Quinoa Tabbouleh: Recipe and Cooking Tips

Quinoa tabbouleh is a gluten-free take on tabbouleh (also spelled tabouli), a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine grain salad featuring a generous amount of chopped parsley. Traditional tabbouleh—the original Lebanese preparation—uses cracked wheat, also known as bulgur wheat, soaked in lemon juice. Swapping the bulgur for cooked quinoa, a high-protein, grain-like seed, makes the vegetarian dish gluten-free in addition to dairy-free.

Since quinoa tabbouleh comes together so quickly, it’s easy to double and make big batches for a potluck or a BBQ or to have it on hand for the week. Here are some preparation tips:

1. 1. Season generously. This quinoa tabbouleh salad consists of just a few elements, so using the freshest ingredients you can find (including plenty of fresh parsley, mint, and lemon juice) will make the dish really sing. Including more vegetables, like chopped cucumber, red onion, or diced red pepper, can bring extra color and flavor.
2. 2. Let it marinate. Another plus with batch cooking is that the tabbouleh continues marinating over time, letting the seasonings marry together to become more flavorful.
3. 3. Add it to just about any meal. Serve quinoa tabbouleh as a side dish, as a topping over a falafel sandwich, or alongside hummus, pita, and olives on a mezze plate. (Learn how to make hummus with Chef Yotam Ottolenghi.)
4. 4. Bulk it up for lunch. Quinoa tabbouleh makes for an easy lunchtime main because it travels so well; add chickpeas, marinated feta, or avocado slices to bulk it up.