Quinoa Tabbouleh

Hello, friends! If you like versatile recipes, today is your lucky day. This Quinoa Tabbouleh is great to prep on the weekend and use in various ways throughout the week to keep you meals flavorful and fun! It pairs well with crackers as a dip, or it can be incorporated into a full meal such as a salad or a buddha bowl!

If you haven’t had tabbouleh (also spelled “tabouli”) before, it’s a Mediterranean salad. It’s typically made from bulgar, parsley, a lot of herbs, some veggies, and a lemony oil dressing.

As I like to mention with all of my recipes that are inspired by a certain cultural food, this is the Joyful Balance version! Meaning that I am not claiming this to be the most authentic tabbouleh that you will have in your life. However, it is still highly inspired by a traditional tabbouleh salad, has very similar flavors and a lot of the same ingredients, and can be served just as a traditional version could! In my version we are using quinoa instead of bulgar, and we are leaving out the oil! Don’t worry though, we are keeping those delicious tabbouleh flavors!

Onto the recipe!

Ingredients

• Quinoa – the base of today’s creation! I love using quinoa for this because it is quick to cook, and I find that more people tend to have it in their pantries compared to bulgar. However, you could get creative here and use whatever grain you’d like!
• Tomatoes and green onions – our main veggies for today’s salad! I use large tomatoes that I dice up, but you could also chop up some cherry tomatoes if you have them on hand. Be sure to check out the “Tips & Tricks” section for ideas of other veggies you could include!
• Garlic, parsley, and mint – BIG flavor boosters! That parsley is a must for tabbouleh, it’s one of the primary flavors we are going for. This uses a lot of parsley, so it’s a great recipe to have on hand whenever you realize that the parsley in your fridge should be used up soon.
• Lemon juice – we are basically using plain lemon juice for the dressing here! I find that this works really well because so many of our veggies and herbs are already so flavorful. The amount of lemon juice used here is 4-6 Tbsp, so feel free to adjust the exact amount based on how lemony you are feeling!

How to Make Quinoa Tabbouleh

This sections feels a little silly to even include here, because it’s so simple! But here you go:

1. Mix all ingredients
2. If you’re able to, let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes or so before digging in.
3. Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

• Like I mentioned in the “Ingredients” section above, feel free to use another grain in place of quinoa! You could do the traditional bulgar or try something different, such as couscous or even rice.
• For other veggie options, try adding in some diced cucumber! You could also try using diced red onion in place of green onion if you’d like a sharper onion flavor.
• Play with the herbs! I made one version with dill instead of mint and it was also delicious.
• As mentioned in the intro, get creative with how you serve this! You could of course serve it in a more typical way as a salad or as a dip for crackers. But you could also include it in a buddha bowl, or as a topping on savory toast with hummus!
• If you’re looking for another fun dip but are in the mood for a totally different flavor profile, be sure to check out my Cowboy Caviar!

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Recipe by Delaney Romero – Joyful BalanceCourse: Lunch, Salad, Snack, SideCuisine: Mediterranean

Servings

4-6

servings

Prep time

25

minutes

Total time

30

minutes

This is one of my favorite recipes to prep on the weekend and use all week! The flavors from the lemon and herbs are vibrant and bright, making this great to use as a dip when you want to snack OR as part of a salad or other meal.

Note that the prep time above includes time to chop and prep your veggies while your quinoa cooks – once your veggies are prepped, this recipe is super quick! The total time will be 30-60 minutes, depending on if you choose to chill your tabbouleh in the fridge for 30 minutes or not (optional, listed in step 4).

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked quinoa*, ideally at room temperature or chilled

• 2 tomatoes, diced

• 2 small green onions, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• Leaves from 1 large bunch of parsley, finely chopped (about 1 cup once chopped)

• 1/2 cup mint, finely chopped (about half a bunch)

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 4-6 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions

• Combine quinoa, tomatoes, green onions, garlic, parsley, and mint in a large bowl. Mix to combine.
• Sprinkle in your salt and drizzle in your lemon juice, starting with the 4 Tbsp. Mix to combine.
• Taste and adjust as you’d like – adding more lemon juice until it reaches desired flavor.
• Eat right away, or let chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or more to let the flavors become more vibrant.

Notes

• *Cooked quinoa: you can cook your quinoa based on package directions, or you can use the instant pot! To use the instant pot, pour 1 cup of uncooked quinoa and 1.5 cups of water into the pot. Secure the lid and set to cook at high pressure for 1 minute. Let it naturally release, and you’re done!

Happy cooking, friends! If you made this recipe don’t forget to tag me (@joyfulbalanceofficial) on facebook or instagram so I can cheer you on for your tabbouleh-making ways.

Stay joyfully balanced!