• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Plant Based Folk
  • Recipes
  • Lebanese
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Lebanese
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Lebanese
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
×

Home » Vegan Lebanese Recipes

Quinoa Tabouli Recipe - Gluten Free

Published: Nov 11, 2019 · Modified: Mar 4, 2021· By: Janelle Hama

Jump to Recipe

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).

Quinoa Tabouli served in a bowl
Jump to:
  • 🥘 Ingredients
  • 🔪Cooking Instructions
  • 💭Recipe Tips
  • ⏲️Cooking Time
  • 📋Other Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe
  • Other Vegan Salads to try
  • 💬 Community

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

  1. Using a sieve, wash quinoa through running water and thoroughly rinse quinoa to remove bitterness
  2. Soak quinoa in boiling water. Set aside
  3. Thoroughly wash and dry all salad ingredients
  4. 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
  5. Finely diced tomato. Ensure all tomato pieces are uniform in size
  6. Finely chop shallot (scallion/green onion)
  7. Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
  8. Start preparing the dressing;
  9. Cut lemons in half and squeeze juice, pour into a small mixing bowl
  10. Add olive oil to lemon in the mixing bowl
  11. Add salt to the lemon and olive oil. Whisk well until all combined
  12. Add mixed dressing to the salad ingredients and mix well
  13. Drain quinoa and rinse in cold water. Quinoa should be soft.
  14. Add quinoa to the mixed tabouli salad and mix well.
  15. 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?

  • Rocca salad - an Easy Lebanese salad made with (arugula/rocket)
  • Fattoush Salad - one of Lebanon's national salads
  • 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

a white bowl of parsley, tomato and chopped quinoa

Quinoa Tabouli (Quinoa Tabbouleh Recipe)

Traditional tabouli that has been converted to be gluten free using quinoa. Vegan friendly.
Print Pin Rate
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Lebanese, Middle Eastern
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Author: Janelle Hama

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Quinoa washed
  • 1 large bunch continental parsley finely chopped
  • 3 large Tomatoes finely diced
  • 4-5 sprigs Spring onion finely choped (shallots in Australian)
  • 1 small handful mint leaves finely chopped

Dressing

  • 2 medium lemons juiced
  • ¾ tablespoon salt
  • ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
Metric - US Customary
Prevent your screen from going dark

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

Video

Equipment

Bowl

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 2257kcal | Carbohydrates: 158g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 175g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Sodium: 5317mg | Potassium: 3023mg | Fiber: 28g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 10070IU | Vitamin C: 275mg | Calcium: 318mg | Iron: 16mg

N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.

Tried this recipe?Mention @Plantbasedfolk or tag #plantbasedfolk

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

Mujadara Recipe - Lebanese and Hamra version
Vegan Mujadara Hamra Recipe

Other Vegan Salads to try

  • Orange and Fennel Salad
  • Brown Rice Salad Recipe
Brown Rice Salad Recipe
Crunchy vegan brown rice salad
« Deliciously Easy Roasted Artichoke Halves
Garlic Dipping Sauce (Lebanese Toum) »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. leyla

    August 11, 2020 at 1:19 pm

    5 stars
    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 🙂

    Reply
  2. VideotesttubeCom

    March 06, 2020 at 9:15 am

    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.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

A female brunette dressed in black and an apron juggling lemons

Heya, I'm Janelle! I've been a messy but delicious cook for a couple of decades now.

In the last few years, I've converted to a vegan diet and have fallen in love with the flavors that can be created from plants.

I specialize in vegan Lebanese food and I'm excited to share these amazing recipes with you.

Let's cook together!

More about me →

Recipes Not to Miss

  • How To Make Zaatar (Lebanese)
  • Fattoush Salad (My Family's Recipe - الفتوش)
  • How To Cook Lupini Beans (Lebanese Termos)
  • Easy Vegan Broccoli Soup (Low Fat)
a yellow cup of coffee with text reading buy me a coffee

From The Blog

  • Medical Medium Advanced 3:6:9 Liver Rescue Cleanse - Review
  • 12 Vegan Egg Wash Substitutes
  • How to Core Zucchini / Squash (Koosa)
  • How to Wash Fruit & Vegetables.
  • Flodesk vs Mailchimp (For Food Bloggers)
  • 43 Vegan Roast Recipes (Lunch & Dinner Ideas)

PBF COOKBOOK MOCKUP

As Featured On

various logos where Plant Based Folk has been featured

Footer

^ back to top

About

Accessibility Policy
Blog
Contact
Cookies Policy
Disclosure
Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy (GDPR)
Storefront
Terms of Use

Newsletter

Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

Work with me
Advertise

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2022 Plant Based Folk