Tabbouleh, or tabouli, is a Mediterranean or Arab salad made with diced vegetables and fresh herbs. This tabbouleh with quinoa is a protein rich and filling variant with amazing flavors!
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If you like Mediterranean food and salads, tabbouleh will be your new best friend. It’s packed with refreshing, light flavors, but the quinoa makes it more filling than you’d expect. It makes for a light main course, or a delicious appetizer or side.
🥘 What is in tabbouleh
Tabbouleh is made using tomatoes, cucumber, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley and mint. It usually also has bulgur wheat, but we use quinoa instead.
Quinoa is a healthy and protein rich grain. It’s completely gluten free, and a great way to make this salad more satiating and nutritious.
It’s essential that you use fresh herbs for this recipe. As they are such essential ingredients in the dish, I don’t recommend substituting them with dried herbs.
🔪 How to make tabbouleh with quinoa
Rinse the quinoa thoroughly using a fine mesh sieve. It’s important that you rinse the grains before cooking them, or they tend to have a bitter taste.
Then, boil the quinoa in water following the package instructions. This typically takes about 15 minutes. Leave the quinoa to cool down while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Dice tomatoes and cucumbers, and roughly chop the fresh herbs. Use only the leaves of the herbs, and discard any stems. Combine the ingredients in a salad bowl, and add lemon juice and olive oil.
Add the chilled quinoa to the salad, and toss to combine. Store the salad refrigerated or serve immediately.
🥗 What to eat with tabbouleh
This Arab salad is super versatile and can be enjoyed in many ways. Here are some of my favorite serving suggestions:
- As a side salad. Serve tabbouleh as a side with roast chicken, honey mustard chicken, or any grilled meat.
- As a light main course. This protein rich salad is perfect as a light main! Serve it as is, or with a side of crusty bread.
- As an appetizer. Tabbouleh is often enjoyed as an appetizer. Serve it as it is, or with tzatziki.
- As a part of a mezze. Mezze is the Mediterranean version of a cheese board! Serve the tabbouleh on a large plate with pita bread, olives, hummus, authentic tzatziki sauce, falafel and stuffed vine leaves.
🍲 Leftovers
Leftover tabbouleh salad with quinoa can be stored in an airtight container in a fridge for up to 3 days. Avoid storing it with any dressings mixed in.
If you serve your tabbouleh with a dressing, you can store the salad and dressing separate, and combine them immediately before serving.
This also means that tabbouleh works great for meal prep as you can make a big batch and portion it out over several days.
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📋 Frequently asked questions
Is tabbouleh gluten free? – Yes! Tabbouleh is typically not gluten free as it’s usually made with bulgur, but this recipe uses quinoa instead, and is therefore completely gluten free.
Recipe
Tabbouleh with Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup quinoa (100 g – or use 1 1/2 cup cooked quinoa)
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 cucumber
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cup fresh parsley (lightly packed – stems removed)
- 6 sprigs fresh mint (stems removed)
Instructions
- Rinse the quinoa thoroughly using a fine mesh sieve. It’s important that you rinse the grains before cooking them, or they tend to have a bitter taste.
- Then, boil the quinoa in water following the package instructions. This typically takes about 15 minutes. Leave the quinoa to cool down while you prepare the rest of the salad.
- Dice tomatoes and cucumbers, and roughly chop the fresh herbs. Use only the leaves of the herbs, and discard any stems. Combine the ingredients in a salad bowl, and add lemon juice and olive oil.
- Add the chilled quinoa to the salad, and toss to combine. Store the salad refrigerated or serve immediately.
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