I love tabouli, but seen how I am currently cutting back on my gluten intake I have converted to a quinoa tabouli recipe (gluten free).
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Tabouli - the cornerstone salad of the middle-east (in particular Lebanon). The main ingredient is parsley and should look very green. This is the exact recipe for traditional tabouli, however the burghul is substituted for quinoa (for those avoiding gluten - like me). Always remember, a true tabouli salad is green, if it isn't then sorry, it's just not tabouli. If it has more quinoa or burghul than anything else, well then it's a quinoa or burghul salad. I had to get that off my chest as I feel this salad has been bastardised so much.
My son, who says his favourite salad is tabouli, said this recipe tasted pretty much the same! Yes! I was so happy with this result, considering our back-ground is Lebanese (we grew up on tabouli) and we feel the difference in taste is negligible.
Whenever I make Tabouli, it always conjures up the memory of one of my late aunts, who I recall sitting across from me whilst I was chopping up parsley pointing out I was chopping it to the point of mush and my tomatoes were not uniformly diced. I was a teen then and was happy to receive the advice which has now been ingrained in me. Here's how to make gluten free quinoa tabouli
🥘 Ingredients
- 1 cup washed quinoa
- 1 large bunch continental parsley
- 3 large finely diced tomatoes
- 4-5 sprigs shallots (scallions/green onion)
- 1 small handful mint leaves
Dressing
- 2 medium lemons
- ¾ tbsp salt
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
🔪Cooking Instructions
- Using a sieve, wash quinoa through running water and thoroughly rinse quinoa to remove bitterness
- Soak quinoa in boiling water. Set aside
- Thoroughly wash and dry all salad ingredients
- Cut away all thick parts of the stalk from the parsley. Finely chop parsley. Ensure all parsley is chopped uniformly and not into a mush
- Finely diced tomato. Ensure all tomato pieces are uniform in size
- Finely chop shallot (scallion/green onion)
- Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- Start preparing the dressing;
- Cut lemons in half and squeeze juice, pour into a small mixing bowl
- Add olive oil to lemon in the mixing bowl
- Add salt to the lemon and olive oil. Whisk well until all combined
- Add mixed dressing to the salad ingredients and mix well
- Drain quinoa and rinse in cold water. Quinoa should be soft.
- Add quinoa to the mixed tabouli salad and mix well.
- Serve cold.
💭Recipe Tips
Can you freeze Tabouli?
Hmmm, that would be a negative. Imagine you froze a garden salad, what do you think the end result would be when it thawed out. Quinoa tabouli is best eaten fresh or the next day.
How long will Tabouli keep in the fridge?
It can keep for maximum a day or two. The longer tabouli sits, the juicer and soggier it will be. I prefer it fresh, some of my family members however love it the next day and can't wait to slurp the left over tangy juices.
How to pronounce Tabouli
It's simple to say in English - Ta-boo-li. My Armenian side of the family called it Tabbouleh - Ta-boo-leh.
⏲️Cooking Time
Allow about 30 minutes to prep and chop all the ingredients. There is no cooking time involved with making tabouli.
Quinoa fun fact - Did you know quinoa is naturally bitter due to the plant's defense mechanism from birds. True story.
For visual instructions on how to cut up all the ingredients and create quinoa tabouli, click on this video here
📋Other Recipes
Looking for more vegan salad ideas?
- Maftoul Salad - Palestinian (inspired) couscous salad
- Orange and Fennel Salad - So fresh, reminds me of summer
- Brown Rice Salad - Vibrant, filling and tasty, what's not to love
📖 Recipe
Quinoa Tabouli (Quinoa Tabbouleh Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 cup washed quinoa
- 1 large bunch continental parsley
- 3 large finely diced tomatoes
- 4-5 sprigs shallots (scallions/green onion)
- 1 small handful mint leaves
Dressing
- 2 medium lemons
- ¾ tbsp salt
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Using a sieve, wash quinoa through running water and thoroughly rinse quinoa to remove bitterness
- Soak quinoa in boiling water. Set aside
- Thoroughly wash and dry all salad ingredients
- Cut away all thick parts of the stalk from the parsley. Finely chop parsley. Ensure all parsley is chopped uniformly
- Finely diced tomato. Ensure all tomato pieces are uniform in size
- Finely chop shallot (scallion/green onion)
- Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Dressing
- Cut lemons in half and squeeze juice, pour into a small mixing bowl
- Add olive oil to lemon in the mixing bowl
- Add salt to the lemon and olive oil. Whisk well until all combined
- Add mixed dressing to the salad ingredients and mix well
- Drain quinoa and rinse in cold water. Quinoa should be soft.
- Add quinoa to the mixed tabouli salad and mix well.
- Serve cold.
Video
Nutrition
Tabouli perfectly pairs with Mujadara. Which is usually made with either brown lentils and rice or brown lentils and cracked wheat. Both equally taste amazing. Here is the cracked wheat version Mujadara Recipe (Hamra version)
Other Vegan Salads to try
VideotesttubeCom
This recipe is super simple and you need only 6 ingredients to make it: quinoa, tomatoes, spring onion (white or red onion are okay), mint, parsley and lemon juice. Feel free to add extra virgin olive oil, but I only add lemon juice and the salad tastes amazing.
leyla
We had a family bbq and I made this tabouli, no one asked if I had swapped anything. The whole salad was eaten. I would say that is a good thing 🙂