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Summer Fresh: Ultimate Tomato Salad with Tangy Banana Peppers & Creamy Burrata

This Tomato Salad with Banana Peppers recipe is a delightful homage to the simple yet profound flavors of summer, deeply inspired by a cherished snack my mother would prepare during my childhood. It brings together the luscious sweetness of perfectly ripe summer tomatoes, seasoned just right with a touch of salt and pepper, and then crowned with the vibrant, tangy kick of banana peppers. Each bite is like a burst of sunshine, embodying the very essence of summer on a plate.

While staying true to the beloved original, I’ve elevated this classic with my own culinary touches. I introduce a hint of carefully selected spices, finish the dish with a generous drizzle of the finest extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle it with delicate flaky sea salt for an added textural dimension. These subtle enhancements transform a simple salad into a gourmet experience, yet I assure you, it remains every bit as comforting and delicious as the version from my memories. This isn’t just a salad; it’s a celebration of fresh produce, vibrant flavors, and the joy of simple, good food.

Tomato salad being topped with flakey sea salt and olive oil.

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of the post, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe card with ingredient measurements and instructions.

Simple Ingredients for an Extraordinary Summer Tomato Salad

At its heart, this recipe celebrates simplicity, relying on just a few high-quality ingredients to create a symphony of flavors. The foundation consists of essentially three core elements, complemented by essential seasonings like salt, pepper, and, of course, a luxurious olive oil. The beauty of this salad truly lies in the purity and freshness of each component.

My personal additions, setting this version apart from my mom’s original, are the creamy burrata and a robustly flavorful extra virgin olive oil. I firmly believe that super-ripe, juicy tomatoes are magnificently enhanced by a rich, fruity olive oil. The addition of burrata cheese, with its delicate, milky interior and firm outer shell, takes this salad from delightful to absolutely sublime, offering a luxurious creamy texture that contrasts beautifully with the tomatoes and peppers.

Ingredients needed to make Tomato Salad.

To recreate this vibrant and flavorful summer dish, here’s a detailed list of what you’ll need:

Beef Steak Tomatoes: Opt for the largest, ripest, and most fragrant beefsteak tomatoes you can find. Their meaty texture and abundant juice are crucial for the salad’s success. Heirloom tomatoes are also an excellent choice for their diverse colors and intense flavors.
Banana Peppers: Jarred banana peppers offer that perfect tangy, slightly sweet, and mildly spicy crunch. Reserve their liquid – it’s a secret ingredient for the dressing!
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: This is not the place to skimp! A high-quality, flavorful extra virgin olive oil will elevate the entire dish, contributing its fruity, peppery notes.
Burrata Cheese: An optional but highly recommended addition. This fresh Italian cheese, with its creamy, stracciatella-filled center, adds an incomparable richness and luscious texture.
Kosher Salt: Essential for seasoning the tomatoes and drawing out excess moisture, which concentrates their flavor. Diamond Crystal is a preferred brand for its purity and texture.
Fresh Cracked Black Pepper: Provides a pungent aromatic warmth that complements the sweetness of the tomatoes and the tang of the peppers. Always crack fresh for the best flavor.
Maldon Flakey Sea Salt: For finishing! Its distinctive pyramid-shaped crystals provide a satisfying crunch and a burst of clean, briny flavor that enhances every bite.

Crafting Your Perfect Tomato and Banana Pepper Salad

Creating this stunning tomato salad is a straightforward process, focused on maximizing flavor and texture with minimal effort. Follow these steps for a truly exceptional result:

I always begin by preparing the star of the show: the tomatoes. First, thinly slice your beautiful beefsteak tomatoes and arrange them in a single layer on a tray lined with paper towels. This crucial step is followed by a light seasoning of kosher salt. The salt serves a dual purpose: it draws out excess water from the tomatoes, which prevents the salad from becoming watery, and it simultaneously concentrates their natural, sweet flavor. Allow them to rest for about 10 minutes. As the salt dissolves, you’ll notice some liquid accumulating on the surface of the tomato slices. Gently pat them dry with another paper towel to remove this moisture. This ensures that your dressing adheres beautifully and the tomato flavor truly shines.

Salting the tomatoes on a paper towel lined tray to release some of their liquid.

