Description
Quinoa tabbouleh salad is a gluten free twist on the traditional Middle Eastern dish. It’s packed with parsley, mint, crunchy veggies and tossed in a simple lemon & olive oil dressing. It’s best when made in advance making it perfect for packed lunches or bringing to parties.
Ingredients
- Quinoa
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water (or sub chicken stock or veggie stock for more flavor)
- pinch of salt
- Dressing
- the zest and juice of 2 lemons
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- optional: red pepper flakes, to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
- Salad
- 2 bunches curley parsley (not flat leaf parsley), leaves only, roughly chopped
- 1 cup (or more) of fresh mint, chopped*
- 1/3 cup red onion, mniced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped (maybe 2 if you want even more crunch)
- 1/2 seedless cucumber(AKA English cucumber) sliced into half moons
- Optional: 2 to 4 ounces Feta cheese, crumbled (for topping)
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa: Combine the water (or stock), quinoa, and salt in a small sauce pot. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and allow the quinoa to simmer for 15 minutes, with the lid on. Turn off the heat and fluff the quinoa with a fork.
- Cool the quinoa: Spread the quinoa out on a plate or baking sheet so that it cools faster. Allow it to cool while you prepare the other ingredietns for the salad.
- Make the dressing: Add all of the dressing ingredients to a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Keep in mind that this dressing will be what flavors the entire salad, so don’t be shy with the seasoning.
- Make the salad: Prepare the veggies as instructed above, if you haven’t already – add all of the veggies EXCEPT FOR THE FETA CHEESE (if using), to the mixing bowl. Once the quinoa has been mostly cooled ( you don’t want it to still be steaming or hot otherwise it will wilt the veggies) add it to the bowl with the veggies. Toss well to combine.
- Serve: You can serve this salad right away, room temperature but it does get even better after a day of sitting in the fridge – it’s a good salad to make ahead of time, it will last up to 4 days in the fridge. Just before serving crumble the feta cheese on top of the salad (if using).
Notes
* If you can’t get a hold of mint you can leave it out. If you happen to grow it in your garden and have an abundance of it I honestly don’t think you can have too much mint in this recipe, so add as much as you like.
To keep this recipe vegan/dairy free omit the feta cheese. Also a good way to keep the salad a little lighter.
If in season some halved grape tomatoes might also make a great addition to this salad. Tomatoes can also be a traditional ingredient in tabbouleh.
