I love tabbouleh. It’s light and refreshing. A while ago my friend Amanda (it’s her amazing and florescent carrot butter on that little whole grain toast in the background) introduced me to a pre-made quinoa tabbouleh salad at Costco, it had extra bells and whistles, like mung beans and brown rice, but it was lacking something so I decided to re-create it at home. I like my simple version better and think it’s more flavorful.
Simplest Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
4 C. cooked and cooled quinoa
2 english cucumbers, finely diced
2 beefsteak tomatoes, diced (sounds weird on a vegan blog, eh?)
1 bunch parsley, finely minced
1 t. sea salt (adjust to taste)
1/3 – 1/2 C. fresh lemon juice and zest of one lemon (start with 1/3 and add more lemon juice as desired)
Method: Toss all ingredients in a large bowl. Let marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes. Can also be dished over a bed of greens. Serves 4 hungry people.
My friend Shira at IPOM posted a different amazing quinoa salad recipe yesterday. In her post, she included a link to this New York Times article about how increased consumption of quinoa worldwide is decreasing it’s consumption in Bolivia where it’s grown, and the ramifications of that to the health of the people there. Be mindful and grateful when you eat quinoa.
Vedged Out 
This kind of tabbouleh salad , I love to eat in Summer’s time or with a good pice of grilled fish on the side: heavenly!
It’s such a nutritious and alkaline dish, it’s hard to beat!
Oh yes, I could eat Tabbouleh every day – I love the freshness and the combinations of flavors. Beautiful Somer!
It’s one of my favorites! I’m glad you love it too!
This look’s delish, I mad a quinoa salad yesterday so yummy!
Thanks, I was thinking before I posted it, does the blogosphere really need another quinoa salad? I see so many recipes, but you can never really have too many. 😉
Oh! I’ve been wanting to make homemade Tabbouleh…look like I have a recipe to try out now!
I like this one better than plain bulgar wheat since the quinoa is so nutritious. 🙂 Good luck!
Wonderful Somer! Quimnoa tabbouleh is wonderful, and this version looks simple and perfect! It means a lot to see the message shared about how we really are all connected when it comes to our global food csources (the way I see it anyway) 🙂 There are other fabulous alternatives to quinoa of course, and mindfulness and appreciation when eating anything are sentiments and intentions very close to my heart. Thank you for continuing to spread the word! You are a special woman, indeed 🙂 XO
Thanks Shira! Richa made a wonderful point here in the comments that we should all be trying to source food more locally. It’s a good reminder and one that I could really work on. I need to try amaranth and I all ready love millet. Just have to find out where they are grown so I’m not contributing to a similar problem as with the quinoa. We are all like drops in a bucket, but maybe together we can fill it and make a difference 🙂 Love you!
I love this. It makes me happy. I’d love to share more with you on the topic as it is one so very dear to my heart! Eating locally is the most sensible thing in the world…but can be tricky in an age where many of us have lost our tolerance for things like wheat which grow easily and plentifully pretty much anywhere (it wasn’t always this way)…I’m right there with you Somer! X
Doing some research, I remember that Amanda over at GCF once did a 100 mile challenge, where they tried to eat most everything they ate grown within a 100 miles of here. I’m sure she’d have some good resources for me, but at the time she was eating meat and dairy, and there are plenty of farmers around for those purposes, but the fruit and veg growing season is super short here. So we’ll see what I can work with! You’ll be happy to know that right now we are feasting on local peaches, apples, pears and tomatoes 🙂 xoxo
Enjoy your 100 mile morning (it sounds like you are most thoroughly are!) – the 100 mile diet is a big deal here in BC and has caught on…hard to do! X
I think I’ll try and use the 80-20 rule so I can be more realistic. I’d still be reducing a huge carbon footprint!
You are right – we should always be mindful of where our food comes from and grateful for it. Just that alone would improve our eating and reduce so much waste. Your salad looks beautiful. Would you believe I haven’t tried quinoa yet! Couscous and barley are regulars at our place, but I need to branch out a bit.