Next, it’s time to prepare the tangy banana peppers. Carefully drain a jar of banana peppers, making sure to reserve at least 5-6 tablespoons of the liquid – this briny, flavorful liquid is key to our dressing. Once drained, give the banana peppers a rough chop. You want pieces that are substantial enough to provide a satisfying crunch and bursts of flavor throughout the salad, but not so large that they overwhelm the tomatoes.

Now, let’s create the vibrant vinaigrette that will tie all the flavors together. In a small bowl, combine a generous amount of your best extra virgin olive oil with the reserved banana pepper liquid. Add a few generous cracks of fresh black pepper. Whisk these ingredients together until well emulsified. The banana pepper liquid provides a wonderful zesty tang that perfectly complements the rich olive oil and the sweetness of the tomatoes.

For an added touch of elegance and visual appeal, especially when I’m feeling a bit “fancy,” I sometimes toss the roughly chopped banana peppers with a handful of thinly sliced grape or cherry tomatoes. This combination adds a burst of additional color and varied texture to the salad, making it even more enticing, as you can see in some of the accompanying images. This step is entirely optional but highly recommended for presentation.

To assemble your gorgeous Tomato Salad, arrange the now “dried” tomato slices artfully on a large serving platter. Sprinkle them with a touch more flaky sea salt for that delightful textural crunch. Drizzle generously with the prepared banana pepper vinaigrette. If you opted for the marinated banana peppers and grape tomatoes, spoon that mixture evenly over the tomatoes. Otherwise, simply scatter the chopped banana peppers directly over the arrangement.

Tomato Salad on a platter ready to serve.

While the salad is absolutely delicious on its own, adding burrata cheese elevates it to another level. If you choose to include it, gently tear the burrata into rustic pieces and strategically place them over the tomatoes. The creamy interior will gently spill out, creating pockets of rich, milky goodness. Finish this masterpiece with another crack of fresh black pepper, a whisper more flaky sea salt, and a final luxurious drizzle of your finest extra virgin olive oil. Serve this salad immediately to enjoy its peak freshness and vibrant flavors.

This Tomato Salad is incredibly versatile and pairs beautifully with a variety of main courses. I particularly love to serve it alongside a perfectly grilled steak, where its fresh, tangy notes cut through the richness of the meat. A rustic, crusty slice of sourdough bread, ideal for soaking up every last drop of the delicious dressing and tomato juices, completes what I consider to be a perfect summer supper. It’s a dish that feels both effortlessly elegant and deeply satisfying.

Tomato Salad optionally topped with burrata cheese and served with a grilled steak and slice of sourdough bread.

Expert Notes & Tips for the Best Tomato Salad

Achieving a truly exceptional tomato salad requires attention to a few key details. Here are my top notes and tips to ensure your dish is nothing short of spectacular:

Choosing Your Tomatoes: The Foundation of Flavor. The absolute most critical element for this recipe is the quality and ripeness of your tomatoes. Since the recipe is so elegantly simple, the flavor of the tomatoes will truly be the star. Seek out the ripest, most fragrant tomatoes you can find – ones that feel heavy for their size and have a deep, vibrant color. Heirloom varieties are an outstanding option, offering a diverse palette of colors, shapes, and intensely complex flavors. I often choose tomatoes that are still on the vine; this indicates they were picked at their peak and allows them to continue ripening perfectly on my counter at home, developing even richer sweetness.

Embrace the Banana Peppers: A Tangy Counterpoint. Do not be at all shy with the banana peppers! Their unique blend of tanginess, mild sweetness, and subtle heat provides a fantastic counterpoint to the sweet juiciness of the tomatoes and the richness of the olive oil. This interplay of flavors creates a truly heavenly experience, where each bite offers a delightful balance. You want a generous amount of peppers to ensure that bright, acidic pop is present in every forkful, preventing the salad from tasting one-dimensional.

The Art of Salting Tomatoes: A Must-Do Step. I cannot stress enough the importance of salting the tomatoes and gently patting away their excess liquid. This simple, quick process makes an enormous difference in the final outcome of your salad. By removing some of the water, you concentrate the inherent sweetness and umami of the tomatoes, making their flavor much more intense. More importantly, it prevents your salad from becoming a watery mess, allowing the flavorful dressing to truly penetrate and coat each tomato slice. Skipping this step means your beautiful tomatoes will be swimming in their own diluted juices, and the nuanced flavors of the olive oil and banana peppers will be significantly muted.

