Kachumbari (Kenyan tomato and onion salad) is a light and refreshing East African salad that you can put together in about 15 minutes. It makes a fantastic side dish for your grilled meat, fish, or chicken dinners. Learn the easiest way to make kachumbari!
Jump to:
❤️ Why you'll love it
Kachumbari is a popular East African salad made with tomatoes, onions, and avocado. It is native to Kenya but eaten in Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, and other countries in that region. Kachumbari salad has a mild and pleasant taste and uses ingredients you probably already have at home!
What does Kachumbari mean?
Kachumbari is a Swahili word originating from the Indian word cachumber, which is an Indian salad that uses similar ingredients.
🥘 Equipment Used
The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
This kachumbari recipe is very simple and only requires a large bowl, cutting board, and knife.
🧾 Ingredients Used
Here are the simple ingredients used to make kachumbari.
Here are the simple ingredients used to make kachumbari.
- Vegetables: Fresh tomato, red onions, and avocado. An authentic Kenyan kachumbari salad uses just 4 main ingredients - tomatoes, onions, and a little salt and lemon juice. I like to add avocado for more healthy fats and because salad tastes better with avocado, am I right? Also, I use red onions for their color and relatively mild taste.
- Spices: Cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt. You only need sea salt and black pepper, but I like to add cayenne pepper for a little spicy kick.
- Lemon: Lemon not only provides a bit of tartness to this African salad, but it also helps to preserve the color of the avocado. You can also substitute with lime.
- Cilantro: Cilantro is used as a garnish and is completely optional.
🔪 How To Make This African Salad
- Soak the raw onions in 2 cups of water with one teaspoon of salt for 10-15 minutes.
- While waiting for the onions, cut the tomatoes and avocado and chop the cilantro. Drain the onions and pat dry.
- Add the vegetables to a large mixing bowl. Then add the salt, pepper, and juice from the lemon. Mix everything together.
- Garnish with cilantro if you wish. Your African tomato and onion salad is ready to eat!
🥫 Storing and Reheating
This simple salad is best consumed the same day and is not a great candidate for leftovers. Since it is so quick and easy to make, just make however much you need at a time.
Also, storing chopped avocado tends to make it turn dark, and your kachumbari salad might look quite soggy the next day due to the tomato juice.
But if you still need to store it, I will advise only storing it overnight. First, divide the salad into portions, and don't mix the portion that will be stored in the fridge. Then drain as much of the liquid out and squeeze in some more lemon or lime juice and store it in an airtight container.
💭 Tips and Variations
- Onions can have a pretty strong taste and smell when used in salads. I find it hard to eat raw red onion in a salad, but you can reduce its sharp flavor by soaking them in 2 cups of water with 1 teaspoon of salt for 10-15 minutes.
- My version of this East African tomato salad is quite basic, but there are a few additional ingredients you can add to take yours to the next level! Try adding red cherry tomatoes, vinegar, chili peppers, parsley, cucumber, lime, and a splash of olive oil.
🍽️ What can I eat this recipe with?
This East African salad is a perfect accompaniment to your meat or grilled bbq dishes. Add some blackened shrimp to make it even more filling!
Eat it with:
👩🍳 Frequently asked questions
In English, kachumbari means Tomato and Onion Salad. This Kenyan salad is often eaten as a condiment or side salad for roasted meats and pilau rice, although there are many variations of kachumbari across Africa.
This simple recipe is incredibly healthy as it is packed full of fresh produce into fresh tomatoes, onions, avocado, lemon juice, and fresh cilantro. It's naturally low carb and full of bright, fresh flavor.
📖 Recipe
Kachumbari - Kenyan Tomato and Onion Salad
Ingredients
- 1.5 tomatoes
- ¼ red onion
- ¼ lemon can substitute with lime
- ½ avocado
- 3 tablespoon cilantro chopped
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
Instructions
- Cut the onions into small pieces.
- Add 1 teaspoon of salt to 2 cups of water.
- Soak the onions for 10-15 minutes.
- Cut the tomatoes & avocado and chop the cilantro.
- Drain the onions & pat dry.
- Mix the vegetables together & season with the spices and juice from the lemon.
- Garnish with cilantro or any herb of choice.
Notes
- This salad is best eaten the same day. But to store it overnight, divide the salad into portions and don't mix the portion that will be stored in the fridge.
- Drain as much of the liquid out and squeeze in some more lemon or lime juice. Store it in an airtight container.
It’s delicious! I will make it again and again
I'm glad you enjoyed it, Susan!
This is delicious!
So glad you enjoyed it! 😊
can't wait to try
Hope you enjoy it, Cynthia!