Taboule is an authentic Lebanese salad that is fresh, light and easy. Made with finely chopped fresh parsley tossed in a refreshing lemon dressing.
What is Taboule?
Taboule is a famous Lebanese salad and is considered one of the country's national salads. This parsley salad features fresh herbs as the main ingredient, giving it its distinctive vibrant green color.
It is mostly referred to as tabouli, tabooli, or tabbouleh and is pronounced as tah·boo·li in Arabic.
This recipe is authentic, passed down through the generations of my Lebanese family just like fattoush.
Ingredients Highlight
Here are notes on some of the ingredients, the complete list with measurements, can be found in the full recipe card below.
The best type of parsley and most commonly used is fresh flat-leafed parsley aka Italian parsley, avoid using any other kind. The parsley will need to be uniformly finely chopped after washing, drying and cutting away the thicker stems, which are too woody and stringy, you can reserve them for making stock if you wish.
There are different sized bulgur, for this Lebanese salad fine cracked bulgur is used as it hydrates quickly, is easy to eat in a raw salad and looks lovely speckled against the contrasting green color as fine bulgur is white. You can buy fine bulgur here. It is very different from larger-sized grains of bulgur which you can see in this tomato burgul pilav.
Tomatoes (not cherry tomatoes) should be ripe but firm, this plays an important part considering the tomatoes and (white or brown) onions are the only other fresh ingredients. Both of these will need to be finely diced as uniformly as possible, this is something my aunty instilled in me, she made sure that taboule always looked spot on.
Variation For Making It Gluten Free
As bulgur is a wheat product, it contains gluten. To make this a gluten free tabouli, you can either leave out the bulgur or make it a vegan quinoa tabbouleh.
Janelle's Tips
Traditional taboule should always be mostly green from the finely sliced parsley.
For an authentic Lebanese taboule experience, the mint and parsley should be chopped uniformly. Do not overly chop the parsley, as it will turn mushy, I learned this from the best, my aunt and mom, who were born and raised in Lebanon.
Don’t worry if you don’t get the chopping perfect the first time. Practice makes perfect. Just remember, the key is ensuring that there is more parsley than anything else and that the tomato and onion are uniform in size.
As I don't typically measure 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, in the below recipe card there are measurements for you to follow.
Storage
Leftover taboule can be stored for 1-2 days in the fridge when sealed in an air-tight container. I don’t recommend storing longer as the entire salad tends to wilt quickly and turn soggy.
Freezing is not recommended.
Alternatively, the fresh produce can be pre-chopped and kept separately from the dressing for 3-4 days in the fridge. Toss all the ingredients together when ready to serve.
What To Eat With Taboule?
Taboule makes a fabulous side to so many meals, it's always offered with mezze. You could try it with some of my favorite meals;
A plate of kibbe potato which is a cold mixture of boiled potatoes and bulgur with a thyme flavoring.
Mjadara is almost always served with tabouli, it's kind of mandatory in my family.
Start with this salad first, then enjoy a filling bowl of lentil and pasta rishta soup. I love this combination!
Or try it on a plate with the best falafels from Lebanon drizzled with tahini shawarma sauce, a dollop of baba ghanouj, and a side of fries. Ouft, you'll be in heaven!
More Salads From Lebanon
You can read about the differences between these two salads here in fattoush vs taboule.
A common salad is salatah Arab it's a default pairing for most meals.
Otherwise, try this sumac tomato salad or this underrated salad with tahini both are simple sides.
Explore many more refreshing recipes in this list of salads of Lebanon.
Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ star rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.
Recipe
Authentic Taboule Lebanese Salad
Ingredients
- 2½ cups Flat leaf parsley finely chopped (see notes)
- 2 medium - large Tomatoes finely diced
- 1 medium Onion finely diced
- ¼ cup Mint leaves finely chopped (see notes)
- ¼ cup Fine burgul
- 2 small Lemons juiced
- ⅛ cup Olive oil extra virgin
- 1 pinch Salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash the fine bulgur in water, strain, and then add it to a small bowl. Pour the lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil on top, give it a stir, and set it aside to allow the bulgur to absorb the juice and rehydrate, doubling in size. It's best to do this before slicing or 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, then do a taste test and adjust the salt, olive oil, and lemon juice as needed. Serve taboule cold.2½ cups Flat leaf parsley, 2 medium - large Tomatoes, 1 medium Onion, ¼ cup Mint leaves, 1 pinch Salt
Video
Notes
Nutrition
N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.
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Sandy
This is one of our favorite salads, and this Vegan recipe is exceptional. Thank you!
Mandy
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!
Rachna
I just loved how healthy and delicious this salad is. Using parsley as a star ingredient is superb. Thanks for the recipe.
Traci
What a delicious and flavorful salad this was! Thank you so much!
Gen
I LOVE the fresh herbs in this taboule! Delicious, fresh, and felt really good eating it.
Evette
Taboule recette 100% merci!
Samira
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
Russ
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.