That’s “keen-wah tab-ooh-lay.” Don’t let the name scare you away from this incredibly simple and refreshing salad! I’ve been obsessed with tabbouleh since I first tried it as a child. It’s full of texture and tons of super fresh, vibrant flavors. Traditional tabbouleh uses bulgur (cracked wheat) as the bulking agent, but that’s not always easy to find in American grocery stores. Quinoa, on the other hand, has been trending hard for the past 5+ years and can be found just about everywhere these days, and even for a reasonable price. So, I swapped out the bulgur and made Quinoa Tabbouleh instead!
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Other Grain Options for Tabbouleh
If you can’t find quinoa or bulgur, couscous is a great third option. All three items cook quickly and are usually available in bulk bins so you can buy just the amount you need.
Recipe Yield
You can use either flat leaf or curly parsley for this salad, but the curly leaf will give the Quinoa Tabbouleh more loft and volume. The final volume of salad that this recipe makes will vary depending on the size of your tomato, cucumber, and parsley bunch, but it’s extremely flexible so don’t stress about the size of your vegetables. My salad yielded about 8 cups, but you could even add a second bunch of parsley if you want to stretch it out more. It will “shrink” as it refrigerates and the vegetables begin to wilt.
Quinoa Tabbouleh is Great for Meal Prep!
This is an excellent salad to prepare ahead for the week. The vegetables are crunchiest on day one, but the flavors improve as they mix and meld in the refrigerator. Day two is my favorite, but every time I make this salad I enjoy it for a good four days or so. It’s great to keep in the fridge to either dish out as a snack, a side dish, or to add some chicken and feta to make a whole meal!
Quinoa Tabbouleh
Servings 8 about 1 cup eachIngredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa ($1.40)
- 1 large lemon ($0.69)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 1/4 cup olive oil ($0.52)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1 large tomato ($1.10)
- 1 large cucumber ($1.49)
- 1 bunch curly leaf parsley ($0.89)
Instructions
- Rinse the quinoa under cool running water. Place the rinsed quinoa in a pot with 1.75 cups of water. Put a lid on top, bring it to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn off the heat. Allow the quinoa to cool before making the salad or else the heat will wilt the parsley and vegetables. To cool it faster, spread it out on a baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- While the quinoa is cooling, prepare the rest of the salad. To make the dressing, squeeze the juice from the lemon into a bowl (about 1/4 cup). Mince the garlic and add to the lemon juice along with the olive oil and salt. Whisk to combine, then set the dressing aside.
- Dice the tomato and cucumber. Rinse the parsley well to remove sand and grit, then chop well. Add the cucumber, tomato, and parsley to a large bowl.
- Once the quinoa is cooled, add it to the bowl with the vegetables. Pour the dressing over top, then stir until everything is well coated. Serve immediately or refrigerate until you’re ready to eat. Give the salad a brief stir just before serving.
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Equipment
Nutrition
How to Make Quinoa Tabbouleh – Step By Step Photos
The first thing you’ll want to do is rinse the quinoa well. Quinoa is naturally coated with a substance called saponin that has a soapy, almost bitter flavor. Rinsing the quinoa will remove it and make the quinoa taste a LOT better. Place 1 cup rinsed quinoa in a pot with 1.75 cups of water. Place a lid on the pot, bring the pot up to a boil over high heat. As soon as it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low, and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, the quinoa will have soaked up all of the water. Allow the quinoa to cool before making the salad because you don’t want the heat to wilt the parsley or vegetables. To make it cool faster, spread the quinoa out on a baking sheet and place in the refrigerator. It should cool significantly in 30 minutes. You can prepare the rest of the salad as the quinoa cools.
Fresh lemon is really important for this recipe, so make sure you don’t cut corners here. Squeeze the juice from one lemon. You’ll need at least 1/4 cup lemon juice, but if you have a little more (up to 1/3) that’s okay.
To the fresh lemon juice add 1/4 cup olive oil, four cloves of minced garlic, and 1 tsp salt. That’s it! Just whisk them together, then set them aside.
