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Home » Vegan Lebanese Recipes

Authentic Lebanese Taboule Salad

Published: Sep 1, 2022 by Janelle Hama

Jump to Recipe

Lebanese taboule salad, aka tabouli, is fresh, light and super easy to make. The star ingredient is finely sliced parsley paired with tomato, onion and bulgur in a lemon dressing. Naturally vegan.

A white bowl of parsley salad with two silver spoons
Fresh and juicy taboule salad

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Jump to:
  • 🥗What is Taboule?
  • 😋Why You’ll Love This Recipe
  • ✔️Ingredients You’ll Need
  • 🥗How To Make Taboule Salad
  • ⭐ Pro Tips 
  • 🥄Variations
  • 🥗Serving Suggestions
  • ❓FAQ
  • 🥗Related Recipes
  • Fresh Taboule Salad (Authentically Lebanese)

🥗What is Taboule?

Taboule is a famous Lebanese salad and is considered one of its national salads.

It is mostly referred to as tabouli, tabooli, or tabbouleh and is pronounced as tah·boo·li in Arabic.

Taboule is made of finely diced parsley, mint leaves, tomato, onion and fine bulgur (cracked wheat) that have been tossed through a simple dressing of freshly squeezed lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and salt.

😋Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • It’s authentic, passed down through the generations in my Lebanese family
  • It’s fairly easy to make and a great way to use up a lot of parsley
  • Taboule salad pairs well with many foods - though some like to eat it by the bowlful on it's own
  • Dietary friendly - vegan, corn free, soy free and nut free. Can be made oil free too

✔️Ingredients You’ll Need

parsley, onion, tomato, mint leaves, burgul, lemon, oil and salt on a white bench

Notes on some of the ingredients, the full list of ingredients and their measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Fine cracked wheat aka bulgur. Do note that there are different-sized bulgur, so always choose the fine variety, otherwise, the pieces of bulgur will not blend well in this salad and can be hard to eat. You can buy fine bulgur here (affiliate link).

Fresh flat-leafed parsley aka Italian parsley will need to be uniformly finely chopped after washing, drying and cutting away the thicker stems.

Thicker stems are too woody and stringy, you can reserve them for making stock if you wish. Do not use any other type of parsley.

Tomatoes should be ripe but firm and diced finely.

Onion usually white or brown onion is finely diced to a similar size to the tomato.

Fresh mint leaves, do not use the stems. The leaves will need to be finely sliced.

Fresh lemon juice along with extra virgin olive oil are used to dress this authentic Lebanese taboule salad.

Don’t skimp on the quality of your oil, as it is key to achieving a deliciously-tasting salad.

Salt is added to taste. I like to use Himalayan salt (affiliate link).

🥗How To Make Taboule Salad

Step 1 - Wash fine bulgur in water, strain and add to a small bowl, add the lemon juice and olive oil on top, give it a stir and set aside for the bulgur to absorb the juice and double in size. This is best done before slicing/dicing the fresh ingredients to give them enough time to absorb.

Step 2 - In a large bowl, add all the fresh ingredients, the soaked bulgur and salt. Toss everything together, do a taste test and adjust salt, oil and or lemon juice to taste. Serve cold.

a bunch of parsley with stems chopped off
burghul soaking in oil and lemon juice in a white bowl
onion, tomato finely diced and finely sliced mint and parsley in a glass bowl
chopped parsley, onion, tomato with burghul in a glass bowl

⭐ Pro Tips 

Traditional taboule should always be mostly green from the finely sliced parsley. Parsley is the main ingredient.

For an authentic Lebanese taboule experience, the mint and parsley should be sliced uniformly in size (Do not overly chop the parsley, as it will turn mushy. and the same with the tomato and onion (same size).

Don’t worry if you don’t get the chopping right the first time you prepare this salad, practice makes perfect.

As I don't typically measure out the ingredients when making homemade taboule (I highly doubt any Lebanese person does), I encourage you to taste test and adjust the flavors to suit you.

🥄Variations

For a gluten-free taboule, you can either leave out the bulgur or replace it with quinoa.

The quinoa will need to be cooked prior to adding it to this taboule salad. You could alternatively try this quinoa taboula, which has quinoa as the main ingredient.

taboule without burgul in a white bowl

🥗Serving Suggestions

Taboule makes a fabulous side to so many meals. You could try it with some of our favorites;

Potato kibbeh - a cold mixture of boiled potatoes and bulgur

Mujadara - Lebanese rice and lentils

Mujadara hamra - Lebanese bulgur and lentils

Lentils and pasta soup - aka rishta.

Tofu shish tawook - vegan Lebanese kebabs

In a plate with falafel with tarator, baba ghanouj, and air fried fries.

❓FAQ

How long can I store taboule?

