Tabbouleh

By Martha Rose Shulman

Updated May 26, 2023

Tabbouleh
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(1,664)
Comments
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We think of tabbouleh as a bulgur salad with lots of parsley and mint. But real Lebanese tabbouleh is a lemony herb salad with a little bit of fine bulgur, an edible garden that you can scoop up with romaine lettuce heart leaves or simply eat with a fork. This will keep for a day in the refrigerator, though the bright green color will fade because of the lemon juice.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 appetizer spread servings, 4 salad servings
  • ¼cup fine bulgur wheat
  • 1small garlic clove, minced (optional)
  • Juice of 2 large lemons, to taste
  • 3cups chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (from 3 large bunches)
  • ¼cup chopped fresh mint
  • ½pound ripe tomatoes, very finely chopped
  • 1bunch scallions, finely chopped
  • Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste
  • ¼cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1romaine lettuce heart, leaves separated, washed and dried
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

143 calories; 10 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 424 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place the bulgur in a bowl, and cover with water by ½ inch. Soak for 20 minutes, until slightly softened. Drain through a cheesecloth-lined strainer, and press the bulgur against the strainer to squeeze out excess water. Transfer to a large bowl, and toss with the garlic, lemon juice, parsley, mint, tomatoes, scallions and salt. Leave at room temperature or in the refrigerator for two to three hours, so that the bulgur can continue to absorb liquid and swell.

  2. Step 2

    Add the olive oil, toss together, taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with lettuce leaves.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,664 user ratings
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Comments

christine

3 cups of parsley weighes 75 grams. I really wish NYTimes would make the effort to offer the weight of ingredients. Knowing the weight prevents waste and guessing, 3 cups is hard to figure out and bunches differ store to store coast to coast

mbj913

Happy you featured this authentic recipe. My Lebanese family has always used curly parsley for tabbouleh. Its what creates the volume against the bulgur and tomato and it's texture is better suited to salads.

Marian V.

Here's a suggestion for preparing the bulgur. Put the bulgur in the basket of the coffee maker with a clean filter. Pour a pot full of cold water in as though you were making coffee. Bulgur is ready to go in a few minutes without a lot of fuss. I learned that from my grandson who has worked in big catering kitchens.

AnneMarie

No garlic in tabbouleh. If you call this “real” and “traditional,” why even mention garlic? (It’s in plenty of our other dishes, but not in this one.) I have no problem with individuals adding it — or other ingredients — if that’s how they like it. But it’s definitely not traditional to use garlic in tabbouleh, and most Lebanese would say it’s not even optional.

Lii

We actually soak the bulgur in the lemon juice instead of water. Also we do not use garlic, and we drain the juice from the tomatoes

Barb

Absolutely no garlic allowed. Poorly written recipe. Also you forgot the black pepper and cinnamon.

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