Next, dice one large tomato and one large cucumber. You’ll want them to be fairly small pieces, so dice them a little small. Rinse your parsley well, then chop it fairly finely as well. Place the cucumber, tomato, and parsley in a large bowl.
Finally, add the cooled quinoa to the bowl.
Pour the prepared dressing over top.
Then just stir until everything is coated in dressing! That’s really all it takes!
You can serve your Quinoa Tabbouleh immediately, or refrigerate for later. I like it after a little refrigeration, when the flavors have a little time to meld and the salad is ice cold! YUM.
I’ve made this several time now, and, let me tell you, it’s amazing!! I like to add one extra lemon. This makes the last serving a little soupy, but I don’t mind. Besides that, I follow the recipe to a T. The cook time for the quinoa is spot on. I get mine from the bulk section at my local grocery store. This pairs really well with the Greek turkey burger recipe in the Global>>Mediterranean section. I strongly recommend both of these recipes
Are the tomatoes an absolute? My wife detests tomatoes (I’m not a fan raw, but I like them if marinaded or prepared in a dish), so I’m wondering if there is a suitable substitute?
I think it would still be pretty good without the tomato. The cucumber and garlic are the main players, IMHO. I’ve seen people do tabbouleh with other fruit in place of tomato, like blueberries, which I always find a little strange, but if it still kinda works if you like a sweet/savory combo.
I just made this for lunch today and wow, this was just perfect. I think I like this version better than the original! This is going in my weekly rotation, thanks for being awesome. :)
Love Quinoa already! I added a little bit of Kale, and some balsamic vinegar to the dressing. Tastes amazing! Thanks for posting!
Oh my goodness…..I have had quinoa sitting in my cupboard for a while now…the first time I made it, it was “swampy” as Nick said above. I was looking for a new recipe to try for tired old chicken and found your “Honey Spiced Thighs” those smell so wonderful in my oven right now…and I searched your site for a quinoa recipe I came across your QuinoaTabbouleh which I have never had…and let me say….I am soooo looking forward to eating as soon as my daughter walks in from football practice…I think she is going to enjoy this meal! So glad I found your site….btw I used some garden zucchini in place of a cucumber in the tabbouleh and also after rinsing the quinoa I dried it as much as possible and toasted it in a nonstick skillet seems to bring out its nutty goodness even more. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Another fantastic recipe!! My husband and I are eating it currently (he’s on his third helping) and sending the link to friends. Thank you for sharing!
Delicious! Thanks for another great recipe!
I am eating this as I write this and it is SO GOOD. I added a little mint from my garden and also threw so feta in since so meal is complete without a little cheese :)
I just made this salad tonight and it was delicious! Such bright and fresh flavors and so nutritious and healthy on top of it. I am currently pregnant, so I am really trying to eat well, while still enjoying ethnic floods. This salad will definitely be a regular in my kitchen this spring and summer. Thank you for the recipe, Beth!
Love this recipe, Beth. It’s one of my go-to quinoa recipes! Great idea. I even re-created it and credited your site on my blog!
http://lavidazukas.blogspot.com.es/2014/04/4-ways-to-eat-quinoa.html
This turned out amazing!!! I added some minced mint leaves too.
This one is a keeper.
How long does this last when refrigerated?
Probably about 4-5 days.
I love this recipe and have made it many times. My only suggestion is to use a 1:1 water to quinoa ratio. This makes for crisp “al dente” quinoa. Try it and you’ll never go back to swamp-uinoa!
Ooh, I like the sound of that!
Seriously!! My husband mentioned tabbouleh the other day so I went to Wiki and looked it up. As I read about it I asked myself, “Wonder what this would be like with quinoa?” Seriously!!
Love your little place here, and your attitude toward food! Thanks for sharing with the rest of us.
PS: Forgot to mention this was the first place I came looking for a bona fide recipe! And see what I found!! =)
Thanks!! :D