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Learn How to Make Tabbouleh, a Middle Eastern parsley salad made with bulgur wheat, mint, scallions, tomatoes, and a bright lemony dressing. Itโs quick, fresh, easy, and absolutely delicious.
Megganโs notes
As a classically-trained chef, Iโm always trying to create the best version of any dish, and tabbouleh is no exception. My original recipes were grain-based, made with a lot of bulgur wheat, and they matched what I bought from grocery stores or saw in popular cookbooks.
The most serious versions called for salting flat-leaf parsley for a less-watery salad, but that felt like a bridge too far. I searched the far corners of the internet, eventually diving into long-forgotten food forums, and discovered the puzzle pieces I had been missing.
Authentic tabbouleh is a parsley salad with a little bit of bulgur wheat in it, not a grain salad with a handful of chopped parsley. Many popular versions get this point wrong and they have ingredient ratios that are backwards.
Furthermore, the best, bounciest tabboulehs are made with curly parsley, not flat-leaf parsley. That swap completely eliminates the need for any parsley salting, makes for a robust shelf-life in the fridge, and improves the overall texture of the salad.
With that mystery solved, you need only a handful of fresh mint, some juicy vegetables, and an easy, lemony dressing. It might be the best tabbouleh you ever eat.
Table of Contents
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Tabbouleh Salad Recipe Ingredients
- Bulgur wheat: Most well-stocked groceries should carry bulgur. I usually buy Bobโs Red Mill red bulgur. It just needs to be rehydrated with some boiling water.
- Curly parsley: Do not substitute flat parsley. Itโs too wet and flat and will drag down the salad.
How to Make Tabbouleh Salad
- In a medium bowl, add bulgur. Add boiling water to cover by 1/2-inch and let soak until softened, about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain well.
- To a large bowl, add drained bulgur. Stir in parsley, mint, tomatoes, scallions, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ยฝ teaspoon salt and ยผ teaspoon pepper). Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Tabbouleh Recipe Tips and Variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 6 cups of Bulgur Tabbouleh, enough for 6 servings, 1 cup each.
- Quinoa Tabbouleh. Throw in an equal amount of cooked quinoa (any color) in place of the bulgur. Learn how to cook quinoa perfectly every time, without any bitterness at all.
- Couscous: Moroccan, Israeli, and Lebanese style couscous are all good substitutions. Cook each kind according to the package instructions, and add an equal amount of any for the bulgur.
- Cauliflower tabbouleh: Riced cauliflower makes a great stand-in for grain, especially if youโre trying to eat more vegetables.
- Mix up your mix-ins: Cucumbers donโt usually show up in authentic tabbouleh, but many people add them for extra crunch. Or, add a pinch of cinnamon, a good dose of allspice, or a sprinkle of Lebanese 7-spices.
Tabbouleh Recipe Storage
Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The salad tastes better as it sits, and by the 4th day it will STILL be bouncy and delicious, and oh-so lemony.
Tabbouleh Recipe FAQs
Tabbouleh (tabouli) is a Middle Eastern parsley salad made with bulgur wheat, tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, onions, and a lemon vinaigrette. It originated in the mountains of Lebanon and Syria, and itโs one of the most popular Middle Eastern dishes around.
Tabbouleh is a refreshing side dish alongside any kind of grilled meat, chicken, or seafood. It is a natural accompaniment to any Mediterranean dish like Chicken Gryos, Harissa Chicken, Pan-Seared Halibut, or Baked Cod. Or, pair it with hummus, bell peppers, olives, and roasted chickpeas for an epic (and vegan) Buddha Bowl.
Tabbouli is a Lebanese dish. It is often served with Greek food, and it suits those recipes well, but it is definitely rooted in Lebanese cuisine.
For the best parsley texture, skip the appliances and chop the parsley by hand. It may feel unwieldy, but pulverized parsley will have a different taste and texture than what you want in this salad.
1. Remove the largest stems from the parsley.
2. Make a pile of parsley and chop it with your chefโs knife as if you were slicing a vegetable, rotating the pile as you go.
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Bulgur Tabbouleh
Ingredientsย
- 1/4 cup bulgur wheat (see note 1)
- boiling water
- 2 bunches fresh curly parsley stems removed and minced, about 4 cups packed (see note 2)
- 1/4 cup minced fresh mint leaves stems removed
- 2 Roma tomatoes seeded and finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 bunch thinly sliced scallions (white and green parts)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructionsย
- In a medium bowl, add bulgur. Add boiling water to cover by 1/2-inch and let soak until softened, about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain well.
- To a large bowl, add drained bulgur. Stir in parsley, mint, tomatoes, scallions, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ยฝ teaspoon salt and ยผ teaspoon pepper). Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Bulgur wheat: Most well-stocked groceries should carry bulgur. I usually buy Bobโs Red Mill red bulgur. It just needs to be rehydrated with some boiling water.
- Curly parsley: Do not substitute flat parsley. Itโs too wet and flat and will drag down the salad.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 6 c. of Bulgur Tabbouleh, enough for 6 (1-c.) servings.
- Storage: Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The salad tastes better as it sits, and by the 4th day it will STILL be bouncy and delicious, and oh-so lemony.
Thank you! This is the recipe I remember making 50 years ago. Nothing else tastes the same. I like the bulgar less crunchy and leave it soaking until no crunch is left. I also use 1/2 c. rather than 1/4 c. bulgar, add a little lemon to the soaking water and sometimes add a little cucumber at the end if Iโm serving a few hardy eaters. I like it really lemony, so I taste and up the lemon juice if necessary. I always make it the day before as it really needs to meld to be truly delicious.
Youโre welcome, March! Thank you for taking the time to write and share your tips. I appreciate it! โ Meggan
Oh my, this is the best! Lemony, crisp parsley and green onions from my herb garden. Thank you.
Youโre welcome, Marinda! Iโm so glad you loved it! โ Meggan
Love your recipes. I have found the secret of the parsley to be in removing all the bitter stems. We always sent our neighbors portions of all the Mexican and Latin foods I prepare including lots of black beans. We like black beans so much better than the refried beans.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Youโre welcome, Jennifer! Iโm so glad you love my recipes. Take care! โ Meggan
The recipe turned out perfectly. I could not find mint or green onions in the store ( day after Christmas shopping was slim pickings) and I added my motherโs Moroccan lemon and olive oil combination- one part lemon to 2.5 parts olive oil and 15 cloves of crushed garlic, kosher salt to taste and pepper. Thank you for sharing!
Youโre so welcome, Juliana! Thanks for writing! โ Meggan
Amazing!!!
Hi Meghan!!
Thank you so much for your tabbouleh recipe looks yummy .like to make a little comment or advice in a better term.
I come from the middle East Lebanon to be exact .the authentic Lebanese tabbouleh use fine berghol not coarse
That need a little rinsing and draining.
As for parsley we use mostly the flat leaf itโs tastier unless you grow curley parsley in your garden and use it fresh donโt recommend the store bought one unless it looks and smells fresh.
Hello Lamia! I really appreciate your comment!! I have never seen fine bulghur but I will track it down. As for the flat parsley, the curly is always so much better where I live. And the flat makes the salad very wet, I saw a comment on another site where someone who claimed to be a Lebanese grandma claimed that curly parsley was the secret. So Iโm sorry I got that wrong! But I did love it with curly parsley, and even after 3 days it still tasted so fresh and lemony. Anyway. I will look into fine bulghur. I appreciate your comment so much! I have a lot to learn. Thank you again. ๐ -Meggan
MMM was absolutely delicious with the pita chips! Traveled well to work with me too!