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Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

Today will be the 4th time I’ve made this salad in 1 and half weeks.

I think it’s because I’ve become absolutely addicted to the way I feel after I eat it – my energy soars, my appetite is fulfilled and I feel light, beautiful and radiant.

I never knew food could have such an impact on my mind and body before I started basing my diet on the most nutrient dense foods on the planet. This is what happens when you realize that food is medicine. And this salad is exactly that.

Parsley is the key ingredient that I feel so many people just don’t eat enough of. It’s usually pawned off as a garnish that gets brushed aside, getting totally neglected. When I buy a few bunches of parsley at the store, I almost always get a – “what are you going to do with all that?”

Parsley is just magical I tell ya – the benefits of juicing it and eating it cannot be taken for granted. Parsley inhibits tumor formation, attacks free radicals in your body that cause aging, is a strong anti-inflammatory, improves digestion, gives you fresh breath, balances hormones, and literally cleanses your blood to keep you safe from the environmental toxins that enter your body.

You can feel the magical properties of parsley in no time – This recipe is incredibly easy and takes less than 18 mins to make.

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Food Babe's Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 cup dry quinoa
  • 1 large bunch parsley chopped (remove long stems)
  • ⅓ cup mint leaves chopped
  • 1 cup of grape or cherry tomatoes cut in half
  • ¼ of a yellow or white onion finely diced
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • juice of one lemon
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
  • optional toppings: sheep’s milk feta cheese or avocado
Instructions
  1. Make quinoa according to package instructions
  2. While quinoa is cooking prepare rest of the ingredients in a bowl
  3. When quinoa is finished cooking combine all ingredients together and stir

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Do you have any recipes that make you feel magical?

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63 responses to “Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

    1. It might be – I think I might have added a bite to one of the salads I had this week…. it’s not part of the recipe but cucumber is amazing of course.

      1. Hello Vani and thank you for all that you do 🙂
        I was wondering if you had a link with all of your dressings for salads. I’m not a big salad eater, but some good healthy dressings would help me out tremendously!
        Can’t wait to get your book. I’ve ordered two and the wait is killing me!
        Your a true inspiration 🙂

  1. Yes, is that a cucumber? Looks delish! Will try. I have to admit… I usually lean towards the cilantro rather than parsley. Too bad cilantro doesn’t have the same health benefits as parsley…

    1. HAHAA! I love your close eye – it is! I had a piece of cucumber left over and threw it in. Cilantro totally has beneficial qualities, it also cleanses your liver and blood. Go for it!

  2. OMG this post pretty much answers my question I messaged you on facebook yesterday. Parsley cleanses the blood of environmental toxins. Hmmmm, I think this answered it for me 🙂 Thanks again for another great post.

  3. I actually had some quinoa already made up – and decided to give this a try. Then I realized I had a mild home made salsa already done up in the fridge too! Just went out and picked some fresh herbs from my pots (basil, chives, sage, parsley) & chopped those up. Threw in the reheated quinoa with about a half cup of the salsa – and that is really pretty good!!!! Trying to find ways to get more quinoa in now that I found an organic, lost cost supplier. Tried it last time in our tuna patties as a filler instead of crackers – turned out great! Thanks for sharing these truly healthy recipe ideas – I need all the help I can get!

    1. Brandy, you’re addition of homemade salsa to the Quinoa recipe sounds delicious! I’ll have to give that a try. I also have cooked Quinoa handy and add it to a lot of my meals. Throw it in your homemade cooked applesauce, than purée it, so good! Healthy eating (:

  4. This looks delicious! I’m always looking for new quinoa recipes – I feel like some of the ones I’ve tried are a little bland. Question: do you eat this warm? Or cold?

  5. You are a freaking mind reader! I just picked up my iPad to google quinoa recipes for supper tonight…..figured I’d check my email first….and here is this recipe! Thank you!

