Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad – A Summer Delight

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Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

This quinoa tabbouleh salad uses beautiful, fresh ingredients that are easy to put together. Delicious and also gluten free.

Tabbouleh salad made with quinoa

Tabbouleh salad is a popular salad throughout the Middle East.

This fresh green salad features chopped fresh parsley(as a main ingredient), fresh mint, tomato, scallions and lemon juice. Traditional tabbouleh also includes bulgur wheat grains.

Chopped parsley should be the main star of any tabbouli salad, no matter what the rest of ingredients are.

However, are you looking for a gluten free version of the so loved Tabbouleh salad? Quinoa is the answer when you replace the bulgur wheat grains.

A fresh take on an old classic, this recipe is a simple, beautiful salad that requires a few fresh ingredients.

Quinoa is gluten free, which means that this salad is suitable for everyone.

The protein content of quinoa makes it a particularly good choice for vegans and vegetarians. 

It’s also an excellent source of magnesium, iron and dietary fiber. It can be used in both savory and sweet dishes. Give it a try and substitute it anywhere in your recipes that usually use rice or couscous.

How To Cook Quinoa: 

If you use uncooked quinoa, for each cup of uncooked seeds, use 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the pot. 

Simmer for 15 minutes until the quinoa absorbs the water. Remove from the stove and let rest for 5 minutes. For this salad, allow it to cool, then use it.

what kind of ingredients go into this recipe:

• 8oz(227g) cooked quinoa– see instructions below about how to cook it. (the original recipe requires bulgur, but if you live in US, bulgur is not an easy ingredient to find around. Quinoa, on the other hand, seems to be very popular in the grocery stores.
• 1 large bunch parsley, chopped
• 1 bunch spring onions chopped
• 3-4 medium tomatoes diced, with the seeds removed.(squeeze the middle of the tomato and remove the seeds, then continue with the recipe.)
• 1-2 tablespoons dried mint or fresh
• 1 small green or red pepper chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• pinch of allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin(optional)
• juice of 1-2 lemons according to your taste

how to make quinoa tabbouleh salad:

Gather all the ingredients: cooked quinoa, green onions, pepper, tomatoes, parsley, mint, spices and lemon.

Note- The spices:

My salad has cinnamon, allspice, cumin and mint. You can also replace some of these spices, if you don’t like them or have no access to them, or skip them completely. You are the boss in your kitchen!

Place the quinoa into a salad bowl and start dicing the peppers. They should be really small. If you ever had the real tabbouleh salad, you know what I am talking about.

Dice also the green onions.

Chop the parsley and tomatoes.

Add mint, spices, salt and pepper,

and stir to combine.

Add lemon juice and season again for salt and pepper. Serve chilled.

Looks refreshing, colorful and beautiful, don’t you think?! And it is absolutely delicious!

It looks delicious, but how many days can I keep it in the fridge?

I would personally think that it does taste the best for about 2 days in the fridge.

If it gets a little bit dry(as the quinoa tends to absorb the moisture in the salad, add some lemon juice to the bowl. You should revive it right away.

I don’t have mint and I don’t like it. What can I use instead?

I also have a hard time finding fresh mint in the grocery store sometimes, so I always have the dried one in my pantry. However, you can replace it with a clove of garlic, a small one that you finely chop and add it to the rest of ingredients.

Looks refreshing, colorful and beautiful, don’t you think? I think I will just go get a small bowl of this salad that is cooling in the refrigerator, just for me.

Interested in other salad recipes?

Apricots pecans quinoa salad

Spinach Strawberry Salad With Walnuts And Feta Cheese

Strawberry Arugula Salad With Pecans And Avocado

Spanish Orange and Fennel Salad