Heirloom tomato salads are the best way to enjoy Summers bounty. Now that our tomatoes are starting to ripen, it’s time to indulge in our first and always most simple salad. This no fuss, totally uncomplicated salad is literally just a few ingredients. You don’t need much more than that but you can always amp-up the salad with more. This is just a reminder of our amazing seasonal heirloom tomatoes are just on their own.

heirloom tomato salad

Heirloom Tomato Salad : Hello Summer!

This consistently cool and cloudy weather had us apprehensive, particularly as heirloom tomato gardeners. With almost 20 heirloom tomatoes plants that we’ve been nurturing over the last few months, all we were hoping for was some hot sun to get these plants to bolt out with tomatoes. Unfortunately there hasn’t been much of the sun! May and June gloom kept our tomatoes from ripening as intended and as impatient gardeners, the weather left us staring at green tomatoes for the last few months.

finished heirloom tomato salad

Heirloom Tomato Salad Recipe

Yield: 2 -4 Servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
This recipe is so simple, it doesn't really even need a write up! But what we have listed are inspirations and ideas for the salad. Then you can always add more to take this seasonally amazing salad to the next level. What else did you add to your salad? Let us know in the comments!
5 from 2 votes
PRINT RECIPE Review Pin It

Ingredients

  • 2 medium to large fresh heirloom tomatoes or 2 cups of cherry size tomatoes
  • 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoons (15 ml) balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) flakey salt , or to taste
  • (ml) fresh cracked black pepper , to taste
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) fresh basil or fresh herbs, chopped or hand torn
  • crumbled goat cheese, feta or grated parmesan , optional
  • chili flakes, hot sauce, sliced chiles , optional
  • sliced red onion, lettuce, arugula , optional

Instructions 

  • In bowl or jar, combine 2 Tablespoons (30ml) olive oil, 1 Tablespoon (15ml) balsamic vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon (1.25ml) salt, black pepper to taste, plus any optional seasonings like garlic, chili flakes, hot sauce. Set aside.
  • Slice tomatoes and arrange them on a serving platter or bowl.
  • Slice or tear fresh basil leaves on top. Add your extra toppings. Drizzle dressing on right before serving and enjoy.

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 159kcal, Carbohydrates: 7g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Sodium: 300mg, Potassium: 380mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 1558IU, Vitamin C: 21mg, Calcium: 28mg, Iron: 1mg
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American, French, Italian, Mediterranean
Calories: 159

We originally shared this in 2011 and it’s still our go-to salad for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

sungold heirloom tomato

Patiently waiting for tomatoes to ripen

We could either pickle the green tomatoes or grill green tomatoes like we often do, or just wait patiently and be as tolerant as we could to allow them to ripen. Trust us, it can get excruciatingly painful to stare at green tomatoes for months when you’re craving sweet red ones.

When patches of late afternoon sun would peak out, the tomatoes were soaking up every bit of nurturing warmth. Finally, after, what seems like a decade, some of the heirloom tomatoes started to ripen to their true, sweet colors. Occasionally one or two would ripen up and we’d eat those in one sitting.

But what we were anxiously waiting for was an actual harvest full of tomatoes, meaning at least 10 tomatoes. Five for each of us. That’s a fair split and substantial meal.

With this first substantial batch of ripe heirloom tomatoes, there was only one way to enjoy them. A simple, seasonally appropriate preparation of sliced garden heirloom tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar is perfection on a plate. Add a dusting of good sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper and aromatically sweet fresh basil. Now finally, that is perfection on a plate.

basket of heirloom tomatoes

Simple Heirloom Tomato Salad Recipe : Less is More

Sometimes heirloom tomatoes get too much thought when it comes to preparation. Canning, stewing or drying a batch of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes is great if you have an abundance of them. But for us, to really appreciate the delicacy and treasure of an heirloom tomato is to eat it as it was meant to be: raw and fresh. Just the heirloom tomato sliced on a place with simple accompaniments is all it takes to eat seasonally simple and to celebrate the arrival of Summer. Less is more, especially when it comes to a good heirloom. And we love buying most of our tomato plants from tomatomania.

For Tomato Lovers: