Best Tabbouleh or Tabouli Salad Recipe Ever! (2024)

FAQs

What is a tabouli salad traditionally made from? ›

Tabbouleh is basically parsley salad. There's technically no lettuce in it. It's a salad made up of parsley, tomatoes, bulgur wheat, and green onions – all finely chopped and tossed with olive oil and lemon juice!

Let the tabouli salad sit in the fridge a good 1-2 hours before serving, allowing the bulgar to soak up the juices from the tomatoes and lemon, and the parsley to soften and lose any bitterness.

Because of its ingredients, tabouli will last in the refrigerator for up to four days, so make sure you eat it before then.

1) Salt your tomato and cucumber, and drain off the excess juice. Fortunately, this doesn't take any extra time. Tomato and cucumber release a lot of moisture when they're exposed to salt, and will make your tabbouleh way too watery if you do not drain it off.

Tabbouleh is a healthy, vegetarian food that has no cholesterol, is low in fat, and high in fiber, vitamins, and much more. Plus, it makes great use of the backyard gardener's abundance of parsley, mint, tomatoes and cucumbers. This vegan dish can be made gluten-free by substituting quinoa for bulgur wheat.

Tabouli is a great side that I could eat every day. I love the textures from the bulgar wheat and chopped vegetables. The flavors are bold from the fresh herbs and lemony dressing. I find that tabouli is so versatile that I enjoy it along so many different mains like grilled chicken, steak, and shrimp.

Sweetness: From sugar, honey, fruits or otherwise, sweetness will counteract bitter and sour flavours. It can also be used to cut down the heat of a particularly spicy meal. Saltiness: Salt plays two very important roles in flavouring a dish.

Spices mask bitter flavors, so don't be shy. Add some spicy peppers or powders to your cooking, or sprinkle some onto your dishes for a little bit of extra heat. Black pepper in particular has compounds that counteract bitterness. Some other great spices include cayenne, red pepper, paprika, and chili powder.

Fresh tabbouleh has a pleasing, slightly herby aroma. If it begins to smell sour or unpleasant, it has likely spoiled. Visually, deteriorating tabbouleh may become watery, or start to show discoloration. The fresh green parsley may turn darker and the tomatoes can get mushy.

Is tabouli good for you? ›

Tabouli is extremely popular in several countries of the Middle East, but is also gaining popularity in Western cuisine as a healthy, vegetarian food that is low in fat yet provides fiber, minerals and complex carbohydrates.

While the classic tabbouleh recipe includes bulgur wheat, alternative versions can be made without it, using substitutes like quinoa, couscous, or even omitting the grain entirely. These variations allow for dietary restrictions or personal preferences while still maintaining the essence of the dish.

Bulgur wheat – If you're not familiar with it, bulgur is simply cracked wheat that's been partially cooked and then dried. Traditional tabbouleh would be made with fine bulgur, but because I have trouble finding it in grocery stores where I live, I typically prepare the salad with coarse bulgur.

According to Wikipedia, tabbouleh is a salad of Arab origin and is "traditionally made of bulgur, tomato, and finely chopped parsley and mint, often including onion and garlic, seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and salt."

If you're asking yourself what cuisine is tabbouleh salad from: it's Lebanese! Lebanese tabbouleh is essentially a chopped salad. Authentic tabbouleh is made with lots of fresh parsley leaves, diced tomato, thin slices of scallion, fresh mint leaves, and a bit of soaked fine bulgur.

At its heart, tabbouleh is most often a straightforward mixture of parsley, mint, cooked bulgur wheat, onion (in some form or other), tomato, lemon, and olive oil. Spices like cinnamon and allspice are common.