Heirloom Tomato Feta Salad With Spicy Honey Garlic Sauce

An Heirloom Tomato Feta Salad With Spicy Honey Garlic Sauce is the perfect summer recipe to make when you want to pack a flavor punch. Spicy hot honey drizzled over fresh tomato salad and crumbled feta cheese is such an easy salad recipe and a sweet, salty, and spicy taste revelation.

Jump to:

What are heirloom tomatoes?
Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions and variations
Equipment
Storage
Top tip
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

When I saw the hot honey trend, I had to try it. Adding garlic to make a spicy honey garlic sauce for tomato feta salad gives it an extra savory contrast, which I love, and garlic and tomatoes always go so well together. The saltiness of feta is the perfect complement to the sticky, spicy honey garlic sauce, especially paired with the heirloom tomatoes, which come into a league of their own in the summertime.

What are heirloom tomatoes?

Heirloom tomatoes or heritage tomatoes are tomatoes that are not mass-produced, and instead, their seeds are passed down from season to season. My favorites (and the heritage tomatoes I used in this recipe) are the Black Russian tomato, the Lemon Grape tomato, Yello Oxheart, the Green Zebra, and Tumbling Tom Red Tomatoes. Heirloom tomatoes come in beautiful colors and shapes and make salads look so much prettier, as well as being incredibly tasty and full of flavor.

This heirloom tomato salad with hot honey and feta will work especially well in the summertime when the heritage tomatoes are in season and ripe. I love to serve it at lunch parties alongside other tasty summer dishes like this black garlic chicken and popcorn calamari, and if you love salads with feta cheese, you should also try this grilled peach Panzanella salad.

Ingredients

Heirloom_tomatoes_in_a_crate_at_a_market_stall.

Heirloom tomatoes: Try and vary the kinds of heirloom or heritage tomatoes to give even more visual interest to this summer salad. My favorites are green zebra and yellow oxheart.
Basil: Fresh basil and tomato are a flavor combination born in Heaven. Don't skip it!
Garlic: I like adding garlic to the spicy honey sauce as it adds more depth. And I love garlic.
Fresh chili: You can use ground cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or hot paprika as an alternative, but I like using fresh chili peppers.
Honey: Clear, runny honey is the best honey for this recipe.
Feta cheese: Feta cheese's tangy and savoy nature perfectly harmonizes with sweet and spicy honey and fresh, juicy tomatoes. You could also use goat cheese.
Olive oil: You do not need to use extra virgin olive oil (which is expensive) as the taste of honey and chili will overpower it anyway. But olive oil works best in terms of the flavor profile of this heirloom tomato salad with hot honey and feta salad.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

See the recipe card for quantities and step-by-step directions on how to make tomato feta salad with spicy honey garlic sauce.

Instructions

Finely dice and then crush the garlic cloves into a paste using the back of a knife or spoon and dice the chili into small pieces.
Heat some oil in a saucepan over medium heat and gently saute the garlic and chili for a few minutes until fragrant.
Pour the honey into the pan and turn the heat off, allowing the flavors to infuse for 5-10 minutes as the honey cools down to room temperature. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer the spicy garlic honey sauce to a jug or jar.
Slice your heirloom tomatoes into pieces, or leave some of the smaller ones whole for variety.
Place the tomatoes in a salad bowl and crumble the feta over the top. Add the fresh basil leaves and pour over the hot honey garlic sauce. Serve and enjoy!

Hint: You can vary the amount of chili you put in the hot and spicy honey garlic sauce depending on your personal preference. If serving this salad as a summer party side dish, try this Pico De Gallo with Avocado as another delicious option.

A_jug_pouring_spicy_garlic_honey_sauce_over_tomato_feta_salad.

Substitutions and variations

Here are some ways you can adapt this feta, hot honey, and heirloom tomato salad to suit you.

Cheese - Try other cheeses like fried halloumi or creamy mozzarella.
Vegetables - Add red onion and cucumber to make this salad even crunchier.
Chilli - You can use dried chili flakes instead of fresh chili.

Love a bit of spice? Try this homemade habanero pineapple hot sauce.

Equipment

Frying pan
Jug or jar
Salad bowl
Chopping board and knife

Storage

Store any leftovers in the fridge in an air-tight container and consume them within 2-3 days.

This recipe does not stand up well to freezing.

Top tip

You can keep any leftover hot honey in a clean, sterilized jar for a few weeks, try drizzling it over other things! It's great on pizza...

What is hot honey?

Hot honey is honey that has been infused with chili spice, to give it some heat. The sweet and spicy flavor is delicious and can add real depth to dishes.

What kind of cheese is feta?

Feta cheese is a Greek cheese made from ewe's milk (sheep) or sometimes a mixture of sheep and goat milk. It is a white cheese that is quite crumbly and has a strong and tangy flavor. It is salty due to being aged in brine.

Do heirloom tomatoes taste different?

Heirloom or heritage tomatoes typically have a stronger flavor and are juicier, too. I consider them the Rolls Royce of tomatoes.

📖 Recipe