Tabouleh Salad

Posted On June 8, 2020

Tabouleh is a super fresh salad of cucumber, bell pepper, jalapenos, tomatoes, onion, parsley and bulgur wheat. This salad is so refreshing and mouthwatering.

Tabouleh is also spelled as tabouli or tabbouleh. It’s a salad from middle eastern cuisine. If you have been to a middle eastern restaurant, I’m sure you might have eaten it or at least seen tabouleh salad.

I was introduced to tabouleh salad a few years ago. We were shopping for our bathroom remodeling in Brooklyn and passed by this middle eastern restaurant. It was past our lunchtime so we stopped by to get some falafel. I saw the tabouleh salad and it looked so vibrant and delicious, it called out to me!!

I was floored by the taste, the invigorating crunch, and the fresh and flavorful ingredients. Parsley is the main ingredient and it’s accompanied with finely chopped cucumbers, bell peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, onions and bulgur wheat. What is bulgur wheat? Bulgur wheat is parboiled cracked wheat. For this salad, bulgur wheat is not cooked but its soaked in lukewarm water for at least 3-4 hours. You don’t need a whole lot of bulgur wheat in the salad, just a little bit!

Parsley is the true star of the tabouleh salad and you need lots of it! Parsley is a binder of all the veggies and the dressing. The dressing is very simple: olive oil and lemon juice with some salt and pepper. As always, there are other variations to this recipe as well. Some people add fresh mint and/or scallions, but I don’t like to add either items to the salad. I like the crunch of red onions along with cucumber and bell peppers. You can add chopped jalapenos according to your taste. I like to eat spicy so I add a little more jalapenos.

Tips for making the Tabouleh Salad:

In this recipe, I like to use extra fine bulgur wheat. Extra fine bulgur wheat does not need cooking. Just soak them in the hot water for 3-4 hours. Remove water from the bulgur at the time of adding into the salad. And yes, make sure you are adding only a little bulgur – not too much.

You need to chop the veggies finely. Use firm tomatoes. At the time of adding to the salad, put the chopped tomatoes in a colander and remove all the excess juice.

I like to use English Cucumber for that extra crunch. These cucumbers are long, thin skinned and seedless. Make sure to remove the skin and chop finely.

Add red peppers along with the green bell peppers to the salad for the much needed color.

For the dressing, just add splash of good quality extra virgin olive oil and some fresh lemon juice.

Add all the chopped veggies, parsley, bulgur wheat into a big mixing bowl. Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice. Add salt and freshly grind black pepper. For the best results, leave the tabouleh salad in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving. This will ensure all the flavors mary each other well.

Tabouleh salad is served with falafel, kababs and/or shawarmas.

There are other delicious salads you will enjoy! Roasted Beet and Citrus Salad, Pear Gorgonzola Salad