Here is a new spin on a classic. This Gluten Free Tabbouleh with Cilantro is made with quinoa and jalapeño. Made in about 20 minutes!
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Being gluten free can be a challenge sometimes. Fortunately, there are many substitutions that work seamlessly in recipes.
Traditional tabbouleh has bulgur wheat. For this Gluten Free Tabbouleh with Cilantro, I used quinoa instead. It's a great option for people who are gluten intolerant.
To change things up even more, I switched out the parsley for cilantro and added a small amount of jalapeño for a little kick. If you want a more classic tabbouleh or have little ones, you can leave it out.
Other cucumber salad recipes to try are my Spicy Cucumber Salad with Peanuts or my Vegan Cucumber Salad.
Have you ever had quinoa for breakfast? Try my Vegan Breakfast Quinoa Bowl.
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❤️ Why You'll Love It
- It makes a great side dish or healthy salad for lunch. It can be served at room temperature so it's perfect for a potluck.
- It's an easy recipe made with fresh ingredients. If you like to meal prep, this recipe is perfect since it can be made ahead of time.
- It is a twist on a classic Mediterranean dish. It has quinoa and jalapeño.
🧾 Ingredients
- White quinoa: Used as a gluten free substitute for bulgar.
- Fresh mint leaves: Are traditionally used in tabbouleh.
- Cilantro: I used cilantro instead of parsley, which is what is traditionally used. Feel free to use fresh parsley instead. Either flat leaf parsley or curly parsley would work. You could also add green onions.
- Cucumber: I used English cucumbers because they have a thin skin and aren't as bitter as a regular cucumber.
- Fresh tomatoes: I used grape tomatoes. You can also use cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes, or Roma tomatoes.
- Jalapeño: Adds spice. for less spice, remove the seeds and ribs, or leave it out. For even more spice use a serrano pepper.
- Fresh lemon juice: Adds a tangy flavor.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Binds the salad and marries it all together.
- Salt: Enhances flavors. I like to use sea salt.
To see the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
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🔪 Instructions
Step 1: Rinse and drain quinoa.
Step 2: Add quinoa to a saucepan with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer over medium heat.
Step 3: Cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Add salt.
Step 4: Add chopped tomatoes, cucumber, fresh herbs, and jalapeño into a large bowl. Stir to combine.
Step 5: Add the rest of the ingredients and more salt if needed.
Step 6: Mix well.
🍽 Serving
Tabbouleh is a great addition to a Mezze platter.
- Pita bread
- Falafel
- Tofu Feta Cheese
- Fresh veggies
- Baba Ghanoush
- Kalamata Olive Hummus
💭 Tips
- If you buy your quinoa in bulk, make sure to thoroughly rinse your quinoa. It contains saponin, which gives it a soapy or bitter taste if not rinsed. If you buy packaged quinoa, make sure that it says it was rinsed before packaging.
- You can toast your quinoa for a more nutty flavor before adding liquid and cooking it.
👩🏻🍳 Recipe FAQs
For this gluten-free tabbouleh recipe, I used quinoa instead of bulgur. It makes an excellent substitute.
🥗 Other Vegan Salads
If you tried this Gluten Free Tabbouleh Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and let me know how you like it in the 💬 comments below. I love hearing from you!
This recipe was originally published on June 12, 2015. I've added new photos and more text.
📋 Recipe
Gluten Free Tabbouleh with Cilantro
Ingredients
- ½ cup dry quinoa (1 ½ cups cooked)
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup chopped mint
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 cup chopped English cucumber
- 1 cup chopped grape, cherry or plum tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeño
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt
Instructions
- Rinse and drain quinoa. This step is very important. Quinoa has a natural bitter coating of saponins. You will notice the suds quinoa creates when rinsing.
- Place water and quinoa in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until all the water is absorbed, about 10-15 minutes. Add salt.
- Put chopped mint, cilantro, cucumber, tomatoes, and jalapeño in a bowl.
- Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and quinoa. Mix well. Let flavors combine for at least an hour before serving.
Notes
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Nutrition
*Note: Nutrition information should be considered an estimate only. Different nutrition calculators give you different results.
Aarika says
This looks so refreshingly nutritious! I love quinoa and tabbouleh AND mint, so this looks like the perfect salad for me. Thank you!
Liana says
This looks great! I am always looking for more ways to use quinoa.
Willow Moon says
Me too! I don't eat it enough. It is great because it is high in protein compared to rice and other carbs.
Katarzyna says
Lately we're eating more salads for lunch and this looks like a great idea to try!
Willow Moon says
I have eaten it for lunch many times, it is quite filling! It is good for potlucks too since it is made ahead of time and lasts awhile in the fridge.