An untraditional but super delicious Tabbouleh recipe. Quinoa Tabbouleh is a fusion of Latin American and Middle Eastern cuisine. The best combo ever!
Hands down my favorite way to cook quinoa for just about any recipe is in the Instant Pot. However, if you don’t have one, I have a full tutorial on all the quinoa cooking methods out there.
What Parsley Is Used in Quinoa Tabbouleh?
Flat or curly parsley both work. The important part is that it is fresh parsley. Don’t use dried.
The same applies for the mint. You want to use fresh mint and you want to use significantly less of it than parsley. Mint can be quite overpowering in large amounts. The main ingredient in Tabbouleh is parsley. Since we are adding quinoa to the equation which has a nutty flavor in itself you will want to be really generous with the parsley.
Make sure to manually chop the herbs. A food processor might be faster but you risk the herbs becoming mushy. It’s also important to destem the parsley as the stems in large amounts can be quite bitter.
What to Eat This Salad With
Quinoa Tabbouleh tastes extraordinary as side dish to Flank Steak or Roast Lamb Shoulder. It’s also a great addition to any bbq or potluck with friends.
You can also transform it into a full vegetarian meal by adding cooked chickpeas.
Storage And Other Important Tips
You can make the recipe up to a day ahead it tastes most delicious when eaten within a few hours of making though.
If you want to store it, make sure to store it in an air-tight container in the fridge. Make sure the quinoa is completely cooled to avoid the herbs to steam. The salad will last in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To ensure the best consistency for the longest storage, remove the seeds of the tomatoes and cucumber. By removing the seeds you reduce water content in the salad and the quinoa stays nice and fluffy as opposed to getting mushy over time.
While regular tabbouleh without cucumber and tomatoes can be frozen, this particular Quinoa Tabbouleh recipe is not suitable for freezing.
Quinoa Tabbouleh
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1 bunch parsley
- 10-15 leaves mint
- 2 vine tomatoes
- 1/2 English cucumber
- 1 lemon
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2-3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook quinoa with your desired cooking method (*see notes).
- While quinoa is cooking, wash, dry, and destem herbs and chop finely.
- Wash and dice cucumber and tomatoes and add to the herbs.
- Add 1 cup cooked quinoa, juice of lemon, olive oil, sea salt, and pepper.
- Mix well and serve.
Notes
- All methods linked in the blog post. If using the Instant Pot 1 cup will be the minimum you have to cook. You will have leftover cooked quinoa for another recipe then.
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Emilia Weber says
So refreshing and easy to make. This will be in our weekly rotation this summer for SURE!
Alejandra says
I had to use my available ingredients (I learned that from my Mom!) like red quinoa, and regular (organic of course) cucumber…. the taste was DELICIOSOOOOOOO!!!! I love this one I had forgotten about this recipe . Thanks!!!! I love eating healthy and delicious its a pleasure to all senses!!!!
Sue Magee says
Interesting to use quinoa! I think it definitely needs more parsley – in the Middle East it uses about 75-80% parsley
Macedonio Sanchez Sarmiento says
I definitely will prepare this recipe, looks delicious… I know tabbouleh with couscous but love Quinoa as well, I often prepare your Mexican Quinoa salad and I love it!
Thanks a lot for your recipies!
Francia says
I love all your recipes Lorena! Thank you so much for sharing them,
Lorena says
Hi Francia, thank you so much for following Green Healthy Cooking and reading the recipes, I love sharing them :)