Tabbouleh
A Lebanese tabbouleh is a parsley salad with a little bulgur in it, not the other way round. Chopped by hand, dressed at the last minute, and startlingly fresh.
Photograph credit: Armenian tabbouleh in France (March 2020) by Benoît Prieur · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Build the Meal Around Tabbouleh
- Arak, or a cold Lebanese white
- Serve as part of a mezze with hummus and kibbeh
- Excellent alongside grilled meat
Making Tabbouleh, Step by Step
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Rinse the fine bulgur, then put it in a bowl with the diced tomatoes and their juices and half the lemon juice. Leave to soak for 20 minutes — no cooking required.
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Wash the parsley and dry it completely in a salad spinner and then on a tea towel. Wet herbs make watery tabbouleh.
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Strip the leaves from the thick stalks, gather them into a tight bundle, and chop very finely with a sharp knife. Never use a food processor.
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Chop the mint leaves the same way, at the last moment so they do not blacken.
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Combine the herbs with the soaked bulgur and tomato mixture and the spring onions.
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Dress with the olive oil, remaining lemon juice, salt, allspice and pepper, and toss gently with your hands.
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Taste and adjust — it should be sharp and green. Serve immediately with lettuce leaves for scooping.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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A Few Notes
The ratio is the recipe: it should look overwhelmingly green, with the bulgur barely visible.
Dress only when you are ready to eat; salt draws water out of the parsley within minutes.
A sharp knife is essential — a dull one bruises the leaves and turns them black.
Changing the Recipe
- Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
Leftovers
Best within an hour. Undressed components keep 1 day refrigerated separately.
Common Questions
How long does Tabbouleh take to make?
25 minutes of preparation and of cooking, plus 20 minutes of soaking, so allow 45 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 6.
What's in a Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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