Quinoa Tabbouleh Recipe

I have a bit of an obsession with tabbouleh. It's a middle eastern salad made with a refreshing combination of fresh parsley and mint, tossed with lemon juice, tomatoes, and bulgur wheat. As a vegan I like to pack in a little more protein wherever I can, so I prefer to make it with my favorite superingredient, quinoa.

I've tried several different recipes for quinoa tabbouleh that I've found online, but the one from Epicurious is by far my favorite. Recently I've made some changes to it to make it a bit healthier and easier to prepare. 

Behold: a nutritious, delicious summer salad that you can grab and take anywhere. You can substitute the cucumber or add just about any of your favorite salad veggies here, and it's also great served over shredded romaine lettuce (might want to make more dressing, though).

Hello, I'm delicious.

Quinoa Tabbouleh Recipe (adapted from Epicurious.com)

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 large cucumber or 2-3 small, sliced into half moons
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) olive oil
• 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) low-sodium vegetable broth (or water)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2/3 cup flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup fresh mint
• 1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning (optional)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

1. Thoroughly rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. This step is very important to remove the bitter coating.
2. Cook the quinoa in 1 1/2 cups water and a few dashes of salt. I like to make mine in a rice cooker, but a pot works too. Stir frequently to prevent burning, and cook until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, roughly 10-15 minutes. 
3. Set aside in a large bowl until cooled to room temperature, and then refrigerate. I like to prepare my quinoa several hours or even a day in advance, so that it is fully chilled when I prepare the rest of the tabbouleh.
4. Add chopped tomatoes, cucumber, and onion to chilled quinoa.
   
   
   
5. Pick leaves from parsley and mint and add to blender. A mini blender works great if you have one, but a large one will do. You can also just chop the herbs and then stir in the liquids.
6. Add the olive oil, vegetable broth (or water), garlic, lemon pepper, salt and pepper to the blender. Pulse a few times until the herbs are finely chopped (but not pureed) and the ingredients are all well mixed.
   
   
   
7. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir to combine.
   
   
   
8. Eat joyously.

That's a happy bowl.

Nutrition (Per 1 1/2 cup serving)

• Calories: 314
• Total Fat: 16.3 g
• Saturated: 2.1 g
• Polyunsaturated: 2.5 g
• Monounsaturated: 10.9 g
• Trans: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 0mg
• Sodium: 371.2 mg
• Potassium: 644.7 mg
• Carbs: 37.8 g
• Fiber: 4.4 g
• Sugars: 3.8 g
• Protein: 7.1 g
• Vitamin A: 26.1%
• Vitamin C: 53%
• Calcium: 7.3%
• Iron: 29.9%

Special thanks to my friend Nena for taking some of the photos for this post.
You can check out her blog here.