Invest in Quality Olive Oil: The Unsung Hero. If there was ever a dish that demands the “good stuff” when it comes to olive oil, this is it. In a recipe with so few ingredients, each one must be of the highest quality to truly shine. A superior extra virgin olive oil, with its complex fruity, peppery, and sometimes grassy notes, will be tasted in every single bite. It adds a depth, richness, and velvety texture that inexpensive oils simply cannot replicate. Seek out a cold-pressed, single-origin extra virgin olive oil for the most profound flavor impact. You will not regret the investment.

Heirloom tomatoes, topped with marinated banana peppers and grape tomatoes.

More of My Favorite Fresh Tomato Recipes

If you’re as passionate about tomatoes as I am, you’re in for a treat! Their versatility and vibrant flavor make them a star in countless dishes. Here are a few more of my cherished tomato-centric recipes that I think you’ll adore:

Perhaps my ultimate favorite tomato recipe, and a true crowd-pleaser, is my Tomato Feta Salad. If you’re a fan of the classic Caprese salad, you absolutely must try this elevated version, which swaps mozzarella for salty, tangy feta cheese. It’s an irresistible combination of fresh, creamy, and briny notes – truly heavenly!

Much like the Banana Pepper Tomato Salad, my Traditional Greek Salad expertly highlights the incredible flavor of ripe tomatoes. The secret here lies in their ripeness, which transforms a simple medley of vegetables into a gloriously delicious and refreshing culinary experience, bursting with Mediterranean sunshine.

For a fantastic way to elevate any salad, my Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette is a game-changer. This dressing takes ordinary greens and boosts them off the charts with its rich, concentrated tomato flavor. It’s also a brilliant method for salvaging tomatoes that are becoming over-ripe, giving them a new lease on life and infusing any dish with out-of-this-world flavor.

For me, the epitome of comfort food is my rich and creamy Lemon Orzo Chicken with Feta and Tomatoes. This hearty dish is a delightful blend of savory chicken, tender orzo, bright lemon, and the salty-sweet bursts from fresh tomatoes and feta. It’s so good, I’m practically drooling just thinking about it!

If you’re craving something with a light and refreshing Latin flair, give my Cucumber, Tomato, and Onions Salad a try. This crisp and vibrant salad offers a bright, zesty side that provides an amazing contrast to richer dishes like tacos, enchiladas, or even as a standalone light meal. It’s simple, fresh, and bursting with flavor.

Did you make this incredible recipe? I would love to hear from you! Please let me know by leaving a review or comment below. And for more delicious recipes and cooking inspiration, be sure to sign up for my newsletter, and follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook! Your culinary journey with me doesn’t have to end here!

📖 Recipe

Yield: 4-6 servings

Tomato Salad with Banana Peppers and Burrata

Prep Time:
15 minutes

This easy Tomato Salad, made with perfect tomatoes, seasoned with salt & pepper, and topped with tangy banana peppers. It’s summer on a plate!

Ingredients

5 large Beef Steak Tomatoes, sliced
1, 16 ounce jar Banana Peppers, drained, liquid reserved
3-4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1, 8 ounce container Burrata Cheese
Kosher Salt, Diamond Crystal
Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
Maldon Flakey Sea Salt

Instructions

Line a tray with paper towels.

Slice the tomatoes and lay them out in a single layer on the tray.

Sprinkle them with salt and let them rest for about 10 minutes.

Mix up a dressing by combining the olive oil, 5-6 tablespoons of the reserved banana pepper liquid, and a few cracks of black pepper in a bowl and stir it together.

Pat off any water that rises to the top of the tomatoes with a paper towel.

Arrange the dried tomato slices on a serving platter, and sprinkle them with a little more salt and some pepper. Top with the dressing you made.

Tear the burrata over the top of the tomatoes and sprinkle it with some salt and pepper.

Serve immediately.

Notes

Notes & Tips

Achieving a truly exceptional tomato salad requires attention to a few key details. Here are my top notes and tips to ensure your dish is nothing short of spectacular:

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Creamy Burrata and Zesty Banana Pepper Tomato Salad