Quick and Easy Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is a fantastic salad made with bulgur wheat, cucumbers, tomatoes and and freshly chopped herbs. Parsley and mint brighten up the salad with a lemon dressing. 

I have always loved tabbouleh. It is a wonderfully light salad that makes for great left overs. The fresh herbs and lemon juice make this dish special. I have have working to get the right balance of chopped herbs to the rest of the ingredients and found this to be the best ratio. Another bonus to this dish is it is great for meal prep and takes 30 minutes to prepare. 

In this recipe

This is a dish that has a focus on parsley. In the food processor you will be adding 1-2 bunches of parsley for this recipe. It is also important to use flat leaf parsley instead of curly parsley. While both can be used for the recipe flat leaf parsley has a more robust flavor. Also you want to include the stems in the dish as well since the flavor is more concentrated there. 

Ingredients for tabbouleh
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Soaking vs cooking

One of the cool things about bulgur wheat is that it doesn’t need to be cooked. You can soak it for a while and it is good to go. The length of time to soak is going to depend on the coarseness of the grain. Traditionally tabbouleh is made by soaking the bulgur wheat but that takes over an hour. For those with less time available by cooking it you drastically reduce that time. 

Herbs, garlic, and shallots in a food processor
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Food processor with minced ingredients
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Tomatoes and cucumbers

One of the tricks you can use to help remove the water from the tomatoes and cucumbers is to place them in a strainer and cover them in a lot of salt. Then when once all of the other ingredients are ready to mix rinse off all of the salt. It is important to make sure you do this or you will have an inedible salad as it will be way too salty. The large amount of salt will draw out a good portion of the water before they are mixed. 

A bowl of tabbouleh with dressing behind it
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Making the tabbouleh

You will want to make sure the parsley, mint, shallots, and garlic are minced and chopped finely. The fastest way is with the food processor. Once they are tossed with the bulgur wheat, tomatoes, and cucumber drizzle the dressing over it. It will take more lemon juice and salt than you think and you will probably end up using all of the dressing for this recipe. 

close up of a bowl of tabbouleh
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Looking for other salad recipes?

A bowl of tabbouleh with wooden spoons
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Quick and Easy Tabbouleh

Sean
Bulgur wheat with tomatoes, cucumbers, and fresh herbs.
5 from 12 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine Lebanese
Servings 8 servings
Calories 154 kcal

Equipment

  • Saucepan
  • Mixing Bowl
  • Food processor
  • Mason jar

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 cup bulgur wheat
  • ¾ cup parsley chopped
  • ½ cup mint chopped
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes quartered
  • 1 cup cucumber seedless. diced
  • 1½ tsp salt
  • â…“ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 shallot minced

Instructions
 

  • In a saucepan bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the bulgur wheat, reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 12 minutes or by instructions on the package. Drain and allow to cool.
  • In a food processor add the parsley, mint, shallot, and garlic cloves. Pulse until the herbs are finely chopped.
  • In a mason jar add the lemon juice, salt, and olive oil together. Close and shake the jar until the contents are mixed.
  • In a large bowl combine the bulgur wheat, chopped herb mixture, tomatoes, and cucumbers and mix. Drizzle in the dressing until evenly coated. You may not use all of the dressing.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 154kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 3gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gSodium: 246mgPotassium: 205mgFiber: 4gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 699IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 29mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition Disclaimer*
Keyword Fresh Ingredients, Healthy, Tabbouleh
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
tabbouleh pinterest photo
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10 thoughts on “Quick and Easy Tabbouleh”

  1. 5 stars
    You always teach me something new! First time I made a tabbouleh and it was great, no leftovers to store, wow, thanks!

  2. 5 stars
    This tabbouleh was delicious! With the mint and cucumber, it was so fresh tasting and made for the perfect side dish with some burgers we smoked this weekend. Great recipe!

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