A vibrant summer heritage tomato salad drizzled with fragrant basil and parsley oil. Fresh, easy, and full of garden flavor—this is peak-season simplicity at its best.
🍅 Heirloom Tomato Salad with Basil-Parsley Oil
There’s nothing quite like slicing into heirloom tomatoes at the height of summer. Each tomato is a treasure of color, texture, and taste—ripe with natural sweetness and acidity.
This salad brings them into a dish that feels effortless and elegant. Fresh tomatoes are dressed in bright, herbaceous basil‑parsley oil that enhances their flavor without overpowering it. Ready in minutes, it's perfect for lazy lunches, vibrant sides, or just a beautiful bite of summer.
💛 Why You’ll Love This Heirloom Salad
When tomatoes are at their peak, this heirloom tomato salad is the best way to let them shine. If you’ve ever had a Caprese salad you’ll appreciate that less is more when you’re dealing with fresh in-season ingredients and the same applies to this heirloom salad. With no cooking required and just a few simple ingredients, it’s a fresh, elegant dish that feels special—whether you’re serving it for lunch, dinner, or a relaxed summer gathering.
Here’s why this heritage tomato salad belongs in your warm-weather rotation:
- ✅ No cooking necessary – Just slice, blend, and drizzle.
- ✅ Naturally gluten-free & plant-based – A light, clean side dish for any table.
- ✅ Versatile & customizable – Serve it as a salad, appetizer, or even over toast.
- ✅ Marinated tomato flavor without the wait – The herb oil acts as a quick marinade that intensifies flavor instantly.
- ✅ Perfect for showcasing heirlooms – Let the natural sweetness, acidity, and colors of heritage tomatoes take center stage.
Whether you call it a heirloom salad, marinated tomato salad, or simply your favorite way to enjoy tomatoes—it’s the kind of dish that looks stunning and tastes even better.
🍅 What Are Heirloom Tomatoes?
Heirloom (or heritage) tomatoes are open-pollinated varieties passed down through generations—grown not for uniformity or shelf life, but for flavor, texture, and color.
Unlike commercial hybrids, heirlooms are celebrated for their:
- 🌿 Deep, complex flavor
- 🎨 Unusual shapes, stripes, and hues
- 🧬 Genetic diversity and seed-saving history
Popular varieties include Brandywine, Green Zebra, Black Krim, and Cherokee Purple, each offering a unique balance of sweetness and acidity.
This salad is an ideal way to highlight their natural beauty and let their flavor shine with just a touch of herbal oil.
🛒 Ingredients You’ll Need (with Notes)
Here’s what you’ll need to make this vibrant heirloom salad—plus a few helpful tips for choosing and preparing each ingredient:
For the Salad:
- Heirloom tomatoes
Use a variety of colors and shapes for the most visual and flavor contrast—look for firm but ripe tomatoes. You can also include yellow or striped varieties for a beautiful mix. - Optional: heirloom cherry or grape tomatoes
Halve a handful of small tomatoes for extra color, sweetness, and texture. They pair well with larger slices and help fill in the platter.
For the Basil-Parsley Oil:
- Sea salt, to taste - Brings out the natural flavor of the tomatoes. Use flaky or fine sea salt depending on your preference.
- Fresh basil leaves - Classic and aromatic—fresh basil gives the oil its signature summery flavor.
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley - Adds freshness and balance to the basil.
- Extra virgin olive oil - Choose a good-quality olive oil for the best flavor, since it plays a starring role here.
And that’s all you need!
👩🍳 How to Make This Heritage Tomato Salad
1. Slice the Tomatoes
Gently slice heirloom tomatoes into wedges or thick rounds. Use a mix of colors and sizes for visual appeal. Arrange them on a serving platter or shallow bowl.
2. Blanch the Basil (Optional but Recommended)
To keep the basil oil bright green and fresh-tasting, blanch the basil leaves briefly:
Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Drop in the basil leaves and cook for 5–10 seconds, just until they wilt and turn vibrant green. Immediately transfer them to an ice water bath to stop the cooking. Pat dry thoroughly with a towel.
This step helps maintain color and prevents the herb oil from turning dull or brownish over time.
3. Make the Basil-Parsley Oil
In a mini food processor or blender, combine the blanched basil, fresh parsley, olive oil, and sea salt Blend until smooth and vibrant.
4. Marinate & Serve
Drizzle the herb oil generously over the sliced tomatoes. Let sit for 5–10 minutes to allow the tomatoes to absorb the flavor—this gives it that marinated tomato salad effect.
Serve immediately.
🌿 Tips & Variations
- Choose ripe but firm tomatoes – Overripe tomatoes will be mealy; go for just-ripe fruit.
- Use your garden herbs – Swap in chives or thyme for new flavor profiles.
- Make it heartier – Add white beans, chickpeas or lentils for a more filling version.
- Turn the herb oil into a vinaigrette – Add a splash of red wine vinegar and a finely chopped shallot to the basil oil to create a quick basil vinaigrette—perfect for marinating or extra zing.
- Add olives for contrast – A handful of any variety of olives (Kalamata, Castelvetrano, or Niçoise) brings a salty, briny depth that pairs beautifully with sweet, ripe tomatoes.
✨ Final Thoughts
This heirloom tomato salad is a true celebration of summer. With its vibrant colors, rich tomato flavor, and bright herb dressing, it brings freshness and elegance to any table. Whether you call it a heritage tomato salad, a marinated tomato salad, or simply your favorite summer side—this dish captures the fleeting joy of tomato season in every bite.
More Tomato Salads:
Heirloom Tomato Salad
Experience the deliciousness of heirloom tomatoes with this easy-to-make heirloom tomato salad flavored with homemade basil oil.
Ingredients
- ¾ ounce/21g basil leaves (divided use)
- ½ ounce/14g flat leaf parsley (divided use)
- ¼ cup/60ml extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt (divided use)
- 2lbs/906g assorted heirloom tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 8 ounces/226g cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
Instructions
- Prepare an ice-water bath in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add half the basil and half the parsley to the boiling water ; blanch for 30 seconds, then drain and transfer to the ice-water bath to cool.
- Drain well, and press out the excess moisture.
- Transfer the blanched herbs, oil and ¼ teaspoon of the salt to a mini food processor or small blender jar; pulse until smooth with a few small bits of herbs remaining.
- Use right away, or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
- Chop the remaining herbs.
- Arrange the tomatoes on a large platter, drizzle with the basil oil and top with chopped herbs and remaining sea salt.
Notes
Variations
Add a Tablespoon of red wine vinegar and a finely chopped shallot to the basil oil to create a basil vinaigrette.
Add olives.
Add cubes of feta or crumbles of goat cheese.
Make a main meal by adding cooked black lentils or a can of
rinsed chickpeas.
Storage
Salad is best served immediately but can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Dietary info
Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Paleo
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 118Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 187mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gProtein: 2g
Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.
Jill Silverman Hough says
That is sooooo gorgeous! Love the food styling, the colors, the light--awesome!
Rust says
Oh, this sounds heavenly! I've got hundreds of little green cherry tomatoes on one of my plants and the big red heirloom tomatoes are just ripening. The basil is ready to go, too.