Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

When one of my best friends said “tell me what to do with quinoa”, this is first recipe I thought of - a chilled, refreshing quinoa tabbouleh salad. It’s a dish I make frequently in summer to serve with chicken or fish, and to eat on its own as a lunch or snack. See the variations at the end too.

Traditionally made with cracked bulghur wheat, my tabbouleh recipe (also spelled tabouleh and tabouli) uses quinoa. Since quinoa is gluten-free and wheat-free, its an excellent choice for everyone.

Quinoa is light and easy to digest and is packed with protein and fiber. It’s also a complete protein, which means it provides all of the essential amino acids our bodies need. This is one healthy grain (technically a seed) that needs to be in your pantry and diet.

Jump to:

• Quinoa Tips
• How To Cook Quinoa
• Salad Instructions
• Herbs Tip
• How to Perfectly Chop Tomatoes
• Variations
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Quinoa Tips

You’ll find quinoa in most markets in red, white, black and tri-color blend (which is my favorite). The red and black have a little more fiber and nutty flavor but cook the same as the white. You will find it in the packaged grain sections as well as in bulk.

Quinoa is covered in a natural substance called saponin, which acts like a natural bug repellant for the seed in nature. As saponin is bitter, quinoa must be rinsed before cooking. I put my in fine sieve and run plenty of cold water through it using the sprayer.

How To Cook Quinoa

I think most people know how to cook quinoa today, but just in case, here are my notes.

Quinoa is easy to prepare with just 15-18 minutes of cooking in a small saucepan and a few more minutes to steam finish off the heat. It is generally cooked in a ratio of 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa.

When cooked, the tiny quinoa seed unfurls into a fluffy grain. What you see is the spiral-like germ that has separated. Think of quinoa as you would rice for recipes.

Salad Instructions

• Rinse the quinoa well.
• Cook the quinoa, then spread out on a rimmed baking sheet when done to cool, then chill in the refrigerator.
• Chop the tomatoes, cucumber, herbs and red onion.
• Make the dressing, then toss the salad and dress.

You can cook the quinoa, then make the salad and dressing, a day or two ahead. Store separately in the refrigerator (salad and dressing). Dress before serving. Cooked and not dressed, it will last 4-5 days in the refrigerator.

Lemon Vinaigrette tip: If you like dressing with a little more "bite", add a little more lemon juice. Also try using lemon olive oil. It's terrific.

Herbs Tip

A note on using fresh herbs: they chop much better when clean and dry. Wash and dry in a salad spinner or on layers of paper towels. Don’t try to chop them wet. They just become a mess.

If you've never cooked with mint, don't skip it! It adds amazing fresh flavor to the salad.

How to Perfectly Chop Tomatoes

If you want nice cubes of tomatoes, follow my photos above. I use Roma tomatoes in this salad. It's good practice and knife work. Why do this? It keeps the salad drier and fluffy versus getting soggy from extra juice. Same for the cucumbers.

1. First slice a little bit off the top.
2. Slice them in half lengthwise, then in half again for quarters
3. Holding you knife flat to the cutting board, slice out the juicy seedy centers.
4. Cut each quarter into long thin slices
5. Cut each piece into nice dice.

Cut the cucumbers the same way. Quarter them, slice out the center seeds, slice into long pieces, the chop into nice a dice.

Variations

• While not traditional, a little crumbled feta cheese is a nice addition.
• Want more color? Use red and yellow tomatoes.
• This recipe uses parsley and mint, but a little oregano is nice too, and other Mediterranean herb.
• For a lighter color salad, use all white quinoa.
• Want a little more texture and protein? Add canned rinsed and drained chickpeas (aka garbanzos)

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