Tabouli salad or Tabbouleh is a simple Mediterranean salad of very finely chopped vegetables, lots of fresh parsley and bulgur wheat, all tossed with lime juice and olive oil. Grab my tips and watch the video for how to make tabouli below.
Tabouli is likely the topmost famed Mediterranean/Middle Eastern salad there is. Because it is now sold in most large supermarkets around the world, I feel compelled to dispel one thing: the “star of the show,” so to speak, in a tabouli recipe is not the bulgur. The idea is to have a little bulgur with the salad, not a little salad with your bulgur.
What is in Tabouli Salad?
The true star in a tabouli recipe is the very finely chopped parsley–lots of it! Parsley holds well against the citrus in the dressing; that’s why tabouli is even better the next day. Some tabouli recipes like this one, call for a few fresh mint leaves and green onions, while others use only parsley and red onions instead. This recipe is closest to the version I grew up with, but feel free to make it your own.
Important tips for this tabouli salad recipe:
1- In this tabouli recipe, I recommend extra fine bulgur. Extra fine bulgur does not need hot water nor too much time to soak before adding it to the salad. If you end up using coarse or extra coarse bulgur, then hot water is recommended and you will need to soak it for 45 minutes or so.
2- To achieve the right tabouli texture, you will need to chop the vegetables as finely as possible. Can one use a food processor to chop tabouli ingredients? You can use one to chop the parsley, if you like, but I would advice you to chop the tomatoes, green onions etc. using a sharp knife.
3- Be sure to use firm tomatoes. Once chopped, place the tomatoes in a colander to drain excess juice.
4- Tabouli does not traditionally call for cucumbers. This is my own twist, I like the extra crunch added. I use English Cucumbers also known as hothouse cucumbers, they are long, thin skinned, and generally seedless. If you choose to use the more common American cucumbers, be sure to remove the skin; cut the cucumber in halves and remove most of the seeds then proceed to chop.
5- No dressing but a splash of fresh lemon or lime juice and quality extra virgin olive oil like our Early Harvest olive oil. It’s an exquisite Greek extra virgin olive oil from the estate of the Kotsovolas family in Christianoupolis, Greece. Hand-picked; cold pressed; from organically grown and processed Koroneiki olive oil; and of extremely low acidity (0.35%.) Learn more about our Early Harvest olive oil here.
6-For best results, cover the tabouli and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter. If you like, serve the tabouli with a side of pita and romaine lettuce leaves, which act as wraps or “boats” for the tabouli.
What to serve with Tabouli
Tabouli makes a great and bright addition to the dinner table next to your grilled kabobs or shawarmas, for example. But it can also be included as part of mezze along with other small plates like, Creamy Hummus; Falafel; Turkish fried eggplant; and spicy Middle Eastern Potatoes.
Watch How to Make Tabouli (tabouleh)
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Tabouli Salad Recipe
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
Traditional tabouli salad recipe with parsley, mint, bulgur wheat, finely chopped vegetables and a zesty dressing. Recipe with step-by-step photos.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup fine bulgur wheat
- 4 firm Roma tomatoes, very finely chopped
- 1 English cucumber (hothouse cucumber), very finely chopped
- 2 bunches parsley, part of the stems removed, washed and well-dried, very finely chopped
- 12–15 fresh mint leaves, stems removed, washed, well-dried, very finely chopped
- 4 green onions, white and green parts, very finely chopped
- Salt
- 3–4 tbsp lime juice (lemon juice, if you prefer)
- 3–4 tbsp Early Harvest extra virgin olive oil
- Romaine lettuce leaves to serve, optional
Instructions
- Wash the bulgur wheat and soak it in water for 5-7 minute. Drain very well (squeeze the bulgur wheat by hand to get rid of any excess water). Set aside.
- Very finely chop the vegetables, herbs and green onions as indicated above. Be sure to place the tomatoes in a colander to drain excess juice.
- Place the chopped vegetables, herbs and green onions in a mixing bowl or dish. Add the bulgur and season with salt. Mix gently.
- Now add the the lime juice and olive oil and mix again.
- For best results, cover the tabouli and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter. If you like, serve the tabouli with a side of pita and romaine lettuce leaves, which act as wraps or “boats” for the tabouli.
- Other appetizers to serve next to tabouli salad:Hummus; Baba Ganoush; or Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Notes
- The finer you chop the vegetables, the better. See additional tips above.
- To serve a smaller crowd, simply cut the recipe in half.
