
One of my favorite parts of a Mediterranean meal is Tabbouleh salad - its bright, fresh, and packed with flavor. If you've never had Tabbouleh salad, the predominant flavors are parsley, mint, cucumber, onion, tomato, and fresh lemon. Traditionally, it's made with bulgar, but this version uses quinoa, which adds a nice little crunch & nuttiness to it.
It's quite easy to make (although it does require lots of chopping!), but since it's prepared a day in advance, it comes together very quickly when you're ready to serve. This salad is so tasty and refreshing - the perfect summer salad!
Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
- 1-2 cups cooked Quinoa (I recommend the multi-color variety for this recipe)
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 green onions, including tender green portions, finely diced
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parley (this was 2 large bunches for me)
- 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint
- 4 large ripe tomatoes, seeds removed & diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 English cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded, and finely diced
- 2 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 tsp. Lebanese 7 Spice, optional (recipe to follow)
**Lebanese 7 Spice is equal parts: ground Allspice, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, ground Cloves, Ground Nutmeg, Fenugreek, and powdered Ginger. *Note: I didn't have Fenugreek, so I combined equal parts of the other 6 spices, and the results were delicious.


Place the cooked quinoa on the bottom of a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the 1 cup of lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, and the Lebanese 7 spice, if using. Drizzle over the quinoa. In the following order, layer the green onions, parsley, mint, tomatoes, and cucumber on top of the quinoa. Season the top layer with 1 1/2 tsp. of the salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 24-36 hours.
Remove the Tabbouleh from the refrigerator 1 hour prior to serving, and toss all of the layers together. Taste, and add the remaining salt if needed.

Serve it with hummus and pita chips, or make an entire Mediterranean-style meal with lemon-marinated grilled chicken, tabbouleh salad, hummus, and rice pilaf. If you have leftovers, it's also very good added to a greek salad, or to a sandwich with hummus & avocado. So delicious!

*Recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma