzled mint, and caramelized onion.
Browse all Iran recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Best assembled just before serving. Prep the components ahead and dress at the last moment so it stays crisp.
Make it an Iran meal
SekanjabinDrink
Sholeh ZardDessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Salad Shirazi (Persian Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad)?
Cucumber, tomato and red onion cut into a fine, even dice and dressed simply with verjuice or lime juice, olive oil and crushed dried mint, the bright side salad for rice and kebabs.
Where does Salad Shirazi (Persian Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad) come from?
Salad Shirazi (Persian Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad) is an Iranian dish from Tehran, Iran.
Can Salad Shirazi (Persian Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Salad Shirazi (Persian Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Salad Shirazi (Persian Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Salad Shirazi (Persian Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad) take to make?
About 20 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 0 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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