Tabouli Salad with Quinoa (Tabbouleh)

There’s such a fresh simplicity about this Tabouli Salad with Quinoa (Tabbouleh). More than anything, it’s just a whole lot of parsley! It’s made by adding chopped tomatoes, lemon juice and bulgur wheat to the predominant parsley. And this version is gluten free because it uses quinoa in place of the traditional bulgur wheat.

The back story

In the few months between college graduation and getting my first real job, I waited tables at a very popular restaurant in our area. It was one of three popular restaurants owned by the same Lebanese family. There were two brothers and one sister, and they split the restaurant responsibilities among each other. The spot where I worked was the sister’s domain.

After my shifts she’d always let me sit in a back booth and choose whatever I wanted to eat. Sometimes she would even sit and chat with me. I always went for the mezze platter, because it was the best around. Hummus, baba ghanoush, stuffed grape leaves and delicious tabouli. This Tabouli Salad with Quinoa (Tabbouleh) is the closest I could get to how I remember it.

What’s in Tabouli?

A short list of simple ingredients is all you’ll need:

• flat leaf parsley
• tomatoes
• lemons
• scallions
• quinoa
• extra virgin olive oil

The parsley takes the lead role in this salad, and it’s important that you use the right kind.

Flat leaf, also called Italian, parsley is what you want to use. The curly kind of parsley is nice if you want a sprig to garnish whatever dish you’re serving, but you don’t want an entire salad of the stuff.

Curly parsley is far less flavorful than flat leaf parsley and it also has more volume – meaning it takes less curly parsley to make the same amount of tabouli that flat leaf parsley makes, further watering down the flavor.

Is Tabouli Salad healthy?

This Tabouli Salad with Quinoa is super healthy! Naturally vegan and gluten free, it’s high in fiber and extremely low in fat and cholesterol. Not to mention all the good vitamins and minerals you get from parsley and tomatoes. So get in there and grab that second helping!

How to serve Tabouli (Tabbouleh)

The idea of a salad made of parsley may seem odd, but once you see how versatile it is, you’ll want to have it in your fridge all summer long like I do. Here are some of my favorite ways to enjoy Tabouli Salad:

• Use it to accompany grilled meats, poultry and seafood
• Put a few spoonfuls on top of rich pastas or potato dishes
• Heap it onto gyros and other pita sandwiches
• And, of course, it’s most at home on a mezze platter with hummus and tzatziki.

The fresh, clean flavor of this Tabouli Salad with Quinoa will keep you going back for more. I hope you love it as much as I do! And if you make it, let me know! Leave a comment or drop a rating below. Enjoy!

For more gluten free recipes, try these:

• Wasabi Cream Cheese Spread
• Rolled Tacos with Chicken & Cheese
• Stovetop Rice Pudding

For more vegan recipes, try these:

• Vegan Stuffed Bell Peppers
• Creamy Vegan Celery Soup
• Thai Basil Pesto Noodles