Armenian Tabbouleh Recipe (2024)

May 11, 2023
30 Minute Meals

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Looking for a fresh and flavorful side dish that’s packed with Mediterranean-inspired goodness? Look no further than Armenian Tabbouleh! This delicious salad features a rainbow of colorful veggies, fragrant herbs, and zesty lemon juice, all tossed together with chewy bulgur wheat.

Why This Recipe Works:

Mediterranean Flavors: If you have been a long-time reader of mine, you might already know that I am half-Armenian. So this stuff basically runs in my blood. Tabbouleh (sometimes known as tabouli or taboulah) is a salad generally made of parsley, mint, tomato, onion, bulgar wheat, and is topped off with lemon and olive oil. It is a simple salad that has the perfect proportion of chopped herbs, fresh veggies, and chewy bulgar wheat.

Meal Prep Perfection: Armenian tabbouleh is not only a delicious and satisfying salad that I like to share with family and friends, but it is also a salad I could personally eat every day and I love to meal prep with it. This is one of my favorite base meals because the flavors are versatile and go with just about any protein. Plus, it contains loads of veggies and also includes the healthy carbs and high fiber from the bulgar wheat!

What Is Bulgar Wheat?

Bulgar wheat is cracked wheat kernels that are partially cooked and then dried prior to packaging. As a result, bulgar cooks quickly and is a convenient and healthy grain. Bulgar is most commonly found in tabbouleh but can be used as a replacement for rice or pasta.

When buying bulgar, you can find it in different grades classified as fine, medium course, and course. The different classifications are usually labeled by numbers, #1 being fine and #3 being course. For this particular recipe, you will want to use fine bulgar, or #1.

Supplies Needed:

Mixing Bowls
Cutting Board & Knife

Ingredients:

Fine Bulgar Wheat: You will want to make sure you get fine bulgar wheat for this traditional tabbouleh recipe.
Boiling Water: The bulgar simply will cook in some boiling water in a bowl!
Veggies: Red onion, seedless cucumber, and tomatoes make up the veggies that we add to Armenian tabbouleh. You can scoop out the seeds from the cucumber using a spoon prior to dicing it, and I would do the same with the tomato too!
Herbs: The herbs included in tabbouleh are super important! You will need fresh parsley and fresh mint. While time-consuming, I remove the leaves from the stems for the best flavor here.
Lemon Juice: For the best results, I highly recommend using fresh lemon juice. The bottled stuff just won’t taste the same!
Olive Oil: Olive oil balances the flavors and brings everything together!
Salt: I added about one teaspoon, but you can add more or less depending on your preference. Simply salt to taste!
Aleppo Pepper: For a little added spice, add a dash of Aleppo pepper. This is totally optional!

How To Make Traditional Armenian Tabbouleh Salad:

Cook the Bulgar Wheat: Begin by adding the boiling water and the bulgar wheat together in a heat-safe bowl. Stir the water in so that it fully absorbs into the bulgar and let it sit while you prepare the remainder of the salad.
Chop the Veggies: Finely dice and chop the red onion, cucumber (and seeds or flesh removed), and tomatoes (any seeds removed) and set them aside in a large mixing bowl.
Prep Herbs: Rinse and clean the fresh parsley and mint. While it is time-consuming, I recommend removing the leaves of the parsley and mint from each stem for the best results. Clump them into a pile and finely mince them, then add to the larger mixing bowl with the diced vegetables.
Mix Everything Together: Pour in the bulgar wheat and then add in the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and Aleppo pepper. Stir to combine. Taste test and adjust the salt if needed.
Serve: Serve immediately as a side salad, with pita chips or flatbread, and your favorite protein if desired.

What To Pair With Tabbouleh?

As a base meal, Armenian tabbouleh can be paired with many other dishes. It is light and herby in flavor with a slight tang from the lemon and a crunchy texture from the cucumbers and red onion. Here are some of my favorite things to pair with tabbouleh:

Broiled Beef Shish Kebabs
Crispy Chicken Quarters
Butter Basted Slow Roasted Salmon
Garlic Pita Bread
Greek Chicken and Marinated Kebabs
Slow Cooker Gyros
Chicken Shawarma
Smoked Baba Ganoush

Expert Tips:

Make it gluten-free! If you need a gluten-free tabbouleh, don’t use bulgar since it is a form of wheat. You can substitute the bulgar with quinoa instead!
Don’t be skimpy with the herbs! This is not a bulgar salad with herbs in it, this is an herb salad with bulgar in it. I know it looks like a lot of herbs, but that is exactly what Tabbouleh is known for!
To store: Store any leftover bulgar salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. This salad will gain more flavor as it sits, which is why it is perfect for meal prep!

