The Best Tabouli Salad (Tabbouleh) Recipe - Self Proclaimed Foodie (2024)

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Tabouli Salad, or Tabbouleh, is a healthy and delicious vegan salad made from bulgur wheat, minced herbs and vegetables, and a light homemade lemon vinaigrette.

Why this recipe works so well:

If you’ve ever eaten at any kind of Mediterranean restaurant, you’ve most likely had tabouli salad before. It seems like every time I order this recipe, it varies quite a bit from place to place.

• Full of nutrition – This Mediterranean salad is not only easy to make, it’s super tasty and colorful, plus everything about it is healthy. WIN!
• Balanced – This recipe is the perfect balance between grain and vegetable.
• Delicious Tabouli salad dressing – The dressing is so light that there’s just enough to hold it together and add the right amount of flavor without overpowering the salad.
• Meal prep made easy – This salad is also a great meal prep option. Just make a big batch on the weekend and it will take care of all your weekday lunches!

Ingredients needed:

Much like with any salad, you can vary the quantity and type of ingredients you use, but this is what I chose:

• Red Bulgur wheat – this whole grain is both terrifically nutrition and incredibly convenient. It is made from whole wheat kernels that have been parboiled, dried and cracked. It has a slightly nutty flavor.
• Cucumber – I use an English cucumber that I cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds before I chop it.
• Fresh parsley and mint – stems removed and leaves are minced
• Scallions, or green onions – I used both the white and green parts
• Tomatoes – I opted to use colorful grape tomatoes. They have a great texture and hold up well when quartered.
• Lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper

Nothing but healthy and wholesome ingredients!

How to make Tabbouleh salad:

Full ingredient list and detailed step by step instructions are listed in the recipe card below, but here is a summary.

1. Cook the bulgur wheat. To do this, you simply boil water and then pour it over the wheat and let it sit until all of the water has absorbed. This can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on your wheat. You’ll use a 1:1 ratio of wheat to water. You’ll want the wheat to be fully cooled when you combine it with the vegetables and herbs.
2. Chop the vegetables and herbs. This salad tastes best when everything is minced super fine. I actually prefer to do all the chopping by hand, but you can cut the time down drastically if you pulse everything through a food processor.
3. Mix everything except the olive oil together in a large bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour. Then, you’ll add the olive oil just before serving. If you’re in a real hurry, you can skip the refrigeration step.
4. Taste and season. I always give my tabbouleh a taste and add additional salt, lemon or olive oil, if needed.

Recipe tips for best results:

• Make ahead option: Because all of the herbs are chopped so fine and they’re soaking in lemon juice, they stay a nice vibrant green and continue to taste fresh, so Tabbouleh is a great make ahead recipe. This is one of the few salads that I like to make a big batch of and continue to eat throughout the week.
• Chopping: This salad really does taste best when the herbs and cucumber are minced and diced. I prefer to do this by hand but you can use a food processor to reduce time.
• Storage: Keep leftover salad in an air tight container in the refrigerator. Use within several days.

Other Mediterranean inspired recipes:

• Farro Salad
• Falafel
• Spanakopita
• Tzatziki Sauce
• Moussaka
• Baklava
• Greek Salad
• Lamb Kabobs

This recipe was first seen on The Recipe Critic where I was a contributor.

This recipe was originally published in November 2017 and has been updated with helpful information, ingredient and process photos, as well as recipe tips. Don’t worry – the recipe hasn’t changed!