Marinated Feta Tomato Salad
on Jul 14, 2026
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Celebrate the best of summer with this simple marinated tomato feta salad. Dressed in balsamic vinaigrette, it doesn’t take long for halved cherry tomatoes and cubes of feta to soak up all that good flavor. I also include basil, toasted pine nuts, parsley and red onions in this quick and easy no-lettuce salad.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Tomato salads are the best way to enjoy tomato season. You can find them at the grocery year round, but nothing tastes better than summer tomatoes. Bonus points if you buy them at a local farmers market or grow them yourself.
This salad makes great leftovers. You can eat it up to a few days after you make it. The tomatoes and feta will have more time to take in the balsamic dressing and the rest of the ingredients the longer they sit.
You can make additions. Use odds and ends you have in your kitchen from other meals. Turn it a version of an avocado cucumber corn salad.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Cherry tomatoes: I cut the tomatoes in half, so some of their juices end up mixed in with the dressing. These are the tomatoes that I grow in my garden, so they’re what I think of first for salads or even a cherry tomato sauce. If you prefer bigger tomatoes cut into wedges, try this heirloom tomato mozzarella salad.
- Feta: A classic ingredient in a greek salad, feta is wonderfully salty. It is one of my go-to summer cheeses. I take it out of the fridge when I’m ready to cut it, so it’s cold. Then it’s less likely to fall apart when you toss the salad.
- Pine nuts: I toast them for 4-5 minutes on a sheet pan in a 350-degree F oven to bring out their nutty flavor. Keep an eye on them because they can brown faster than you expect. Chopped walnuts or almonds are a good substitute.
- Basil: I chop basil leaves into ribbons and wait to add them to the salad until after I have stirred the tomatoes and feta into the vinaigrette.
- Balsamic vinaigrette: The dressing has the usual ingredients, minced garlic, whole grain mustard, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper, plus a couple extras. I include finely chopped red onions for a sharp accent and chopped parsley. Using 2 kinds of fresh herbs makes the salad more interesting.
How To Make This Marinated Feta Tomato Salad
1. Make the vinaigrette. Stir the garlic, mustard, onions, parsley, salt, pepper, vinegar and oil in a bowl that’s big enough for the entire salad.
2. Stir the tomatoes and feta into the dressing. Be gentle or the feta cubes will break up.
3. Fold in the pine nuts and basil. I don’t add them until after the tomatoes and cheese take in most of the vinaigrette because basil leaves are delicate.
Serving
Try pairing this salad with summer recipes that have zucchini and corn. I like to think of tomatoes, zucchini and corn as the ultimate power trio of the season. A few of my favorites include this grilled zucchini corn pasta, this roasted zucchini & squash orzo and this grilled corn pearl couscous.
If you’re a salad person, don’t miss my easy seasonal salad guide for inspiration all year long.
Marinated Feta Tomato Salad
Ingredients
For vinaigrette
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
For salad
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
- 8 ounces feta cheese, cut into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
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Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the garlic, mustard, onions, parsley, salt, pepper, vinegar and olive oil.
- Stir the tomatoes and feta into the vinaigrette.
- Fold in the pine nuts and basil.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
