Vegan and gluten-free tabbouleh salad with quinoa – a refreshing summer salad with the flavors of parsley loaded with onions, cherry tomatoes, and olives.
Ok, I am back with another Middle-Eastern recipe, but this time it as a salad, precisely a perfect summer salad. Even though this year we are not organizing or attending any parties or get-togethers, I want to make some summer-special recipes, and this salad is one among them. Love the simplicity of it, and it is effortless to put together as well.
PS – Previously I posted falafel and explained how I made my falafel rice bowl.
So what’s a tabbouleh-
As wiki puts it, it’s a vegetarian salad made with finely chopped parsley, mint, tomatoes, onion, and bulgur wheat. Yes, traditional tabbouleh is made with bulgur wheat, but here is my take on it with quinoa. And that makes this tabbouleh – gluten-free. Unless you add some feta cheese, this tabbouleh salad is vegan. The dressing is super light, and it is filling as well.
Tabbouleh is also known by other names like tabouleh, tabbouli, tabouli, or taboulah.
Like every other Middle-Eastern recipe, there are different versions of this tabbouleh salad, and my version is an amalgamation of all the versions. Not all tabbouleh recipes call for olives, but I love olives in my salad, so I went with that. Also, you may notice mint and parsley added in equal amounts in tabbouleh, but in mine, I went with a minimal amount of mint but loaded it with parsley.
As always, the fun part of cooking is finding what your family likes and adjust the proportions accordingly.
How to cook quinoa in Instant Pot-
When you have cooked quinoa ready, you can make this salad in less than 15 minutes. It’s just a matter of chopping and mixing. Now coming to the quinoa cooking part, I rely on my Instant Pot for it. You can very well make it in a stove-top pressure cooker or an open pot method as well.
Ok, the Instant Pot timing that I follow for cooking quinoa might make your jaw drop. While the entire internet raves about 1-minute quinoa, I always go for 8 minutes quinoa. Yes, you heard it right, and I cook for eight whole minutes. No mushy quinoa and not dry quinoa as well. I use the village harvest brand from Costco (not sponsored) and this timing has always worked for me.
I always cook my quinoa in bulk, and for one cup of quinoa, I use 1.5 cups of water. So this is how I cook my quinoa in the Instant Pot.
- Spread some oil (½ tsp) in the inner pot of the IP.
- Now add the rinsed quinoa (no need to soak) and water or broth of your choice. (For 1 cup, I add 1.5 cups of liquid)
- Gently mix and close the IP lid. Make sure the vent is in the sealing position.
- Pressure cook for 8 minutes and release the pressure naturally. When the pressure is all gone, open the IP lid and fluff the quinoa. Allow it cool completely. Trust me, folks, as the quinoa cools down, it will become fluffy.
Note-
- If you want to go with the PIP method, you can increase the cooking time to 10 minutes instead of 8 minutes.
- In the stove-top pressure cooker, you can cook the quinoa with the same liquid ratio for three whistles.
Make sure you let the quinoa cool completely before using it for the salad.
Watch me make the tabbouleh-
How to make tabbouleh with quinoa-
- Cook the quinoa in your preferred way and set aside 2 cups
- Chop the veggies and herbs.
- In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients in the given order one by one and mix.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve chilled.
- This salad stays good for up to 3 days when refrigerated.
Recipe Notes-
- Adjust the ingredient proportion according to your preference.
- You can include bell peppers also.
- Add some crumbled feta or cheese of your choice for added protein.
Other Vegetarian Salad Recipes-
- Cold macaroni pasta salad
- Greens and fruits salad
- White peas and carrot salad
- Black beans taco salad
- Couscous salad
- Beets salad
- Vegetarian ceviche
- Thai style papaya and mango salad
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📖 Recipe
Quinoa Tabbouleh | Easy Tabbouleh Recipe
Equipment
- Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml;1tbsp=15ml;1tsp=5ml
- 2 cups quinoa cooked
- ½ cup onion chopped, heaped cup
- ⅓ cup cherry tomatoes halved. I used yellow cherry tomatoes
- ⅓ cup Persian cucumbers, finely chopped
- ½ black olives chopped
- ½ cup parsley finely chopped
- 1 tbsp mint finely chopped
- ¾ tsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp ground pepper or to taste
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa in your preferred way and set aside 2 cups
- Chop the veggies and herbs.
- In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients in the given order one by one and mix.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve chilled.
- This salad stays good for up to 3 days when refrigerated.
Video
Notes
- Adjust the ingredient proportion according to your preference.
- You can include bell peppers also.
- Add some crumbled feta or cheese of your choice for added protein.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
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