Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Taboulleh salad is a traditional Middle Eastern salad that’s both flavorful and versatile! With bulgur, plenty of fresh parsley and mint, crisp cucumbers, and juicy tomatoes, tabbouleh salad is a refreshing and healthy recipe.
How long it takes: 30 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: sharp knife, whisk, bowls
Servings: makes 8 cups, about 8 servings
If we’re getting carryout for dinner, often it’s Lebanese food. Really, I could probably make all my Lebanese favorites at home like I do with chicken kofta and shish tawook, but I do love a good carry-out meal and a night off from cooking!
I wanted to be able to make my own tabbouleh because I always order extra so I have leftovers for lunches. One of my favorite lunches is warm pita bread with hummus and tabbouleh salad. A close runner up is red lentil soup with fattoush salad.
The bright flavors of the minced parsley and mint, green onions, and lemon juice make tabbouleh truly unforgettable, and as it sits in the fridge, the flavors really come together. I think it tastes even better the second day!
What Is Tabbouleh?
Tabbouleh is a popular Middle Eastern salad often served as an appetizer or small plate, or as part of a mezze. It features finely chopped parsley, complemented by bulgur, tomatoes, onion, and mint, with a light vinaigrette of lemon juice and olive oil. It may be called tabouli, taboulah, or tabooli. There are many variations of the salad depending on the region and the cook (Wikipedia).
Reasons To Love Tabbouleh Salad
- Fresh, herbaceous flavor. Instead of traditional salad greens, tabbouleh is made with lots of fresh parsley and mint. The leaves are minced finely to release all of their deliciousness. This salad has simple ingredients but big flavor!
- Easy to make. There’s no special technique or hard-to-find ingredients which means tabbouleh salad is pretty easy to recreate at home. This salad is just a matter of prepping quality ingredients and then stirring them together.
- Versatile. You can serve this recipe as a side dish or stir in chickpeas or shredded chicken to make it a complete lunch. I also like to use it as a base for Middle Eastern-inspired meal bowls with tahini sauce!
About Bulgur
Tabbouleh is traditionally made with extra fine bulgur which is soaked but not cooked, but it can be difficult to find. I tested fine bulgur (#1) and medium bulgur (also labeled #2 or cracked wheat) for this recipe and found that my family preferred tabbouleh made with fine bulgur. That said, medium bulgur will also work if that’s what you have on hand or it’s all you can find. You might also see it spelled burghul or bulgure.
Ingredient Notes
- Fine Bulgur Wheat: Please refer to the above note regarding different types of bulgur. Follow the instructions on the package for cooking the bulgur since it may vary depending on what type you buy. Very fine bulgur doesn’t require any cooking at all.
- Fresh Parsley: Parsley is a major component of tabbouleh; I usually buy at least 2 bunches to make sure I have enough. Curly or flat leaf Italian parsley can be used in this recipe, although I prefer curly parsley in tabbouleh salad.
- Mint: Tabbouleh is traditionally made with spearmint but usually grocery stores sell just one kind of mint. If you’re pulling it from your backyard garden or buying it at a farmers market, I’d choose spearmint over peppermint.
- Tomato: Remove the seeds and core. Squeezing out the seeds helps keep the tabbouleh salad from getting watery.
- English Cucumber: Any tender-skinned cucumber will work. If you want to use a garden cucumber, peel it and scoop out the seeds first.
- Green Onions: You’ll use both the white and green parts.
- Lemon Juice: Fresh lemon juice (not bottled!) makes the best tabbouleh salad.
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: If you have a high-quality fruity EVOO on hand, use it here!
- Garlic: The lemon juice mellows the garlic, giving this tabbouleh salad oomph without overwhelming it.
- Kosher Salt and Black Pepper: Always essential!
How To Make Tabbouleh Salad
Prep the bulgur. Cook the bulgur as directed on the package. Fluff the cooked bulgur with a fork and let it cool completely in a large bowl. You can make it a day ahead if you like.
Prep the parsley. Rinse the parsley thoroughly and dry it as much as possible. I use my salad spinner to dry it or you can shake off the excess water and pat it dry. Trim off the large stems; small stems are fine. Chop it finely; you’ll need 3 cups of very finely chopped parsley. Some folks use a food processor to accomplish this. It’s a much faster method but I prefer it chopped by hand. It’s up to you!
Prep the mint and vegetables. Rinse the mint thoroughly and dry it. Remove the leaves from the stems and chop them finely. You’ll only need ¼ cup of minced mint. Rinse and cut the tomatoes, cucumber, and green onions into small uniform pieces.
Combine with the bulgur. Add the chopped parsley, mint, tomatoes, cucumber, and green onion to the bowl of cooled bulgur.
Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the fresh lemon juice, olive oil, minced or pressed garlic, salt, and pepper until thoroughly mixed.
Combine. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss lightly to combine.
Adjust seasoning to taste. Try a spoonful of the tabbouleh and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, or lemon juice as needed.
Chill. Refrigerate the tabbouleh salad for at least 1 hour. Stir well and serve.
Recipe Variations
- Add feta: When I’m stretching out leftover tabbouleh for lunches, I love to add crumbled feta.
