Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad is an excellent middle eastern salad that can be made in less than 20 minutes. It can also be stuffed in a pita with falafel and hummus as a full meal.

Prep Time10minutes mins

Cook Time20minutes mins

Total Time30minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Lunch Recipes, Quick and Easy

Cuisine: Asian, Greek, Middle Eastern

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 293kcal

Equipment

  • pan
  • bowl
  • spatula
  • Instant Pot

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Quinoa
  • 1 English cucumber Chopped into ¼ inch cubes
  • 1 pint Cherry tomatoes About 2 cups – halved
  • ⅔ cup Flat-leaf parsley Chopped
  • ½ cup Fresh mint Chopped
  • 2 Scallions Thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp Lemon juice
  • 1 Garlic clove Minced
  • ½ cup Extra virgin olive oil
  • to taste Salt
  • to taste Pepper

Instructions

  • Wash and rinse the quinoa couple of times. Drain the water.
  • Stove Top Cooking method – In a saucepan, bring quinoa, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 ¼ cups of water to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and cook the quinoa until it is tender (could take about 10-12 mins). Remove from heat, let it stand for 5 more minutes and then fluff with a fork and allow it to cool down.
  • Instant Pot Cooking method – I cook it using pot in pot method. Add the rinsed quinoa in a bowl and add 1 ¼ cups of water. Add a pinch of salt and place it inside the Instant pot (make sure that the inner pot has about 2 cups of water in the base). Place the bowl of quinoa on trivet and cover the instant pot. Set it on pressure cook at high pressure and low cook mode for 2 minutes. Once the cook time is up, release the pressure after 5 minutes. Let the quinoa sit for about 10 minutes and then fluff with a for and use it in the recipe.
  • Meanwhile to make the dressing, whisk the lemon juice, lemon zest and garlic in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the olive oil. Season the dressing with salt and pepper.
  • Transfer the quinoa to a wide bowl. Mix in ¼ cup of the dressing.
  • Now add the tomatoes, cucumber, scallion, parsley, and mint leaves to the quinoa. Toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper and add the remaining dressing.
  • Mix well and chill at least for an hour.
  • Serve with pita and hummus or as a salad or as a main course.

Notes

If you are planning to make this salad for a party, you could cook the quinoa, cool it and add ¼ cup of dressing and refrigerate it a day ahead. Then when ready to assemble, just add the rest of the vegetables, herbs and the remaining dressing and toss.

Nutrition

Calories: 293kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 17mg | Potassium: 474mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1199IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 3mg