I love using parsley as a base for my salads because it’s inexpensive, flavorful, full of nutrients, and it holds up well in the refrigerator, even when dressed! It might take a minute to get past its stereotype as a garnish, but once you do, you’ll see all the possibilities parsley has to offer! This simple Parsley Salad with Almonds and Apricots is a great introduction to parsley as a salad green with its sweet and savory flavor, crunchy texture, and tangy homemade dressing.
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Substitutions
Dried apricots can sometimes be pricey, so if they’re a bit out of your range, golden raisins make a wonderful substitute.
I used bulgur (cracked wheat) as my grain in this salad, but just about any cooked and cooled grain works in its place. Some other options are: brown rice, quinoa, or even couscous.
If you don’t feel like making your own dressing (I don’t blame you, sometimes you just need “easy”) a store bought champaign vinaigrette would work well with the parsley salad’s flavors.
Servings
The recipe makes about four cups of parsley salad, which I suppose could be four big servings. The salad is rather dense and flavorful, though, so I haven’t yet eaten a whole cup per sitting. So, depending on how much you like it, count on 4-6 servings.
Now to the good part!
Parsley Salad with Almonds and Apricots
Servings 4 1 cup eachIngredients
Salad
- 1.5 cups cooked and cooled bulgur* ($0.87)
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley ($0.87)
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds ($1.32)
- 10 dried apricots (about 1/2 cup) ($0.50)
Dressing
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil ($0.04)
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar ($0.12)
- 1 clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard ($0.06)
- 1/2 tsp sugar ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp salt + freshly cracked pepper to taste ($0.05)
Instructions
- Cook the bulgur according to the package directions, then spread it out onto a baking sheet or dish and transfer to the refrigerator to cool. The grain should be barely warm, at most, when assembling the salad.
- While the bulgur is cooking, make the dressing so the flavors have time to blend. Mince a clove of garlic and combine it in a bowl with the olive oil, vegetable oil, vinegar, Dijon, sugar, basil, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Whisk the mixture until combined. Set the dressing aside.
- Rinse the parsley well with cool water and shake off as much water as possible. Use a salad spinner or pat with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Roughly chop the leaves, leaving the bottom of the stems behind. Place the chopped parsley in a large bowl.
- Roughly chop the dried apricots into small pieces. Add the chopped apricots and sliced almonds to the bowl with the parsley. Finally, add the cooked and cooled bulgur. Pour half of the dressing over top of the salad ingredients and toss until everything is well mixed and coated with dressing. Add more dressing if desired (I used about 3/4 of the total dressing recipe).
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Parsley Salad with Almonds and Apricots – Step by Step Photos
Cook your bulgur according to the package directions. Once cooked, spread it out onto a baking sheet or baking dish and place it in the refrigerator to cool. Spreading it out helps it cool more quickly. You’ll need 1.5 cups of the cooked bulgur (or whatever grain you plan to use).
When cooking grains like this, I often cook a double batch and then freeze half so I don’t have to cook it next time. To freeze cooked grains, make sure they’re completely chilled, then transfer to a freezer bag, make sure to date and label it, then it’s ready for the freezer.
While the bulgur is cooking, make the vinaigrette so that the flavors have a little time to blend. The vinaigrette is super simple to make. Combine one clove minced garlic with 2 Tbsp olive oil, 2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil, 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1/2 Tbsp Dijon, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Whisk the dressing until it’s fully mixed. The Dijon acts as an emulsifier and keeps it from separating out again. If preferred, you can add all the ingredients to a mason jar and just shake it until it’s mixed. I only used about 3/4 of the dressing, so if you know you won’t want a lot of dressing on the salad, you can go ahead and make a half batch (use a small clove of garlic or just cut one in half).
Now on to the actual salad. Rinse the parsley REALLY well because sand is the last thing you want in your salad. Shake off as much water as possible, then go one step further and use a salad spinner, paper towel, or a clean lint-free dish cloth to pat the parsley and remove any last bits of water. Roughly Chop the parsley leaves, leaving the stem ends behind (the small bits of stems attached to the leaves are okay and just get chopped up with the leaves). Place the chopped parsley in a large bowl.
