Tabbouleh with Quinoa- Gluten Free!

This gluten-free tabbouleh recipe was given to me by my husband’s aunt, who, like I’ve said before is one of the best cooks ever! 🙂

Tabbouleh is one of the healthiest things you can eat. Parsley is one of those foods that is largely unrecognized for its health benefits. It fights inflammation, has anti-aging properties, may help strengthen bones, and is suspected to improve your heart health (among other things– see links below to read more).

Getting enough parsley by eating Tabbouleh is super easy and super yummy!

I tried for a long time to make tabbouleh but never could get it right. I was stuck eating the packaged stuff at the store (which is still pretty tasty) instead of making my own at home. After visiting my husband’s family in Lebanon, and spending time with his aunt in LA I was finally able to get it right.

Which was a good thing, because about 10 years ago I found out that I was intolerant to gluten and since most tabbouleh contains bulgar wheat, I could no longer eat the stuff at the store. My husband’s aunt showed me that I could substitute the wheat for quinoa, and it tastes amazing!

What’s Inside?

• Parsley– As mentioned above, parsley is PACKED with health benefits. Parsley is literally one of the healthiest things you can eat. For this recipe I usually use curly parsley, but the flat leaf Italian also works.
• Tomatoes– I use roma tomatoes because for me, they are easier to dice because they are a little less juicy than other varieties. Any type of tomato works though.
• Quinoa– Traditionally made from bulgar wheat, but quinoa is a good substitute if you can’t eat gluten.
• Green Onions (Scallions)– Green onions give this a certain taste that nothing else can. I’ve tried it with regular onions before, and it just doesn’t cut it.
• Lemons– Freshly squeezed lemon juice (NOT from a bottle!) balances the bitterness of the parsley with a fresh, light sourness.
• Red Pepper Flakes– Traditionally tabbouleh is made with red pepper paste, however, I’ve only ever been able to find it in a HUGE jar, and I didn’t want to buy it because 99% of the jar would probably go bad. My husband’s aunt suggested I try red pepper flakes and it does not disappoint! Definitely tastes just as good!
• Olive Oil– Olive oil gives it a smoother texture and helps hold the ingredients together.
• Salt
• Pepper

How to Make:

Tabbouleh can be quite labor intensive…if you want it to be, that is. The first step is to chop (mince?) the parsley up as FINE as you can get it. This requires a lot of work, and can be quite time consuming if you’re using a knife. A nice hack that I’ve learned is to put it in the food processor and pulse until it is fine enough. This is how my husband’s aunt does it, but I actually like chopping it up with a knife. Can be fun, if you have the time.

I usually start by chopping all the large stems off. I do use the stems that are by the leaves, I don’t pluck each individual leaf off the stem. I know some people who do. Using some of the stems does make it a little tougher, but not so much that it isn’t good. Plus there are a lot of nutrients in the stems too!

Once all of the parsley is fine enough, place it in a large bowl and dice the tomatoes. Once the tomatoes are diced, place them in the bowl.

Repeat this step with the green onions. Slice them thinly and place in bowl.

Juice the lemons and put that, the olive oil, red pepper flakes, and the salt and pepper in a bowl and toss everything together.

Let chill in the refrigerator until cold, then serve.

Hope you enjoy this gluten-free tabbouleh recipe!

Read more about the health benefits of parsley at these websites:

8 Impressive Health Benefits and Uses of Parsley

Parsley: 10 Powerful Benefits You Never Knew

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