Authentic Tabouli Salad (The OG Recipe!)

Tabouli salad is arguable one of the best salads to ever exist. It has gained quick popularity across the western world, and for good reason. Tabouli (pronounced "tabbouleh" in the Lebanese dialect), traces as far back as 4000 years ago! I want to share the most authentic version of the beloved tabouli, because due to its popularity, it has morphed into many variations very unlike itself. If you want to taste real authentic tabouli, fresh from the mountains of the Levant region, follow along for the easy steps.

The Way Authentic Tabouli Should Look and Taste!

There are very important rules to adhere to if you want to make authentic tabouli. This section will go over all of them and make the tabouli purists ultra happy. Now I'm not opposed to making recipes our own, but it's important to first understand how they are meant to taste, authentically. Here are the four tabouli rules:

1. Tabouli is all about the parsley, not the bulgur! Many western takes on tabouli have clung on to the bulgur in the salad and end up creating versions of the salad that basically look brown because of how much bulgur is in them.

Tabouli should look super green due to the abundance of finely chopped parsley! In fact, 90% of the salad should be parsley. The freshness from the abundance of this herb is what defines this salad.

FACT: Traditionally, flat leaf parsley is used in tabouli. However, I do find that curly parsley is much easier to chop finely, so I opt for that. Same flavour!

2. Fine bulgur must be used, not larger varieties. The bulgur should be in very small amounts. Because the bulgur is understated in the salad, the fine variety is traditionally used. Only a handful is required.

Fine bulgur also does not need to be cooked! I've seen so many people boil it on the stovetop, which is incorrect. You simply need to soak it in lemon juice, which will help to flavour the tabouli.

3. Small amounts of onions, tomato and mint are added. All of these should be chopped finely as well. I've seen tabouli made with either green onions or yellow onions. If using yellow, use less as they are more pungent.

I've also seen many restaurants add pomegranate arils to the salad, mainly for a beautiful pop of colour.

4. The dressing is simply lemon juice, olive oil, and some salt and pepper. That's all you need to recreate an authentic tabouli. The amount of lemon can be per preference, some like it more sour than others.

A big shoutout goes to Kareem from the voice note chef, who's love for making tabouli the authentic way and preserving its Lebanese and Syrian roots has made me appreciate it that much more. I've also learned little tricks from him, such as adding the lemon juice first, before the olive oil, which helps to infuse the lemon flavour much better.

The meaning of the word "tabouli" comes from the Arabic word "taabel" which means to season or to spice. The word was used to indicate a salad thats been dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.

Also - If you're intimidated by all the parsley chopping for tabouli, I recommend making fattoush or an even easier chopped Arabic salad with your next middle eastern dish!

Bulgur Variety Used in Tabouli

Bulgur wheat is a common Middle Eastern ingredient and is traditionally used in Tabouli salad. The recipe calls for fine or extra fine bulgur wheat. Some brands label it as "fine" while others may have a numeric scale - look for #1 for the finest variety.

Coarse bulgur wheat I would only use as a last resort, and it would require pre-cooking before using in the salad, whereas the fine bulgur just needs to soak. If you want a salad using coarse bulgur, check out my delicious bulgur salad.

Ingredients for Tabouli

The ingredients for tabouli are very few, but its important to get the ratio of ingredients correctly. Here are my notes:

• Parsley: traditionally, flat leaf parsley is used. However, I always used curly parsley as I find it is much easier to finely chop. The taste is exactly the same! Parsley is the dominant ingredient in tabouli; you need lots of it.
• Green onions: They can also be replaced for half a yellow onion, very finely chopped.
• Mint leaves: very finely chopped and also an important ingredient that increases the freshness of the salad.
• Tomatoes: finely chopped and in small amounts. The tomato can be added over the bulgur along with its juices to help the bulgur soften. My favourite variety are heirloom for the flavour, but roma tomatoes are the easiest to chop finely.

If you can't find fine bulgur, you can replace it with couscous. Keep in mind that couscous and bulgur are not the same. Couscous is tiny pellets of pasta whereas bulgur is made from bulgur wheat.

You can prepare couscous the same way fine bulgur is prepared in this recipe.

How to Make Tabouli Step By Step

First, start by soaking the fine bulgur in lemon juice. This helps to fluff up the bulgur and soften it, as well as serve as the basis for the dressing. There's no need to cook fine bulgur.

Finely chop the tomatoes and add them over the bulgur and lemon juices. The juices from the tomatoes help to further soften the bulgur while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Use a very sharp knife and hand chop the parsley. Here's how I usually do it:

Cut off the stems from the parsley. It's fine to leave some on and they can be incorporated into the salad, but I get rid of any large ones.

Wash the parsley thoroughly, then dry it. Working with dry parsley is easier to chop.

Grab a small bundle of parsley and fold it over onto itself with your non-chopping hand to create a tight bundle. This helps the leaves stick together. Sharpen your knife very well, then start to finely chop. It's fine if you can't get it to be super fine - just try your best.

TIP: Do not be tempted to go over the parsley in a rocking motion to get it to be finer. This ends up bruising the leaves and causes the parsley to wilt faster in the fridge. Cut through only once. Doing this will keep your tabouli fresh for a few days in the fridge.

Do not be tempted to use a food processor for the parsley! It will end up processing the parsley too much and lead to watery and bruised leaves. Stick to hand chopping, only! Good things take time.

TIP: Place a wet paper towel underneath your cutting board to prevent it from sliding around as you chop.

Next, finely chop the mint. I find the easiest way is to pile the leaves neatly over one another, then roll them tightly. Slice through the roll to end up with fine thin strips of mint. This is a french technique called chiffonade.

Continue with finely chopping the green onions or scallions as well.

Add all of the finely chopped vegetables to a bowl, over the soaked bulgur and tomatoes. Mix well to combine.

Taste the tabouli and add more lemon juice if required. The lemon juice used for soaking the bulgur should be enough, but this can be adjusted to your taste.

Finally, add the olive oil and the salt and pepper. Toss one final time, and you're ready to enjoy it.

What to Serve with Tabouli

Tabouli is often a salad that's served alongside mezze spreads or grilled meats. But there are no rules as to when you can enjoy it: make it and serve it with any food you like. You can also eat tabouli by itself.

I recommend pairing it with proteins like chicken shawarma, shish tawook, or kofta. You'll often find it served with these items in middle eastern restaurants, as an optional salad, alongside fattoush.

Storage Instructions

If you chop the parsley properly without bruising the parsley leaves, tabouli will easily stay fresh in the fridge for 2-3 days. I recommend storing it in an airtight container and in the fridge.

If you find that that there are a lot of juices leftover, feel free to discard some of them to avoid making it more soggy.

My Mom's Twist on Tabouli

Now I know I started this post with a purist perspective on truly authentic tabouli. But I will admit that my Iraqi mom has strayed over the years into spicy tabouli territory. Growing up, she always added a lot of hot sauce and BBQ sauce to her dressing.

Yes... BBQ sauce! It sounds weird, but it works oddly enough. It gives the tabouli a different flavour; albeit delicious. I thought I would share in case you may want to try it differently after you make it the authentic way.

For More Middle Eastern Salad Recipes, Try These:

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