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Tuna bulgur salad with chickpeas and cucumber on a plate ready to serve.
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Tuna bulgur salad

This delicious and easy salad is perfect as a quick and filling meal. It's very healthy, kid friendly, and requires no cooking. An instant family favorite, or a perfect candidate for meal prep!
Prep Time35 minutes
Cook Time0 minutes
Course: lunch, Main Course, Salad
Cuisine: International
Keyword: basil, bulgur, chickpeas, cucumber, lemon, tuna
Servings: 2
Calories: 495kcal
Author: Tonje
Cost: Cheap

Ingredients

  • 200 g cucumber
  • 145 g tin of tuna chunks in brine
  • 150 g cooked bulgur or about 80 g uncooked
  • ½ tin chickpeas based on a 400 ml tin
  • fresh basil

Instructions

  • To prepare bulgur: add about 80g uncooked bulgur to a bowl, and add boiling water until it completely covers the grains and then some. Cover the bowl with a tea towel, and leave for 30 minutes until the water is completely absorbed.
  • Dice the cucumber, and add to a salad bowl along with tuna chunks and cooked bulgur.
  • Drain and rinse chickpeas, and add to the salad bowl.
  • Finally, roughly chop some fresh basil, and add to the salad. Combine all the ingredients thoroughly.
  • Serve as is, or with a vinaigrette or a squeeze of lemon juice.

Notes

Don't omit the basil!
For the longest time when I was new to cooking, I would always omit fresh herbs from any recipe that I made. I figured it was a waste of money and that any dish would be fine without. Or I would just use a little bit of dry herbs as a substitute. The fresh basil honestly makes this dish. There is so much flavor in those little leaves, and it's what takes this salad from being a boring "whatever I found in the cupboard" meal to a full on glorious party on a plate. If you can't have basil, you can replace it with some fresh mint, which is completely different but also nice, but definitely don't omit the fresh herbs.
You can substitute the bulgur.
Bulgur is an integral part of a tuna and bulgur salad (it's even in the name!), but you can substitute it for quinoa or couscous if that's more easily available to you. I have made this with leftover quinoa or leftover couscous in the past with great success. Quinoa is a great option if you want to add even more protein to the dish!

Storing this dish - meal prep info

This dish is perfect for meal prep. As a completed meal, it can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you want to prepare multiple meals, for example make enough portions for a full 5 day work week, I suggest you cook enough bulgur, which can be stored in a container for up to 5 days, and then add it to the other ingredients through the week while packing your lunch. This only takes two minutes in the morning anyway.

Nutrition

Calories: 495kcal | Carbohydrates: 86g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 201mg | Potassium: 864mg | Fiber: 22g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 140IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 6mg