You can do it, Heidi! 😉
Quinoa is really unique. It has quite and earthy nutty taste. I like the nutritional profile it offers, it has tons of amino acids, protein, fiber and vitamins and minerals. It’s really lovely and I love that it’s a whole grain (seed, really) that cooks up in 20 minutes (beats 45 for brown rice any day of the week) but I think after reading that article I’m going to make an effort to consume it less often and find other grains that are closer to home and not taking away from the nourishment in the country in which it grows. If you do get around to trying it, make sure to rinse it well before cooking as otherwise it will be very bitter.
i love me a good simple tabbouleh and yours looks fantastic. everyone runs towards the next big thing. back home india, my mom picked up loads of oats(which r not normally grown locally) and i told her to skip them and eat the locally grown wheat, multiple varieties of millet, sorghum, amaranth and other grains. they are super cheap and easily available!:)
And thanks for rescuing my comment form spam!:))
Of course! I was so happy to find it there! 🙂
Thanks Richa! Thanks for the reminder to get more into the local scene. We have locally grown wheat within 10 minutes, but it’s not organic. So sometimes there’s a trade off. I wonder about the other stuff. Utah is tricky for finding stuff since the growing season is so short. You are totally right though, all those lovely grains nearby why would you want to buy the imported stuff?
I don’t ever make tabbouleh because I never think to buy bulgar–this sounds like a great substitution! I love quinoa. But now that we’re not supposed to eat too much quinoa and brown rice is full of arsenic, I’m going to have to go in search of some new grains.
I know, I never have bulgar in the house either. Go for amaranth or millet! What’s this about brown rice being full of arsenic! I just bought the giant organic costco bag
Oh I love quinoa and lemon. Perfect! I eat quinoa daily…my favorite is red quinoa!! This looks yummy and so simple!
Yes, super yummy and simple! I never buy the red because it’s even more expensive than the regular variety. I spend so much on food I gotta draw the line somewhere 🙂
Lovely, Somer! And with grapes :D. Yum. I always feel like I’m having a drink when I eat grapes. I need to try this quinoa stuff out…
Thanks Nick! Funny about the grapes. These particular grapes were huge and seeded, which my family didn’t love, so I got to eat the lot of them 🙂 Do try the quinoa, it’s really unique. It has a nice earthy and nutty taste. I like the nutritional profile it offers: it has tons of amino acids, protein, fiber and vitamins and minerals. It’s really lovely and I love that it’s a whole grain (seed, really) that cooks up in 20 minutes (beats 45 for brown rice any day of the week).
Ahha – seeds can be a pain, but it doesn’t really matter. I love grapes… I shall try quinoa… I think I have to really. I had heard they are exceptionally good for you.
Yes, you must, at least one time 🙂 There are over 100 varieties, but the most common ones sold commercially are red, gold or black. Gold is the cheapest and the kind I purchase most frequently. Make sure you rinse it well as it will have a bitter taste otherwise 🙂
I’ll check it out… I think only 1 variety is sold widely in Britain – I think it’s gold. Thanks for the tip 😀
No worries!
Thanks for this – gluten free tabouleh! It looks terrific – your pictures are lovely 🙂
Oh! Yes, you guys will love it! My husband has taken over the role of most of the photography, you should see him, he’s like the food paparazzi taking like 100 pictures of one thing…. Hehe 😉
I have yet to try tabbouleh but this looks SO SO SO delicious 🙂 I’ll definitely have to make this one night this week. Sounds easy and I love the idea of eating some avocado with it!
Oh, you are so missing out! Tabbouleh is so lovely and simple! The creaminess of the avocados offsets the grassiness of the parsley and the tartness of the lemon really nicely!
Better late than never – still not getting updates! Love tabbouleh and quinoa makes it extra good and special – did I mention I also love simple and quick and easy ;-)?!
