Quinoa Tabbouleh
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Published Apr 13, 2016, Updated Feb 20, 2023
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This quinoa tabbouleh salad is made with protein-rich quinoa instead of bulgur wheat. It’s gluten-free, vegan, easy to whip up and makes for a great healthy side dish!
Do you like tabbouleh? Yeah? Me too! It’s delicious and such an easy recipe to play around with.
I actually already have a grain-free cauliflower tabbouleh and hemp tabbouleh, but today I’m sharing another tabbouleh variation for my quinoa lovers!
Like traditional tabbouleh, this quinoa version is loaded with fresh veggies and herby goodness. It’s a light salad that’s absolutely perfect on a warm spring/summer day. Any way you serve it, this tabbouleh is absolutely delicious and crazy easy to whip up. You need only eight ingredients and one bowl! Once you have the quinoa cooked and cooled, the salad comes together in a matter of minutes.
Why Use Quinoa for Tabbouleh?
- Quinoa is a complete protein and has more protein than bulgur wheat when you compare them cup for cup. Quinoa = 8 grams per cup // bulgur wheat = 4 grams per cup.
- While both quinoa and bulgur wheat are whole grains and contain a similar variety of vitamins and minerals, quinoa is a bit more nutrient dense.
- Quinoa is gluten-free and bulgur wheat is not.
Ingredients Needed for Quinoa Tabbouleh
- quinoa – this is the base of the recipe and you can use any type of quinoa you like from white, black, red to tri-color. Any variety will work for this recipe.
- parsley and mint – adding fresh herbs to this salad adds wonderful flavor.
- cucumber and red onion – these fresh veggies adds a nice crunch.
- cherry tomatoes – these little guys add such great flavor to the salad.
- dressing – for a super simple light dressing we’re just using lemon, olive oil, and sea salt.
Notes & Substitutions
Mix-ins – Feel free to switch up your mix-ins for this tabbouleh… I often do! Sometimes I change up the veggies based on what I have on hand and add extra herbs like fresh dill (so good!). Feel free to get creative and make this your own!
Red onion – Not a fan of red onion feel free to use yellow onion instead.
Feta – Adding feta to this tabbouleh would be a great addition if you don’t need it to be dairy free.
Avocado – Want to add a little creaminess and healthy fats to your tabbouleh? Add in some chopped avocado!
How Do You Eat Tabbouleh?
This is actually a super versatile dish! Traditionally, it is served with hummus, pita and falafel. I also love adding chickpeas or black beans and eating on it’s own for a light meal. I’ve also served it as more of a finger food with pita chips at a get-together and it was a hit!
Prepping and Storing Quinoa Tabbouleh
While this is best served immediately after making, it’s also awesome for weekend meal prep. Make a batch on Sunday and store in an airtight container for up to a week to use the dish for quick lunches throughout the week. I would not freeze this dish as it’s all fresh ingredients and the consistency will change when you freeze and thaw.
More Quinoa Salad Recipes
- Easy Quinoa Salad
- Roasted Broccoli Quinoa Salad
- Greek Quinoa Salad
- Chickpea Quinoa Salad
- Spinach Quinoa Salad
- Southwest Quinoa Salad
- Carrot Quinoa Salad
- Quinoa Salad with Corn and Avocado
- Sweet Potato Kale Quinoa Salad
Quinoa Tabbouleh
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa rinsed and drained
- 2 cups flat parsley chopped
- ½ cup fresh mint chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes diced
- ½ cup cucumber chopped
- 1 cup finely chopped red onion
- juice from 1 lemon
- ¼ cup olive oil*
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Bring quinoa and 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Let quinoa cool completely.
- Once quinoa is cool, transfer to a large bowl. Add parsley, mint, tomatoes, cucumber and red onion into the bowl and toss to combine.
- Season with juice from lemon, olive oil and salt.
- Stir to combine and serve.
Notes
- Mix-ins – Feel free to switch up your mix-ins for this tabbouleh… I often do! Sometimes I change up the veggies based on what I have on hand and add extra herbs like fresh dill (so good!). Feel free to get creative and make this your own!
- Red onion – Not a fan of red onion feel free to use yellow onion instead.
- Feta –  Adding feta to this salad would be a great addition if you don’t need it to be dairy free.
- Avocado – Want to add a little creaminess and healthy fats to your salad? Add in some chopped avocado!
- Olive oil – If you make the tabbouleh ahead of time and realize that much of the olive oil has been absorbed by the quinoa, feel free to add a little more before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Too much oil. I use veggie broth instead.
We just started working on our Plant Based Diet – I spent all weekend shopping and prepping ingredients to have all my planned menu items disappear from the app. Ack! I searched for recipes with the ingredients I had and that’s how I found you. This quick and easy recipe saved my lunch today. It is super easy – and so bright and delicious. I added some pumpkin seeds for a little more crunch and some protein. And – I have enough leftover to have a side-dish with dinner. Thanks. This is wonderful.
Hi Liesl, I’m so glad you found my site and were able to try and enjoy this recipe. I love the addition of the pumpkin seeds!