When I made the quinoa cakes with roasted red pepper and walnut pesto, goat cheese and a poached egg it reminded me that I had not done much with quinoa lately and that got me thinking about all of the things that I want to try using quinoa in. A quinoa tabbouleh was pretty high on my list of quinoa dishes to try and it would fit in nicely with a few other recipes as well so I started with that. Tabbouleh is normally made with bulgar but I figured that the texture of quinoa would work well in it. In addition to the bulgar a tabbouleh salads normally consist of tomatoes, cucumbers, parsly and mint and it is dressed up in lemon juice and olive oil. I kept things pretty straight forward with this tabbouleh salad other than swapping the bulgar out for the quinoa and it turned out really well! There is nothing like a light salad filled with fresh herbs and a hit of lemon to push back the gloom of winter!
The quinoa in the salad reminded me of grainy mustard of which I am a big fan of so I made a batch of honey lemon dijon vinaigrette where I used two tablespoons of the grainy mustard and only a teaspoon of the dijon mustard and I used it on half of the tabbouleh salad. This grainy mustard vinaigrette added a really nice tang to the tabbouleh salad and I will definitely be doing it again!
Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
A light and fresh tabbouleh salad with quinoa, tomatoes, cucumbers and loads of fresh parsley and mint in a bright lemon dressing.
ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1 cup tomato, diced
- 1 cup cucumber, diced
- 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup mint, chopped
- 1/4 cup green onions, chopped
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin, toasted and ground (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
directions
- Bring the water and quinoa to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the quinoa is tender and the liquid has all been absorbed, about 17-20 minutes and let cool.
- Mix the quinoa, tomato, cucumber, parsley, mint and green onion.
- Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper and toss with salad.
Tabbouleh
Pomegranate Tabbouleh Salad
Pomegranate and Roasted Tomato Bulgur Salad
Moroccan Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Quinoa Salad
Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Quinoa and Arugula Salad with Almonds, Pomegranate and Feta in a Lemony Tahini Dressing
Apricot Quinoa Salad
Roast Acorn Squash, Sweet Potato and Beet Kale and Quinoa Salad with Avocado, Feta and Pomegranate in a Cilantro Lemon Tahini Dressing
This looks so fresh and delicious – wow, your photos are beautiful! I could live on this salad, right up my alley, THANKS!
I am a fan and follow your blog and just did this same recipe! Check mine out to compare! 🙂 Yours looks really good too! http://30aeats.com/recipes/quinoa-tabouleh/
Simple, delicious and colorful! We all should eat like this more.
This looks so fresh and yummy.
http://www.thegirlieblog.com
wow..sounds amazingly tasty
Tasty Appetite
Seems to be good salad
You do have a way with quinoa, Kevin! The colors and flavors in this are so alluring. Gorgeous photo, too.
Suddenly I"m starving!
I am loving…and pinning this salad. Amazing.
ill need to try this!!! it looks delicious
A fresh, healthy and delicious salad! Great.
Cheers,
Rosa
Lovely salad, so colourful.
My coworker and I were just talking about quinoa and what do amke with it. Thanks for the inspiration!
I love adding quinoa for an extra hit of healthy goodness. it really kicks tabbouleh up a notch!
I've never had quinoa, but I've been wanting to try it and this looks perfect. Thanks!
Kevin, I just started reading your blog and am excited to add some of your recipes into my next weekly meal plan. Thank you for taking the time to attack some less than traditional ingredients making them accessible. Also, after reading your Chinese food recipes I finally have the confidence to go to my Asian market and attempt to cook some of my favorite Chinese foods.
I'm going to have to try this since I'm having problems with gluten lately. When I've made Tabouleh in the past I've substituted cilantro for the parsley and lime for the lemon and it's delicious that way too.
danadominata: I was a bit intimidated by new ingredients at first as well but once I started tracking them down I was hooked and now it is always fun finding them! Let me know how the recipes go next week.
I definitely have to try this. My husband wants to try to eat more Quinoa more often.
it looks delicious! thanks
This is quite tasty Kevin and since I am trying to eat more grains this recipe is welcome.
Had this last night. Would use less mint and lemon juice next time and I think it would be just right. The mint was way too overpowering.