Argh! I’m still not getting updates on the veggie nook and one other blog. What’s the deal wordpress?!? 😉 Good to see you found it though, why does it feel lonely without a comment from you? 🙂
I love a nice simple quinoa salad- I love the combo of flavors in your recipe too! Thank you for the reminder about being more conscious of where our food comes from. I mean, how blessed are we to be able to have such a variety of foods in our diet?!?! 🙂
We are SO BLESSED. We always pray over our food and offer thanks, but I think I mean it far more than ever!
Thanks, that looks very tasty. I’ve copied it down but will probably keep it for warmer weather (any super warming soup recipes?!). On your rec, we got the plant based nutrition book – very interesting, partly inspiring and partly depressing …there are so many of the ingredients I just can’t get here in the far north of Scotland. And ‘locally sourced’ might mean subsisting on heather and sheep hereabouts. OK it’s not that bad, I grow my own (hardy) herbs and my family grow other veg. Just asked my sister for some kale but apparently the guinea-pigs are on a high kale diet for health reasons, and there’s none to spare 🙂
Ha! Yes, you’d be hard pressed to get locally sourced, it’s better that you eat well 🙂 The internet is a great resource for items you can’t purchase locally (shh, don’t tell anyone I said that). Oh and I have 3-4 soup recipes planned for the vegan month of food in October! Keep it up!
ye-es I was thinking my only hope for the likes of ‘nutritional yeast flakes’ might be t’internet. However we are off to Edinburgh for a week, in a week’s time, and there are great health food shops there, so I’ll do a big non-perishables shop while I’m down.
Looking forward to the soup!
Oh, good! I hope you can find what you’re looking for!
That looks so lovely. I don’t have any parsley so hoping some other fresh herbs will do. 🙂
Parsley is really the best flavor for this, but I reckon basil and cilantro would also work nicely 🙂
Oooh, quinoa tabbouleh, what a great idea! I am always VERY grateful to be eating quinoa (it’s SO GOOD!) and I buy a fair-trade, organic one from my local Oxfam store. Every little bit helps. 🙂
Good on you sparkles! I must admit I’m jealous there’s not any kebab places around here. Getting falafel with hummus, tahini and tabbouleh over there is like the best thing ever!
No kebab places??? WOAH! I better get my fix before my trip then! 🙂
Get your fix!!! Drooling just thinking about it. Maybe there are some in the big cities, but none around here! Are you coming to Utah, Sparkles? I have a guest room and Salt Lake City is turning into a little vegan restaurant mecca 🙂 !
Nawww, I would LOVE to come to Salt Lake City! Hopefully next time. 🙂 NYC, LA, Santa Cruz, and San Fran this time! eeeekkk, I am beyond excited!!! I can’t wait to try all this crazy cool US vegan food I keep reading about – Daiya, tempeh rueben sandwiches, vegan food trucks, YUMMMMMM!!!
Ah, bummer! Sounds like a fantastic trip anyway, you’re going to have so much fun! And yes, you’re going to love the vegan food scene! xoxo!
this sounds very tasty too. we love tabbouleh.. had some on Saturday in a kebab with falafel and tahini & chilli sauce yummy !!!!!! I will make this recipe … sommer here so the more salads I have the more we can vary them… thank for your posting it 😉
I totally used the leftovers in homemade kebabs with falafel, tahini and chili sauce! Since we can’t get them here, I had to make my own! You will like it! Nice and refreshing, you can add a bit of olive oil if you like, but I like it just as well without 🙂
Ohhh I DID see this post but it must have been hidden in my subconscious, just waiting to be let out again! haha! I had some avocado with mine too but I didn’t have grapes! YUMMO! Bet that was a delicious combo!
I’m sure I’m inspired by so many things! That’s whats great about blogging, taking thoughts and ideas from lots of sources and making it your own. Your tabbouleh is totally different than mine, but in a good way!
Isn’t it possible to print just the recipe without wasting 14 pages of paper to have all the comments printed out?
Absolutely, you can “select” and highlight the area you want to print with your mouse. Then in your print program, there should be something that says “print selection” click that option and it should print only the recipe. Someday I’ll have printable recipe cards on my site, but not for a while since it will take ages to revamp it all.