Tabbouleh Salad Recipe (Tabouli) (2024)

Published June 17, 2022.This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

This delicious refreshing Tabbouleh salad recipe is loaded up with parsley, bulgur wheat, mint, tomatoes, and cucumber for the ultimate light side dish. The flavors in this salad are nothing short of amazing.

If you are looking to explore some new and interesting flavors, then this salad would go excellent served up alongside Kofta or Kibbeh.

Tabbouleh Salad

Tabbouleh is a Middle Eastern dish of bulgur wheat, tomatoes, onions, parsley, and mint, and is commonly served as an appetizer on Romaine hearts. It comes from the Arabic word “taabil” which means to season or spice. This centuries-old salad can be served as is or as a side dish to other Mediterranean-style meals.

When making this salad, know that it is much more of a parsley salad than it is a grain salad but you can add more bulgur to the recipe. It has subtle earthy flavors that are brightened up with acid and herbs.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Bulgur – Use fine #1 bulgur wheat for this recipe.
• Parsley – I like to use Italian flat leaf, but you can use curly parsley if you’d like. Be sure to rinse it and dry it well.
• Mint – Fresh mint will add a great refreshing flavor to this tabbouleh salad.
• Tomatoes – I prefer to use Roma tomatoes for this recipe.
• Cucumbers – Persian cucumbers are firmer and have less liquid and are perfect for this dish.
• Onions – Green onions are classically used in this recipe.
• Oil – A good extra virgin olive oil will add some great flavors to this.
• Lemon – You will need lemon juice in this to help preserve flavors and colors, as well as provide some much-needed acid to this recipe.

How to Make Tabbouleh Salad from Scratch

Use these simple-to-prepare instructions to make this tabbouleh salad from scratch.

Add the bulgur wheat to a medium-size bowl and stir in enough lukewarm water to completely cover it. Set aside for 20 to 25 minutes to soften it.

In the meantime, prepare all the vegetables and herbs for it and add them to a large bowl.

Drain the bulgur through a chinois or cheesecloth and press down to remove as much liquid as possible.

Add the bulgur to the bowl with the vegetables and add in the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and mix to combine.

Serve or keep cool.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: You can make this tabbouleh salad up to 1 day ahead of time.

How to Store: Cover and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

More Salad Recipes

• Cucumber Salad
• Tuna Salad
• Mandarin Orange Salad
• Horiatiki
• Cobb Salad

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