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This Ranch Tomato Salad recipe has my heart this summer ☀️. Not to be dramatic, but I don’t think I can eat tomatoes any other way ever again! The homemade ranch dressing is a great recipe to have, and you can always just use your favorite store-bought ranch if you’re short on time or just don’t wanna.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love Ranch Tomato Salad
It’s homemade ranch and tomatoes, need I say more?! 😜 These are truly addicting. This takes the best blend of tomatoes tossed in homemade ranch dressing (store-bought if you don’t feel like the homemade ranch recipe) and then tops it with crispy pancetta, salsa macha, and an obscene amount of parm. This Ranch Tomato Salad recipe will soon become your summer salad addiction too!
Prep Like a Pro
Slice, Zest, Chop
- Dry-farmed or Campari Tomatoes: 8, halved and then cut into thirds
- Sun Gold Tomatoes: 1 pint, halved
- Lemon: 1, zest only
- Parm: to taste, freshly grated
- Fresh chives: to taste, chopped
- Fresh dill: 2 tbsp. chopped
- Fresh Chives: 3 tbsp, chopped
Gather
- Thin Pancetta or Bacon: 6 slices
- Olive Oil: 2 tbsp
- Ciabatta Breadcrumbs: ½ cup
- Salsa Macha: to taste
- Msg: to taste
- Japanese Mayo: 3 tbsp
- Sour Cream: ⅓ cup
- Red Wine Vinegar: 1 tsp
- White Pepper: ½ tsp
- Onion Powder: 1 tsp
- Garlic Powder: 1 tsp
- Salt
🫶 And that is it, subscribe for more!
🔥Chef Nadia’s Tip🔥
Tip: Add msg to the tomatoes to intensify the flavor! Glutamates (msg) is naturally occurs in foods like tomatoes so adding more will only enhance the flavors.
Substitutions and Variations
- Substitutions
- Tomatoes → If you can’t find the tomatoes I specified, just use whatever you have handy, any tomatoes will taste great in this Ranch Tomato Salad.
- Ciabatta Breadcrumbs → Ciabatta is great, but you can use any rustic bread for your breadcrumbs.
- Ranch → If you don’t want to make your own ranch, you can absolutely use your favorite store-bought instead.
- Variations
- Green Leaf Salad → Want to make this a regular salad? Then toss your lettuce of choice into a bowl, top with the tomatoes and ranch, and enjoy this recipe as an amazing side salad!
- Spicy 🔥 → Add Calabrian chili oil and then chop up some Serranos to toss in also – it will spice up your life!
- Vegetarian Twist → This is a super easy recipe to make vegetarian, just leave out the pancetta and use some fried capers or crispy chickpeas instead.
The Perfect Pairings
To pair with this amazing Summer Ranch Tomato Salad, a bright and fresh Cucumbertini would be really nice to begin with. For your appetizer, delicious Buffalo Chicken Tenders and then, for your main, a juicy Cheesy Jalapeno Smash Burger. For dessert, a slice of Salted Pecan Pie.
Ranch Tomato Salad: Questions Answered
The difference is in the way they are grown, dry-farmed tomatoes are grown using very little irrigation once they are established plants, hence the “dry.” This forces the roots to grow deeper looking for water, and because of that, the tomatoes come out with a more concentrated, less watery flavor and are described as meatier. Campari tomatoes are usually grown in a greenhouse and are watered. They are known for a sweeter, juicier texture.
MSG has long been surrounded by misconceptions that stem from some early studies that have been debunked. It is actually a flavor enhancer that naturally occurs in foods like tomatoes and cheese and is perfectly safe to eat.
You can prep the components, but wait till close to serving to actually assemble.
Ranch Tomato Salad
Equipment
- strainer
- large bow
- Skillet
Ingredients
Tomato Salad
- 8 dry-farmed tomatoes, or campari
- 1 pint sun gold tomatoes
- 6 slices thin pancetta, or bacon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup ciabatta breadcrumbs, see notes on how to make these if you can't find at the store
- 1 lemon, zest only
- 1 pinch salt
- salsa macha, to taste
- msg, to taste
- parm, to taste
- fresh chives, to taste, chopped
Homemade Ranch
- 3 tbsp Japanese mayo
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 3 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- kosher salt, to taste
Instructions
Tomato Salad
- Cut your dry-farmed tomatoes (or Campari) in half and then into thirds. Cut your sun gold tomatoes in half.
- Add the tomatoes to a strainer over a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Let them sit for 20 minutes to remove excess water.
- While that sits, add the pancetta to a cold pan and turn heat to medium-low. Crisp on both sides, about 5-6 minutes, and set aside.
- Leave the fat from the pancetta in the pan and add olive oil and bread crumbs. Toast until golden, stirring frequently. Add lemon zest and a pinch of salt.
- Transfer the tomatoes to a bowl (save the tomato water for a later use if you would like). Sprinkle MSG on the tomatoes to enhance the flavor.
- Mix in the homemade ranch, a bit at a time, until you reach your desired constancy. You might have some leftover ranch.
- Serve on a plate, drizzled with salsa macha, top with the breadcrumbs, parm and crumble the pancetta on top.
Homemade Ranch
- Mix mayo, sour cream, dill, chives, red wine vinegar, white pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and a pinch of salt. Taste and adjust for seasonings.
Kitchen Cam
Notes
- Cut your bread into 1 inch cubes.
- Add your bread into a food processor and pulse for 5 to 10 increments until you reach the desired crumb size. Make sure they’re not too small, you don’t want dust, you want crumbs.
- That is it!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