  6. Made this and hummus for dinner tonight and ate it with cucumber slices. It was SO good!!

  7. Do you have any tips for getting rid of lower belly fat? I keep an extremely clean diet (have calculated bmi calories, don’t eat dairy, gluten or meat) and work out 3-4 times a week. Whenever I do abs/crunches I feel nothing because the rest of my body kicks in and refuses to let them work. Crunches, leg lifts, etc. just strain my back and do nothing for my abs. It’s so frustrating!

    1. Sounds like you need to recheck your form? Talk to a fitness coach. Have you tried cutting out gluten, or even just bread? I’ve found that gluten really bloats me, so I avoid breads, crackers, pasta, etc.

      1. oops, just re-read your post, I see you have removed gluten. Also, a chiropractor could be of great help. I need regular adjustments or everything will start to feel out of whack, which in turn always affects the way I carry myself, posture-wise, which is crucial when we are working out! Good luck!

    2. Ab work doesn’t diminish or remove belly fat. It will build strong muscles underneath the fat. There are modifications for ab work that can help alleviate stress on the back. Best of luck!

    3. Hi Dina,

      Excess fat in the abdominal area can be stubborn, sometimes for dietary reasons, sometimes for hormonal reasons and also possibly due to incorrect breathing and flawed exercise technique. I am a Personal Trainer specialising in body fat reduction and metabolic training and offer a results-based training app for all devices that allows clients to benefit from my expertise no matter where they are. Send an email to bodyshoxxbykat(at)gmail.com and I will send you some great information with my top tips for a flat abdominal area. Eat clean and train hard. 🙂 Kat

  8. Made this tonight with your quinoa burgers – so tasty and a winner with the whole family, cant wait to make it again, thank you.

  9. I made this yesterday and it turned out great! I added some goat cheese and served it over arugula- YUM! Thanks for the great recipe!

  10. This looks yummy! I also want to make those burgers!!! I think my Chocolatey Goodness recipe is magical! I make it with yogurt, plain, and it’s magical because people who don’t usually like yogurt, especially plain yogurt, love it! http://fresh-you.blogspot.com/2012/01/3-ingredient-chocolatey-goodness.html I bet you don’t eat dairy much or at all, so you might like Power Pudding better, and I’m not the only one who makes it, maybe even you do! But anyway, here is my simple version: http://fresh-you.blogspot.com/2012/02/power-pudding.html Happy weekend, Vani! Oh, while I am here, you don’t probably buy packaged anything, but have you happened to ever try Kitchens of India or Trader Joe’s India Fare? They are NOT organic, but offer pretty simple ingredients lists, and are oh so yummy! http://fresh-you.blogspot.com/2012/08/packagedIndianfoodhealthy.html

  11. I made this Saturday night… amazingly good! Ive been eating the leftovers on top of mixed greens, with feta and pea shoots. Mmmm, delish! Definitely a cheap, quick, and easy meal! Thank you for sharing! 🙂

  12. My Sito/Grandmother made tabbouleh every time we visited her. I love that you added quinoa, what a great idea! I’ll have to make this very soon.

  13. Oh my god! This salad is heaven! I have eaten it for every meal since yesterday’s lunch and I’m still not tired of it. It really does make me feel full of energy! Crazy but amazing! Thank you for your efforts to make the world a yummier place. 🙂

  14. I have a fantastic tomato rasam recipe that is my quick pick me up, healer and take me back to Banagalore right now recipe!

  15. I have some cooked sprouted brown rice on hand. Do you think that I could use that instead of the quinoa? This recipe looks so yummy!

    1. Yes! Always soak any and all grains overnight as they all contain phytic acid. Phytic acid blocks nutrient absorbtion. Even soak nuts like almonds, pecans, etc. After soaking nuts, put them on a pan and dry them out in a low temp. oven all day. :-))

      1. Gah! Wish this would have been mentioned in the beginning of the recipe. I just found this post and the salad is already on the table. 🙁 I’ll know for next time!

    2. Most brands of organic quinoa already have this done this step for you–you don’t even technically have to rinse it. Just rinse until clear if you are unsure.

  16. I have made something similar to this before, but with cilantro instead of parsley. Do you feel cilantro is as healthy as parsley? Thanks!