Left over taboule can be stored for 1-2 days in the fridge when sealed in an air-tight container. I don’t recommend storing any longer as the vegetables tend to wilt quickly and turn soggy. Freezing is not recommended. Alternatively, the fresh produce can be pre-chopped and kept separately to the dressing for 3-4 days in the fridge. Toss all the ingredients together when ready to serve.

🥗Related Recipes

Another national Lebanese salad is fattoush - it is similar to a garden salad but with toasted pita bread.

A common salad is Arabic salad its a go-to quick make and enjoy.

Otherwise, try this tomato and onion salad with sumac or this underrated tahini salad.

Or for another bulgur recipe try this bulgur pilav made with tomatoes.

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Did you enjoy making this vegan recipe? I would love to hear from you, leave me a comment below and give me a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating. This will help me sustain Plant Based Folk. 

Alternatively, did you happen to take a photo? Tag me @plantbasedfolk on Instagram to be featured via stories.

A white bowl of parsley salad with two silver spoons

Fresh Taboule Salad (Authentically Lebanese)

Lebanese taboule salad (tabouli) is fresh, light and easy to make. Finely sliced parsley with tomato, onion and bulgur in a lemon dressing.
Print Pin Rate Save Recipe Saved Recipe
Course: Salad, side
Cuisine: Lebanese, Middle Eastern
Diet: Vegan
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Janelle Hama

Ingredients

  • 2½ cups Flat leaf parsley finely sliced
  • 2 medium - large Tomatoes finely diced
  • 1 medium Onion finely diced
  • ¼ cup Mint leaves finely sliced
  • ¼ cup Fine burgul
  • 2 small Lemons juiced
  • ⅛ cup Olive oil extra virgin
  • 1 pinch Salt to taste
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Instructions

  • Wash fine bulgur in water, strain and then add to a small bowl, add the lemon juice and olive oil on top, give it a stir and set aside for the bulgur to absorb the juice and double in size. This is best done before slicing/dicing the fresh ingredients. 
    ¼ cup Fine burgul, 2 small Lemons, ⅛ cup Olive oil
  • In a large bowl, add all the fresh ingredients, the soaked bulgur and salt. Toss everything together, do a taste test and adjust salt, olive oil and or lemon juice to taste. Serve cold.
    2½ cups Flat leaf parsley, 2 medium - large Tomatoes, 1 medium Onion, ¼ cup Mint leaves, 1 pinch Salt

Video

Notes

This tbaoule salad is mostly green from the main ingredient - finely sliced parsley. 
The mint and parsley should be uniformly sliced, no leaves should be intact and there should be no visible stems (the softer stems will need to be finely sliced too - avoid using the hard stems).
The tomato and onion should also be uniformly finely diced.
The amount of lemon, olive oil and salt is always adjusted to suit your taste.
A variation of this salad is quinoa taboula 
Pair this taboule with;
Mujadara - Lebanese rice and lentils
Mujadara hamra - Lebanese bulgur and lentils
Tofu shish tawook - vegan Lebanese kebabs
In a plate with falafel with tarator, baba ghanouj, and air fried fries.

Equipment

1 Bowl

Nutrition

Calories: 527kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Sodium: 142mg | Potassium: 1502mg | Fiber: 20g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 13183IU | Vitamin C: 326mg | Calcium: 329mg | Iron: 12mg

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

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Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Sandy

    January 24, 2023 at 2:51 am

    5 stars
    This is one of our favorite salads, and this Vegan recipe is exceptional. Thank you!

    Reply
  2. Mandy

    January 17, 2023 at 6:27 pm

    5 stars
    Wow, this tasted SO good, I’m taking the leftovers to work tomorrow to eat for lunch along with a leftover falafel, think I’m going to make double next time!

    Reply
  3. Rachna

    January 17, 2023 at 1:28 pm

    5 stars
    I just loved how healthy and delicious this salad is. Using parsley as a star ingredient is superb. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply
  4. Traci

    January 09, 2023 at 12:49 am

    5 stars
    What a delicious and flavorful salad this was! Thank you so much!

    Reply
  5. Gen

    January 05, 2023 at 2:59 pm

    5 stars
    I LOVE the fresh herbs in this taboule! Delicious, fresh, and felt really good eating it.

    Reply
  6. Evette

    December 21, 2022 at 9:06 am

    5 stars
    Taboule recette 100% merci!

    Reply
  7. Samira

    September 12, 2022 at 2:44 am

    5 stars
    Janelle I am over the moon that I found your site, I made this taboule and your mujadara recipe, the whole family loved it and requested it to be made regularly

    Reply
  8. Russ

    September 06, 2022 at 9:56 am

    5 stars
    Better than the shops, I always thought making taboule was harder than this. I also made it with home grown produce. I have saved this to make it over and over again.

    Reply

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 →

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