Chop about 1/2 cup, or 10 dried apricots into tiny jewel like pieces so that every forkful of the salad has a nice sweet bit of apricot.
Add the chopped apricots, 1/2 cup sliced almonds, and the cooled bulgur to the bowl with the parsley. Make sure the bulgur is cool so that it doesn’t wilt the parsley.
Pour half of the prepared dressing over the salad and toss it until everything is well mixed and coated in dressing. Then, add more dressing as needed. I used about 3/4 of the dressing so that the salad was very moist and flavorful. It has held up well in the fridge, too. I’m on day 3 and it’s not at all wilty. Yay!
This parsley salad is sweet, savory, crunchy, and YUMMY.
Oh, and it’s PRETTY too!
I was surprised but how much I loved this. I wish I had doubled the recipe. I couldn’t find bulgar so I used wild rice I had on hand. Definitely moving this into regular rotation!
I made this salad for my lunch, and it’s so good! It’s very filling too!! This is going to be one of my pack and go salads,
Love this salad. I used couscous instead of bulgar. Was delish !
What kind of bulgar did you use for this? I’ve never made bulgar before, and tried Shiloh Farms Bulgar Wheat… it cam out like oatmeal. :(
It’s like this one from Bob’s Red Mill.
Followed the directions as-are. This was phenomenal with a piece of seared salmon on top for dinner! The salad alone would also make a great and filling (but not too heavy) lunch!
This salad was delicious! The combination of flavors was very tasty. I used quinoa and substituted cilantro for the parsley. So good!
Great recipe! Absolutely delicious! I brought it to a potluck, and it was a hit! It is also extremely visually appealing – always a plus!
I made only one minor substitution – I used 1/2 tsp honey instead of granulated sugar.
Thank you for this recipe!
So freaking good. But oddly, I enjoyed it much more at about 12hrs old than at 3 days – it was like the flavors melded too much. I added the feta, and it made 2 nice sized meals for me.
I wanted to thank you for introducing me to two things: one is the bulgur wheat which I’ve never had before and it is probably the only grain I’ve had that even comes close to having a suitable texture and flavor for substituting white rice and it is super cheap and super easy to prepare to boot, and two is using parsley this way! I absolutely loved it and it is so much cheaper than salad greens.
Thank you! Happy to hear it!
I’ve made this recipe so many times now. Usually do quinoa instead of bulgur and cilantro instead of parsley (cilantro doesn’t hold up quite as long but still does fine). This is quintessential budget bytes in my opinion: simple, inexpensive ingredients with so much flavor, healthy and still delicious. Anytime I go to a potluck I try to bring a budget byte salad: this one, the roasted carrots with feta and orzo, the roasted cauliflower with tahini, etc. Thanks so much for all the delicious inspiration!
Looks good! Do you think farro or barley would work texture wise? I just happen to have both in my pantry…
Yes, I think barley would be nice in this salad. :)
I had leftover apricots & almonds from some trail mix so it felt like this salad was calling to me. I used quinoa as the grain & added some cucumber. What I love about these types of recipes is that it’s so easy to customize & substitute ingredients.
This salad is so good and fresh because of the parsley! I used quinoa instead of bulgur since my grocery store didn’t have it. They also didn’t have flat leaf parsley so I used regular curly leaf instead and still loved it, although I’m going to try and hunt down some flat leaf to use next time. This was so unique and I loved the dressing too.
This was so good! Perfect meal prep for easy and quick lunches for the week!
This is so good! I didn’t have enough bulgur on hand, so I substituted the rest with quinoa. I also added currants I had on hand (I’d imagine cranberries would be more awesome, but I didn’t have any) because I figured the flavor profile will match.
How long does the salad last.
I usually eat it for about 3-4 days after making it.
I’m in the middle of making this and I can tell it’s going to be delicious, but I’m not sure how 1.5 cups cooked bulger makes 4 servings of 1 cup each??? Thanks!
