Creamy Tomato Salad

Creamy tomato salad is proof that great salads don’t always have to have many ingredients. This simple salad is the perfect way to enjoy juicy tomatoes in a complementing creamy dressing made from Greek yogurt and sour cream. Toss in some crunchy red onions, and you get a delicious blend of sweet, savory, and tangy in every bite. It’s a wonderful dish to bring to the family picnic or backyard barbecue.

Creamy Tomato Salad is not only creamy but also tangy. The sauce perfectly complements the fruit. We like to mix sour cream with Greek yogurt. And I say “we” because this is a family recipe!

My family likes this particular recipe and I make it all the time especially around July to August – the best time to get the ripest and sweetest tomatoes. It goes well with a lot of dishes, may it be grilled chicken, juicy pork, or baked fish.

If you love tomatoes as much as I do, this salad is a no-brainer. What makes it even better is the creamy and tangy dressing that clings to everything, so you get a mouthful of flavor in every bite. There is certainly nothing plain about this flavorful dish.

Why you will love this recipe

• Fast and easy: The best thing about this recipe is how easy it is to make. In just a few minutes, you can have this ready and on the table for lunch, dinner, or a snack.
• Healthy but delicious: It is also nice to get the kids to eat healthy and with the creamy, tangy dressing, everyone loves it.
• Affordable meal: Besides being fast, easy, healthy, and delicious, you can make it for pennies per serving. All you need are some tomatoes, an onion, garlic, dill, and Greek yogurt. You don’t even have to add sour cream.
• Adaptable: This dish adapts to whatever you are having, and you can create different versions for various entrees.

What you’ll need to make creamy tomato salad:

Special items:

• Bowls – You need a large bowl for the salad and a small bowl for mixing the dressing.
• Sharp knife – Be sure to have a sharp knife to slice the tomatoes and onions.
• Salad tongs – I love to use salad tongs to mix the salad. It is much easier than using a spoon or fork.

Ingredients:

• Tomatoes – I chose to use both red and yellow tomatoes for my salad to make it colorful. However, if you cannot find yellow tomatoes at your grocery store or farmers’ market, you can just use red. I prefer the large beefsteak tomatoes for a thick flesh you can sink your teeth into.
• Onion – I like thinly sliced red onion because it has a sweet tang as well as a bite to give your salad a boost. You could use any kind of onion you like. Sometimes I use yellow Vidalia onion because it is so sweet even the kids love it.
• Garlic – Freshly diced garlic cloves give this salad a rich garlic flavor without the bitterness you sometimes get from the powder.
• Greek yogurt – Plain Greek yogurt is a healthy addition to this tasty salad. So thick and creamy, it sticks to the veggies to give every bite a creamy taste.
• Sour cream – Added to the yogurt, sour cream makes the dressing even more rich and creamy. You can leave this out if you are counting calories or fat content. But it certainly won’t be as creamy.
• Lemon juice – Use freshly squeezed lemon juice for the freshest lemony taste. It gives your dressing a bit more tanginess.
• Green onions – Chopped green onion adds a mellow oniony flavor that pairs well with the red onion.
• Dill – Fresh chopped dill adds a lemony grassy flavor similar to celery and parsley.
• Sea salt – Get the salty flavor without the bitterness when you use sea salt, and it has no additives.
• Black pepper – Try grinding your own pepper from fresh black peppercorns and you will never go back to using the regular stuff.

How to make the creamy tomato salad?

1. Prep the veggies: First, rinse and chop the tomatoes. You will want to remove the core and squeeze out the extra juice to keep your salad from getting watery.
2. Make the dressing: Now, mix the yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice, garlic, and dill in a small bowl until thoroughly combined.
3. Add the vegetables: After, add the tomatoes and sliced onions to a large bowl and toss it with the dressing until it is all coated.

Expert tip

How to choose the best tomatoes

It may seem simple, but sometimes picking out the best tomatoes can be difficult. If you have a whole bin full of vibrant red tomatoes, how do you know which ones are the best? Have you ever bought some great tomatoes but when you got home, found out they were all mushy and soft? Well, there are simple ways to tell, like weight, firmness, smell, and texture.

First, pick out the heavy ones. That means they are juicy. A big tomato that seems too light may be all dried up on the inside, making it unusually light. A good tomato should also be firm but not too hard. You want it to give a little when you squeeze it but not so soft that it leaves indentions. The skin should not be wrinkly or broken, either. You want a solid tomato that is red all over with unbroken, unblemished skin.

