Simple Tabbouleh Salad
by Katie Webster
July 28, 2015 (updated 7/5/23) Jump To Recipe
A simple tabbouleh salad with curly parsley, mint, tomatoes and red onion. A perfect healthy summer side dish that requires just 15 minutes of prep work!
Table of contents
Tabbouleh salad holds a very special place in my heart along with Garlic hummus. And I simply crave it as soon as tomatoes and parsley come into season. I can eat gallons of it. I just keep it in the fridge and scoop out bowlfuls to nosh on for days.
Ingredients For Tabbouleh Salad
Boiling water
To “cook” the bulgur, you’ll want a kettle of boiling water. It will be poured over the bulgur to soften it.
Fine or Medium-fine bulgur wheat
Look for fine or medium fine bulgur for this recipe. It can be found in the bulk bin at health food stores or with the middle eastern grains in good supermarkets.
Extra-virgin olive oil, Lemon juice and Salt
The simple dressing is made with oil, lemon and salt. If you like to add garlic that is traditional too. For more lemony flavor add half of a zested lemon too.
Tomatoes
This recipe is best with fresh garden ripe tomatoes. Core them and cut them into an even dice. Save the juices from the cutting board and add that to the tabbouleh too. It will blend in with the dressing.
Parsley
I prefer curly parsley in my tabbouleh because that is how I had it growing up. If you like flat leaf you can use it instead,but do not cop it too finely.
Mint
Adding in a nice handful of chopped mint is authentic and really compliments the flavors in this recipe.
Red onion
I like to use red onion in my tabbouleh. If you prefer to use garlic, finely mince a clove and add it to the dressing. For the red onion, cut it as finely as possible so the flavors of the onion meld into the tabbouleh.
How to Make Tabbouleh
If you take a look at the total time required for this recipe, you might be a little startled at first. Over an hour to make one side salad sounds like a lot of time and energy, but hear me out! That “hands on prep time” required for this tabbouleh salad recipe is actually just 15 minutes. The rest of the time you simply are waiting for the bulgur wheat to absorb enough water to fluff up nicely.
Soak The Bulgur
So to make this simple tabbouleh, you’ll first need to combine some boiling water with the bulgur wheat.
Once the bulgur has absorbed the water, you’ll need to drain it well using a fine mesh sieve and press out any excess water with the back of your fingers.
Make The Dressing
Then, you’ll need to whisk together a little lemon juice, olive oil and salt in a large serving bowl.
Mix the Tabbouleh Together
Add in the bulgur and mix until it’s fully coated in the dressing. Gently stir in the parsley, tomatoes, onion and mint and serve or refrigerate.
Make Ahead Tips
- You can prep this tabbouleh salad up to 8 hours in advance.
- If you want to prepare it further ahead of time, soak and drain the bulgur and combine with the dressing. Store that separately from the chopped parsley up to two days ahead.
- Before serving, bring the bulgur to room temperature. Combine the parsley, bulgar, tomatoes, mint and onion. Adjust seasonings as necessary as the bulgur may need a bit more salt.
- Leftovers tabbouleh can be kept covered in the refrigerator up to three days. The tomatoes will become watery and soft, and the parsley will wilt, but it will still taste delicious.
More Easy Recipes with Middle Eastern Flavors:
- This Quinoa Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Mint reminds me of tabbouleh in a way and is great at this time of year.
- This Blueberry Tabbouleh made with quinoa is a fun twist, though totally not authentic!
- This Za’atar Roasted Fingerling Potatoes recipe has a creamy yogurt tahini sauce that you’ll want to pour on everything!
- My Za’atar Pita Chips with Cucumber Tzatziki are a fun appetizer or snack.
- This Eggplant, Feta and Chickpea Salad is an oldie but a goodie and is great cold or at room temp.
- These easy Grilled Boneless Chicken Thighs have garlic, lemon and oregano in the marinade.
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!
Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Simple Tabbouleh Salad Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
Description
This is a recipe for Simple Tabbouleh salad with lemon, red onion, parsley, mint and tomatoes. A perfect healthy summer side dish that requires just 15 minutes of prep work!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups boiling water
- 1 cup fine bulgur wheat
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 medium tomatoes, diced (about 3 cups)
- 3 cups chopped curly parsley
- ½ cup minced red onion
- 3 tablespoons to ¼ cup finely chopped fresh mint, to taste
Instructions
- Pour water over bulgur in a large bowl and let sit for 1 hour. Drain well into a fine mesh sieve and press out any excess water.
- Whisk oil, lemon and salt in the bowl. Add the bulgur back to the bowl and coat with the dressing. Stir in tomatoes, parsley, onion and mint. Serve immediately or chill.
Notes
For Medium or Coarse Bulgur
If you cannot find fine bulgur, you can use medium or coarse bulgur instead but you will need to cook it. Add two cups water and one cup bulgur to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes over low heat. Turn off heat and let sit for at least 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork. Let cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally before mixing into the other tabbouleh ingredients.
Make Ahead Tips
- You can prep this tabbouleh salad up to 8 hours in advance.
- If you want to prepare it further ahead of time, soak and drain the bulgur and combine with the dressing. Store that separately from the chopped parsley up to two days ahead.
- Before serving, bring the bulgur to room temperature. Combine the parsley, bulgar, tomatoes, mint and onion. Adjust seasonings as necessary as the bulgur may need a bit more salt.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 162
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 308 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 3 g
Keywords: tabbouleh
Katie Webster
Katie Webster studied art and photography at Skidmore College and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. She has been a professional recipe developer since 2001 when she first started working in the test kitchen at EatingWell magazine. Her recipes have been featured in numerous magazines including Shape, Fitness, Parents and several Edible Communities publications among others. Her cookbook, Maple {Quirk Books} was published in 2015. She launched Healthy Seasonal Recipes in 2009. She lives in Vermont with her husband, two teenage daughters and two yellow labs. In her free time, you can find her at the gym, cooking, stacking firewood, making maple syrup, and tending to her overgrown perennial garden.
This is such a delicious side dish!! I will definitely make it again next week!
★★★★★
I just love tabbouleh! This is such a bright and fresh tasting salad, it’s perfect for Spring. I served it as a side with grilled chicken and I will be taking the leftovers for lunch!
★★★★★