Lebanese Tabbouleh
Photo: Chez Le Libanais / Unsplash
The real Lebanese tabbouleh: a vibrant, herb-packed salad of finely chopped parsley and mint with ripe tomato, spring onion and just a little fine bulgur, dressed with lemon and olive oil and scooped up with crisp lettuce leaves.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Soak the bulgur
Rinse the in cold water and drain well. Pour over the lemon juice and the juice released by the diced tomatoes, then let it sit for about 15 minutes until softened; fine needs no cooking.
- 40g
- 4 tomatoes, diced (juice only) tomatoes
- 1½ lemons, juiced lemon juice
✅ Done when: bulgur looks plump and has absorbed the juices
Prepare the herbs
Wash the parsley and mint, then dry them completely with a towel or salad spinner — any leftover water will make the salad soggy. Pull the leaves off the thick stalks and discard the stalks.
- 3 bunches parsley leaves
- 1 bunch mint leaves
✅ Done when: leaves are fully dry and separated from stalks
Chop finely
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Combine
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Dress
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Serve
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Soak the bulgur
Rinse the in cold water and drain well. Pour over the lemon juice and the juice released by the diced tomatoes, then let it sit for about 15 minutes until softened; fine needs no cooking.
- 40g
- 4 tomatoes, diced (juice only) tomatoes
- 1½ lemons, juiced lemon juice
✅ Done when: bulgur looks plump and has absorbed the juices
Prepare the herbs
Wash the parsley and mint, then dry them completely with a towel or salad spinner — any leftover water will make the salad soggy. Pull the leaves off the thick stalks and discard the stalks.
- 3 bunches parsley leaves
- 1 bunch mint leaves
✅ Done when: leaves are fully dry and separated from stalks
Chop finely
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Combine
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Dress
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Serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Tabbouleh comes from the mountains of Lebanon and Syria, where wild herbs and bulgur — wheat that has been boiled, dried and cracked — were everyday foods. Over time the salad became a fixture of the Levantine meze table.
In Lebanon it is a matter of pride, and there is even a national day celebrating it. Each family has its own balance of parsley, mint and lemon.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It's one of the freshest salads in the world, naturally vegan, and loaded with vitamin C and iron from the herbs.
💡 Fun Fact
Real Lebanese tabbouleh is a herb salad with a little grain, not a grain salad with a few herbs — outside the Levant it is often made the other way round.
Mountains of Lebanon and Syria
33.97°N, 35.62°E
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