Tabouli salad is the darling of all Mediterranean salads. Not for its simplicity only, but for its rich and tangy flavors. A handful of ingredients and you are off to an edible garden right on your dinner table.

Tabbouleh salad is my absolute favorite salad to make and eat, in the Levantine area, no banquet or gathering is completer without Tabulah. Scoop Tabouli, the traditional way with Romaine lettuce, or simply enjoy it with a fork. Delicious, lemony and full of addicting earthy flavors.
Best served with grilled meat(s) such as this juicy kofta kebab.

Tabouli Salad

I fell hard for this salad when I was just 9 years old!. It is strange that I got hooked at such a young age. This shows you how much I am into lemony dishes. Tabulah was not popular in Egypt back in the early 80s. We were at a Palestinian’s friend house for dinner and she made it, my mom happily left with a recipe that has been a favorite since then.
These days you can see lots of Tabouli recipes online, with quinoa with couscous and even one with apples!. These were the words of one angry Lebanese friend, who is thinking that Tabouli is being abused on the internet. Although I am a fan of recipe renewal and thinking outside the usual, challenging yourself ans stepping out of boundaries. She got a point guys, all those other recipes should say ” Tabouli inspired” :).
The good news is, I got you some great tips from my friend for an authentic Lebanese Tabouli recipe. Tabouli is a labor of love, it requires patience and practice to finely chop everything, but the reward is a fantastic bowl that everyone will rave about

Tabouli FAQs

Tabouli salad tips and tricks:

1. Do not use food processor: When it comes to chopping Tabouli, no one can beat my mom, really she is a pro in this. I do not know how she does this but she can chop parsley very very finely- of course her kitchen turns into a mess afterwords. Being always busy with my work back in Egypt, when I tried to make tabbouleh I used my food processor trying not to make a mush out of the parsley. So never, never ever use a food processor, this was very offensive to my Lebanese friend when she knew 😄.
2. Do not add cucumber: this one was really a surprise for me.. what!! no cucumber. She told me you can add cucumber but don’t you dare call it tabbouleh, tabbouleh salad does not have cucumber in it.
3. Do not use pomegranate molasses: well, usually I do not, but I know people who do use it like my sister. So for tabbouleh use only lime juice.
4. Do not soak bulgur: yes, this was another surprising fact about authentic tabbouleh, bulgur should only be rinsed several times and that’s it.
5. Add salt only before serving: when you add salt long before serving you’ll find tabbouleh swimming in a puddle of water and the veggies will be soggy , parsley and mint will not look wilted.
6. Use hard tomatoes and chop everything finely:chop onions and tomatoes finely and try to use the hardest tomatoes you can find.

How do you make Tabouli?

What goes into Tabouli?

Tabouli salad: step by step

Serve Tabouli with

• Shish Beef Kebabs.
• Chicken Kabobs.
• Kofta.
• Lebanese Garlic Dip.

You may need

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This vegetables chopper helps me a lot around the kitchen and I’ve used the small blade for veggies in this recipe.

Tabouli Salad Recipe

Taboui salad, is a famous recipe in the Lebanese cuisine. Tabouli is a labor of love as it requires a LOT of finely chopping.

5 from 6 votes

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Tabouli Salad

Prep Time

15 mins

chilling time

1 hr

 

The most famous recipe in the Lebanese cuisine, Tabouli salad. A wonderful salad to accompany your grilled meat.

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Lebanese, Middle East

Keyword: Lebanese Tabouleh, Tabouli recipe

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 242.8 kcal

Author: Amira

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (70g) fine #1 bulgur wheat.
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice. (Note1)
• 2 Tablespoons (4g) dry mint. (Note2).
• 3-4 firm Roma tomatoes finely diced.
• 5 green onions (65g) cleaned trimmed and sliced (white and green).
• 3 bunches (330g) fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped.
• 1/2 cup (120ml) olive oil.
• 1 1/2 7g teaspoon salt.

Instructions

1. Wash bulgur thoroughly, do not soak, drain. Place in a deep bowl.
2. Pour over lemon juice and dry mint if using, mixing them all well. (Note3)
3. Layer the other ingredients as follows, tomatoes, green onions and parsley.

If you are serving it right away (not recommended):

1. Let it set for about 30 minutes.
2. Add salt and oil, mix everything well together and refrigerate for at least an hour.
3. If you are serving it after 8 hours or more (recommended):
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
5. Before serving by one hour, add salt, oil then mix everything well and refrigerate again for 1 hour.
6. Serve with romaine leaves or eat it by a fork.

Recipe Notes

Note1: Be aware that lemon juice tartness fades over time, meaning it will be so tart if you used it right away. But it was just perfect the next day.

Note2: You can use 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves.

Note3: Some people like adding Arabic Bharat to the bulgur as well but I like it with only fry mint.

Nutrition Facts

Tabouli Salad

Amount Per Serving

Calories 242.8 Calories from Fat 172

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 19.1g 29%

Sodium 616.7mg 26%

Potassium 352.7mg 10%

Total Carbohydrates 18g 6%

Dietary Fiber 5.5g 22%

Sugars 3.5g

Protein 3.6g 7%

Vitamin A 111%

Vitamin C 149.4%

Calcium 9.9%

Iron 22.8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.