    1. Cilantro has many redeeming qualities, probably more than parsley, which is what is traditionally used in tabbuleh. If you like cilantro, you might want to check for cilantro chelation pesto recipes. This helps chelate heavy metals. It can be made in larger quantities when you find great cilantro, and then frozen in opaque (preferably glass) containers. Be sure to soak your raw nuts and seeds before consuming (Brazil nuts don’t have to be soaked, but doesn’t hurt them).

  17. When I first saw this I was so excited to try it that I had to make it with what I had on-hand. I had everything except for parsley, so I used cilantro and added some organic curry powder. It was soooo good! Thank you!

  18. The first time I made Quinoa, my husband hated it. I wanted to give it another shot, so I specifically checked your blog for a recipe. I made this and he LOVED it, as did
    My two and four year olds (and me). Thanks for the recipe!

  19. Hi Food Babe! I commented on this back in August, and just made it for our family Christmas party yesterday. Everyone LOVED it! It’s definitely going to be a regular in my recipe rotation. Thanks for the recipe.

  20. because you are such a parsley-lover, you might want to try the more Israeli-style tabbouli, which is a parsley salad with grain,vs. the American grain-centric version. Try doubling the herbs — you should see more green than brown. And add some crunchy cucumber along with the tomatoes! Anyway, the Israali tabbouli is great — very light. Another version to make in the winter when tomatoes are out of season; omit the tomato and cuke, replace with chopped dried fruits, such as currants and apricots (no nasty sugar-added fruits), increase the proportion of mint to half or to taste, and, if desired add a bit of o.j. to the dressing. So good.

  21. I’ve made this now 3 times this week alone. I love it! So easy to prepare and refreshing!

  22. I made this salad for lunch this week but the amount of parsley in it is overwhelming, it’s all I can taste 🙁 definitely not my kind of salad. Good thing I made some burritos too!

  23. Why do you use quinoa instead of bulgur? My girls love to make bulgur tabbouleh. Is it just that quinoa has more health benefits than bulgur or is there something wrong with bulgur? Thanks.

    1. She just wanted to change it up a little. Bulgur is great too!

  24. Very similar to the Quinoa Tabbouleh I make, except I omit garlic and onion (as they are high FODMAP) and add cilantro. And as your photo suggests, I also include cucumbers for more texture. It was such a hit, we’ve been having it once a week while the tomatoes are at their peek.

  25. Hi Vani

    I really loved this salad, I’ll be making it on a regular basis. Quick and easy 🙂 I put a bit more mint and a little less parsley and it reminded me of all the great times I had with my Persian friends. I also put cucumber and avocado, really fresh and tasty!

    Thanks and cheers from Montreal
    Bruno

  26. This is amazing! I absolutely love it. I add chicken sometimes when I make it, but today I added left over turkey from Thanksgiving!

  27. Okay I have been saving this recipe open in one of my internet windows forever now. I must say it took me forever to take the parsley off the stems, maybe because it was my first time doing that. It was super yummy and it was totally worth the wait. I loved it warm and then I saved the rest in the fridge for later and I loved it cold too! I don’t know which way was yummy(er?). Anyways, I loved it and so did my vegan hubby! Thanks mama!

    1. 🙂 next time try chopping the stems off in one fell swoop. They are good to eat too and taste the same as the leaves – it’s ok if the stems are not perfectly all removed. Usually stems are discarded solely bc of their texture. 🙂

  28. I will definitely be trying this recipe. I wish doctors would counsel their patients about the importance of diet on people’s emotional health. I suffer from depression and when I am not eating healthy, boy do I know it but when I am eating natural, real foods, no processed foods, primarily plant based, I feel great. The average american diet is not good for mental health!

  29. Yum!! This is so great to make ahead of time to pack for a lunch during the week. It’s great cus I can just throw it in a tupperware and go–no heating or anything necessary! Great, convenient, and delicious recipe.

  30. Thank you for this! I have to eat a gluten-free diet for health reasons, and I never thought to sub in quinoa for this delightfully yummy salad.

  31. I love it! Made it tonight with the feta AND avocado added and it was awesome! Thanks Food Babe!

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