- You can keep tabouli refrigerated in a tight-lid container for 2 days or so. It’s important to try and drain some of the juice out before refrigerating leftover tabouli.
- Recommended for this Recipe: Early Harvest Greek extra virgin olive oil (from organically grown and processed Koroneiki olives)
- SAVE! Try our Greek Olive Oil Bundle!
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
SHOP The Mediterranean Dish
By far the best tabouli recipe I use. I’ve made at least half a dozen times, although usually skip the tomatoes
Absolutely delish!! My husband is from the Middle East and we have enjoyed Middle Eastern cuisine for many years. I have found your recipes to be closest we have found to be authentic using American ingredients (although I have purchased specialty spices and lentils that are not available here.) I love tabouli and this recipe scored big time with us. I am happily trying some of the other recipes.
Yay! Love to hear that, Rosana! Thank you!
Dont soak the bulgur on water. Use lemon juice. You can do half lemon juice and half water
When you note 1/2 cup bulgar wheat, do you mean 1/2 cup dry bulgar wheat or 1/2 cup cooked bulgar wheat?
Hi, Kathryn. You’ll just need 1/2 cup FINE bulgar wheat, uncooked. You just need to soak it first, per the instructions.
Hi Suzy,
This was incredibly delicious and simple to make! My 6 year old son ate 3 servings of it which is HIGH praise. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hey! I totally love this recipe and all your recipes so much! (I bought the cookbook because of this blog!!)
But for this one it takes me so long to wash, de-stem, and then finally chop the parsley (which I just do in a food processor), probably a full 30 minutes on parsley only. Am I being too obsessive about de-stemming? I can’t tell. And chopping everything else takes me at least 45 more minutes too, and by the end I’ve spent 1.5 hours making this. I cannot tell if I just lack experience and I’ll get faster over time — any advice? I have very nice sharp knives and a large workspace but maybe I’m just a slow worker?
Thanks for sharing this, I love it.
Hi, Andrew. I do think you naturally get a bit faster at recipes the more you make them. For this one, something that may help is not totally de-steaming the parsley. You just need to remove the thicker, lower parts of the stems. You can chop up the upper parts along with the leaves. They actually have a lot of flavor!
I’ve made this wonderful salad many times and it is delicious. I’ve never soaked the bulgur because once all the ingredients are added I simply cover it and refrigerate until softened. Periodically mix the salad a bit while letting it all meld together. I
My go to recipe which is so easy to adapt
This recipe is exactly the same way my grandmother, who came from Hasroun, Lebanon, used to make it. This is the way I have always made it following her recipe. Sometimes she would add a pinch of 7 Lebanese spices as she was mixing the ingredients. On the tomatoes, she would add some salt to draw out the excess water. Thank you for posting this recipe. This is tonight’s dinner. I made some homemade pita bread yesterday, so dinner will be a pita pocket filled with the tabouleh. Shakrun!!!
So glad you enjoyed it, Raul, and that it brought back some good memories of your grandmother :).
Is there something you could suggest to use to replace the mint?
Hi, Melinda. You can simply omit it, and add a bit more parsley if you’d like. Enjoy!
This isn’t tabouli, even though this looks absolutely amazing, you can’t call this tabouli.
And if not tabouleh, what would you call it? My grandmother who came from Hasroun in Lebanon made it this way. Please do share your recipe. I’d be interested to know the ingredients and how you make it.
Absolute perfection! I make this weekly, along with your “plain” hummus, and balela salad. Every recipe I’ve tried of yours is spot-on! Thank you for sharing your delicious recipes 🙂
Would it be a horrible thing if I added one Serrano pepper to this recipe?
I like the flavor and bit of heat.
You could totally do that, Rahn. Enjoy!
What can I sub for parsley? Too bad but in my area, parsley isn’t available easily. Maybe I can use coriander leaves? Please let me know!
Sure, Abbie. If you use coriander leaves, the flavor profile will obviously be a bit different, but I think that would work in a pinch.
I’ve made this recipe twice. It is yummy but definitely not a 20 minute prep time. It took me 30-35 minutes to chop the vegetables and since I didn’t have fine bulgur I had to soak the Bob’s Red Mill for an hour before mixing. I’d say 30 to 45 minute prep time is more accurate not including the soak time for the bulgur. Still worth it and I will make it again but adjust my expectations for how long to allow for prep. Actually, I’ll probably choose to make it the day before I serve it.
Thanks for the feedback, Jan! Much appreciated!
EXCELLENT!!! In every way……….THANK YOU!!