- Use freekeh: In the original version of this recipe, I used freekeh instead of bulgur; it’s also a cracked wheat but it’s roasted, so it has a little more depth to the flavor. I also use it in this Moroccan freekeh pilaf.
- Swap in quinoa: Another option is to make tabbouleh with quinoa, which has a higher protein count, making the salad more filling.
Serving Suggestions
- Middle Eastern favorites: Set out a selection of olives, stuffed grape leaves, air fryer falafel, pita bread or homemade flat bread, hummus, and pickled turnips with the tabbouleh for a light, delicious meal. I usually make a bowl of tzatziki, a creamy cucumber and yogurt dip, too.
- Chicken: Serve tabbouleh as a side for lemon pepper chicken or grilled chicken shawarma drumsticks.
- Vegetables: Alongside the chicken and tabbouleh salad, serve an easy veggie side like air fryer green beans or roasted cauliflower.
Make the tabbouleh salad on Sunday and enjoy it for lunch for the next three days! I like packing it in a box with compartments and putting grilled chicken or falafel in one and fresh fruit in another.
Store leftover tabbouleh salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Free Meal Plan
Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at Meal Plan #76. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. We add a new meal plan weekly.
More Grain Salad Recipes
Tabbouleh Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup fine bulgur wheat (see note)
- boiling water (see bulgur package directions)
- 3 cups loosely packed, finely chopped fresh curly leaf parsley, about 2 large bunches (see note)
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
- 1 cup diced tomato (3 medium tomatoes, seeds and core removed)
- 1 English cucumber, finely diced (about 1 heaping cup)
- 3 green onions, finely chopped, more to taste (use green and white parts)
- ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 large lemon)
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic (grated, pressed, or finely minced)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper, or to taste
Instructions
- Cook bulgur as directed on package. Drain if needed. Fluff the bulgur with a fork and let it cool completely in a large bowl.1 cup fine bulgur wheat, boiling water
- Meanwhile, rinse the parsley thoroughly and dry it as much as possible. I use my salad spinner to dry it or you can shake off the excess water and pat it dry. Trim off the large stems; small stems are fine. Chop the parsley finely. If you prefer, a food processor can be used but traditionally it's chopped by hand.3 cups loosely packed, finely chopped fresh curly leaf parsley, about 2 large bunches
- Remove the mint leaves from the stems and prep it in the same way as the parsley. Finely chop the tomatoes, cucumber, and green onions.¼ cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves, 1 cup diced tomato, 1 English cucumber, finely diced, 3 green onions, finely chopped, more to taste
- When the bulgar has cooled completely, add the chopped parsley, mint, tomatoes, cucumber, and green onion to the bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste, ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper, or to taste
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss everything together until well combined.
- Taste the tabbouleh and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, or lemon juice as needed.
- Refrigerate the tabbouleh for at least 1 hour before serving to allow the flavors to blend. Tabbouleh can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
- Before serving, give it a good stir and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve chilled.
Notes
- We tested this recipe with fine bulgur (labeled #1) and with medium bulgur (labeled #2 or cracked wheat). Since there are a number of varieties, it’s important to follow cooking directions on the package that you purchased. We prefer the tabbouleh made with fine bulgur but both fine and medium work well.
- Curly leaf parsley and flat leaf (Italian) parsley both work for this recipe, but we prefer curly parsley (and this is one of the only times you’ll hear us saying that!).
- This recipe was retested and revised 5/2024. It was originally made with freekah and included feta cheese.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
When preparing bulgar, I like to add the salt to the boiling water so that the bulgar absorbs it nicely. I reduced the amount of chopped parsley to 2 cups (instead of 3 cups) and the amount of olive oil from half a cup to a third (1/3) cup. Lovely, nice bright flavour. I’m sure I’ll make again.
Smart! Thanks for the review!
Just made another batch today. Note that instead of following the package instructions on the store branded bulgur I buy, which calls for simmering the bulgur in 2 cups of water, I just pour boiling water over the bulgur, give it a stir and then place a lid over it and let it sit for 30 minutes, checking it about midway through to see if it needs more water. Two cups is a bit too much for this method at least. I’d say a bit less than 1 3/4 cups will do nicely and no need to drain off any excess moisture.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
What can I use in place of freekeh?
Quinoa is yummy!
Ocasionalmente, el freekeh llamado “farik” o “frik” es un grano integral saludable similar al trigo bulgur farro de espelta y bayas de trigo pero con características distintas. La palabra árabe derivada “freekeh” de farak que significa “frotar” se refiere al proceso de producción, no al nombre de una planta.
Had to use google translate, but that’s interesting! Thanks for sharing.
Wow this looks delicious and healthy! Thanks for sharing the recipe, gotta try it at home!
Hope you love it!
Wow I’ve never tried freekeh before, I’d love to give it a try. I was thinking of adding some garbanzo beans and fresh basil to the dish what do you think? Thanks for sharing.
Garbanzo beans would be great! Basil might overpower, and it wouldn’t taste like traditional tabbouleh but if you’re a basil lover, go for it!
looklike asian foods… :D can’t wait to try it. Thanks you
It looks like my parsley plant now has a fate!
looks great–I’ve never had Lebanese food.