Bulgur Wheat Tabbouleh Salad (Print)

Bright bulgur salad with fresh herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, and zesty lemon dressing, perfect for light meals.

# Ingredients:

→ Bulgur

01 - 1 cup fine bulgur wheat
02 - 1 cup boiling water

→ Fresh Produce

03 - 2 medium tomatoes, diced
04 - 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
05 - 4 scallions, thinly sliced
06 - 1 large bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (approximately 1 cup packed)
07 - 1/2 bunch fresh mint leaves, finely chopped (approximately 1/2 cup packed)

→ Dressing

08 - 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
09 - 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
10 - 1 garlic clove, finely minced
11 - 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
12 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

# Directions:

01 - Place the bulgur wheat in a large bowl. Pour boiling water over it, cover, and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes until the bulgur is tender and the water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and set aside to cool to room temperature.
02 - To the cooled bulgur, add diced tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, chopped parsley, and mint. Mix gently to combine evenly.
03 - In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, sea salt, and black pepper until fully incorporated.
04 - Pour the dressing over the bulgur and vegetable mixture. Toss gently to ensure all ingredients are well coated.
05 - Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt or lemon juice if desired. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to allow flavors to meld.
06 - Serve chilled or at room temperature as a refreshing salad or side dish.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It tastes like summer even in the dead of winter, bright and clean and impossibly refreshing.
  • You can make it ahead and it actually gets better as it sits, soaking up all that lemon and olive oil.
  • It's mostly herbs, which means you feel virtuous eating it even though it's deeply satisfying.
  • There's no heat required beyond boiling water, so your kitchen stays cool and you stay sane.
02 -
  • If your bulgur is still crunchy after soaking, you either didn't use boiling water or you didn't wait long enough, so give it a few more minutes covered and it will soften.
  • The salad can taste flat if you don't add enough lemon or salt, so be bold and adjust until it sings, because tabbouleh should wake up your mouth not put it to sleep.
  • Chop the herbs by hand, not in a food processor, because the processor bruises them and turns them dark and bitter instead of bright and fresh.
03 -
  • Rinse your bulgur in a fine mesh strainer before soaking if it tastes dusty or stale, because fresher bulgur makes a world of difference.
  • Use twice as much parsley as you think you need, because tabbouleh is a parsley salad with bulgur, not the other way around, and that's the secret everyone forgets.
  • Let the salad come to room temperature before serving if it's been in the fridge, because the olive oil solidifies when cold and the flavors mute, but twenty minutes on the counter brings it all back to life.
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