More Armenian Recipes To Try:

Armenian Lahmajoun
Easy Bulgar Pilaf
Armenian Cheese Boreg
Crispy Egg Noodles
Garlic Dip Recipe

Armenian Tabbouleh Recipe

Looking for a fresh and flavorful side dish that's packed with Mediterranean-inspired goodness? Look no further than Armenian Tabbouleh! This delicious salad features a rainbow of colorful veggies, fragrant herbs, and zesty lemon juice, all tossed together with chewy bulgur wheat.

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Ingredients

1 cup Fine Bulgar Wheat #1
1.5 cups Boiling Water
1/2 Red Onion diced small
1 Seedless Cucumber diced small
3 large Tomatoes seeds removed, diced small
2 bunches Flat Leaf Parsley finely minced
1 bunch Fresh Mint finely minced
1/4 cup Fresh Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp. Aleppo Pepper optional- adds a little spiciness

Instructions

Begin by adding the boiling water and the bulgar wheat together in a heat safe bowl. Stir the water in so that it absorbs fully into the bulgar and let it sit while you prepare the remainder of the salad.
Finely dice and chop the red onion, cucumber (any seeds or flesh removed), and the tomatoes (any seeds removed) and set them aside in a large mixing bowl.
Rinse and clean the fresh parsley and mint. While it is time consuming, I recommend removing the leaves of the parsley and mint from each stem for the best results.
Once the fresh herbs have been removed from the stems, clump them into a pile and finely mince them then add to the larger mixing bowl with the diced vegetables.
Pour in the bulgar wheat and then add in the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and Aleppo pepper. Stir to combine (be sure to taste test and adjust the salt if needed).
Serve immediately as a side salad, with pita chips or flat bread, and your favorite protein if desired.

Notes

Store covered or in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the fridge. This salad will continue to develop flavor and get better over time!

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FAQs

What are the ingredients in tabouli? ›

Tabbouleh is basically parsley salad. There's technically no lettuce in it. It's a salad made up of parsley, tomatoes, bulgur wheat, and green onions – all finely chopped and tossed with olive oil and lemon juice!

What ethnicity is tabbouleh? ›

Dishes like tabbouleh attest to their continued popularity in Middle Eastern cuisine today. Originally from the mountains of Lebanon and Syria, tabbouleh has become one of the most popular salads in the Middle East.

What's the difference between tabouli and couscous? ›

Instead of bulgur, the French Taboulé is made with couscous that is often cooked in chicken stock for extra flavour, and studded with diced vegetables and raisins. It also uses less mint and other herbs which gives it a more couscous-forward texture and less-green appearance.

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What does tabbouleh taste like? ›

I've had my fair share of tabbouleh over the years, and depending on where I get it, I've found that it is either too dry, too acidic, or tastes like I've just shoved a bunch of parsley in my mouth (which, if any of these have been your experience, you may think you know exactly why parsley is never the star).

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Who invented tabouli? ›

The name tabbouleh comes from the Arabic word 'taabil' which means to season or spice and tabbouleh is thought to have first been eaten in the mountains of Lebanon and Syria more than 4000 years ago.

What countries eat tabouli? ›

Tabouli is a traditional side dish or salad best known in part of the world like, Armenia, Cyprus, Greece, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey. Each of these cultures often have a variation on how they make Tabouli.

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Is tabouli good for you? ›

Tabbouleh is healthy because it contains extra protein for added energy and strength, fiber for a healthy digestion, fresh herbs and vegetables for needed vitamins and minerals, and low fat with no cholesterol for extra health benefits.

How healthy is tabouli salad? ›

Is tabbouleh good for you? Absolutely, aside from the olive oil in the dressing the dish is full of vitamins from the fresh ingredients. You also aren't wasting a lot of stomach space on less healthy “greens” like iceberg or romaine. The deeper greens of the parsley are more full of vitamins per bite.

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What is bulgur made of? ›

Bulgur consists of parboiled whole or crushed partially debranned wheat grains, and is used as a substitute for rice, e.g., in pilaf, an eastern European dish consisting of wheat, meat, oil and herbs cooked together.