The smell should be earthy and mild, with a bit of sweetness. Depending on the type of tomato you are getting, it should have a bit of a floral smell. A tomato should never smell sour or bitter. If there is a stem and leaves, they should be green. Having a dried-up brown stem with old leaves indicates it is not very fresh.

Recipe variations and add-ins:

• Add meat: The simplest way to make this tomato salad a fulfilling meal is to add some kind of meat. I like chopping up some chicken or ham. But you could use pork, beef, turkey, or even some bacon.
• More veggies: Adding other veggies is another way to make this a fuller dish. Experiment with different types like bell peppers, broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, chopped carrots, sliced English cucumbers, and diced avocado.
• Make it spicy: For a spicy creamy tomato salad, add chopped jalapenos or green chiles.
• Fruit salad: My kids love it when I toss in some fruit like grapes, raspberries, or slices of strawberries and apples.
• Other dressing: For a different taste, add some balsamic vinegar or another kind of dressing.
• Cheese: I often add shredded cheddar or mozzarella to this salad to make it even better.

Serving suggestions:

• Serve it with crackers or some kind of crusty bread like French bread to soak up the extra dressing would be perfect.
• This salad would also go great with a bowl of soup. Try my scrumptious creamy tomato soup, and add a grilled cheese on the side.
• It is a side dish that you can serve alongside grilled entrees like Grilled Salmon Skewers, Carne Asada, and BBQ Pork Chops!
• Another dish to accompany this salad is chili or stew. You can find lots of recipes on my food blog.
• At your next barbecue, serve it with burgers and hotdogs or steaks right alongside some grilled potatoes, and grilled avocado.
• For a light dinner, serve creamy tomato salad with sandwiches or bacon cheddar ranch pinwheels. Kids love these!

Frequently asked questions

Is tomato salad healthy?

Yes, it is! The main ingredient, the tomatoes, have a number of health benefits without packing on calories. For a small one of about 100 grams, 95% of it is water while the remaining 5% consists of good fiber and carbohydrates. You can read more about all the nutritious properties.

It has 18 calories only and a lot of antioxidants and vitamins including vitamin C and beta carotene. This fruit is popular for its lycopene content that is concentrated on its red skin.

All these make it good for the heart and skin and for cancer prevention. Since it is low-carb and low-calorie, it leaves plenty of room for the more calorie-dense sauce made of sour cream and Greek yogurt.

Which tomatoes are best for this salad?

I chose big beefy tomatoes in red and yellow because I love the flavor and texture. Before adding the tomato wedges, I removed the seeds and the middle so it did not make the salad too watery. I save the juice for salsa, soup, and other recipes where I need tomato sauce. Then, I just sliced them into long wedges. But you could also use cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered. A mix of ripe heirloom tomatoes would also be out of this world! Remember, you don’t want all that juiciness in the salad, or it will water down the dressing.

Should I core tomatoes first?

You must remove the core of the tomato before using it, even if you are not going to remove the middle. The core is the hard spot on top of the tomato where the stem was growing. The easiest way to do this is with a tomato corer, but I usually just use a paring knife. Or, you can simply slice the tomato into quarters and cut away the core at the top.

Can I precut tomatoes?

If you precut your tomatoes, make sure you eat them within the next 24 hours. Leaving a sliced tomato longer than that will dry it out. It may also develop dry skin that can add bitterness to your salad. If you plan to make your salad later, chop up the veggies and put them in the bowl in the fridge, covered with plastic, until you are ready to add the dressing.

How to store:

• Refrigerate: Store leftovers in a loosely sealed bowl or container in the fridge for up to 24 hours. After that, the dressing will start to make the tomatoes soggy.   
• Freezing: I would not recommend freezing this salad.

More salad recipes:

Recipe tips:

• For a creamier dressing, use your favorite mayo (I love Miracle Whip) instead of yogurt.
• Do not add salt and pepper to your salad until you are ready to serve it. In fact, if you are serving guests, let them add their salt and pepper.
• Forcing tomatoes to ripen quickly can make them bland. You could wrap them in newspaper, though, to help them along.
• Storing sliced veggies or fruit can make them soggy. Add a paper towel to the bottom of the container to absorb any excess moisture.
• You can also chill your salad for a couple of hours to let the flavors absorb before serving.