Looking forward to trying this really soon. Would feta be a good addition to this recipe? Thanks!
Ohhh, yes, feta would be great!
Looks good. I’d like to substitute greens from my garden (chopped kale or chard) for the parsley., which would require a trip to the store. Would this work do you think?
I think kale would be good, just make sure to chop it up super fine so that it doesn’t seem too rough. Also, massaging the dressing into the kale should help. :)
Wow, this was quick and easy to put together and the flavor is amazing! Love love love it!
I just had this for lunch and I want more. Soooo good. *Drools* I made it with couscous cooked in veggie broth and used pecans instead of almonds (pesky almonds give me hives).
I never thought of parsley as a salad green before. Now, it’s my favorite!
I made this recipe for for boyfriends family about a month back when I happened to find a massive bag of bulgur in the ethnic section for 2$. It was a hit! The dressing really was the star of the dish, and I think I’ll have to make it again for a dressing for a green salad.
I just made this quickly for lunch and it’s wonderful and full of fresh flavour! I had some rice already cooked in my rice cooker so I used that, and I only had dried dates in the dried fruit department so I used those. I do think it would be better with a different dried fruit since dates are very sweet and so soft, but I can’t wait to make it again with the apricots!
couscous would be even more fabulous in this recipe; the apricots and almonds evoke Morocco for me. Going with that theme, I think I’ll sub the sugar in the dressing for Silan (date honey) because I try not to do white sugar. Maybe add some fresh mint leaves as well?
This recipe is fantastic. I had couscous in my cupboards for ages and was finally able to use it up. LOVED IT. Went and bought more couscous to make it again. Keeps nicely in the fridge (the apricots absorb the moisture after a while but that’s fine by me) and I’ve been taking some in my lunch for work everyday.
Super
I made this last week. This recipe was perfect timing for parsley that I wanted to use from the garden before it gets frosty at night here. I made it with quinoa and it was great. I was reminded, however, that neither raw garlic nor dried (sulfured) apricots agree with my stomach. I ate it all anyway
(The second half of my post didn’t come through)
I made the recipe a second time, but this time I lightly sautéed the garlic and subbed dried cranberries for the apricots. It still tasted great and no stomach issues.
This looks ridiculously delicious. I know what I’m having for dinner tonight!
I got parsley in my CSA this week so this was perfect timing. Being in New England, I had cranberries on hand so substituted the apricots and then used walnuts instead of almonds because I love that combo. It came out delicious!
I made this salad last night: very tasty! Taking all the parsley leaves off the stems = tedious, but worth it. I toasted the almonds. Tonight I’m going to have the leftovers alongside your coconut lentils.
Mmm, this looks yummy. I really want to try bulgur one day but it feels intimidating.
Sarah
thesloppyperfectionist.blogspot.com
Beth, I love seeing how your photography and food styling has evolved over the years. These pictures look great and this recipe is interesting and unique while still being budget-friendly! Is that a gas range I spy in the bulgur photo?! :D
Thank you! My new place has a LOT more natural light and I can’t believe how much that has allowed me to improve my photography already. And yes, that’s a gas range! :D I had a gas range in the last apartment, but it was a very basic model.
I’ve had some dried apricots in my pantry for ages! I can’t wait to try this this weekend. Thanks!
I’m going to have to try this one; it’s a way to commandeer the parsley that the family buys and doesn’t use. Will substitute rice because legitimate Celiac here (since before it was cool). How would lemon juice work with the flavors of the salad? Usually I dress my salads with either just oil or a combination of oil and lemon; can’t abide the taste of vinegar.
I think lemon would work just as well. :)
this looks so delicious! wonderful, perky flavors and colors, and an ideal way to use up left-over cooked grains. we would eat this as a main course.
I absolutely hate the flavor of mustard. What would be a good substitute?
Well, mustard really works best and there is so little that it doesn’t really flavor the dressing, BUT if you have to use a different emulsifier, read this article about vinaigrettes. It lists a couple other possible emulsifiers (mayonnaise, egg yolk, honey, tomato paste).