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Cauliflower Tabbouleh Salad

This fresh cauliflower tabbouleh salad uses cauliflower to replace the bulgar wheat that’s usually found in tabbouleh.

It’s such a refreshing salad with bright colours and zingy flavour thanks to fresh herbs and lemon. It makes a fresh and healthy side dish.

spoons mixing Cauliflower salad

What is tabbouleh?

Tabbouleh is a middle eastern salad (Levantine salad) usually made with parsley and bulgur wheat as the main ingredients. Traditional tabbouleh is essentially a parsley salad. Then it’s bulked out with bulgur wheat, and fresh vegetables and herbs like mint, onion, and red tomatoes which are a pretty contrast against the green herbs.

Tabbouleh recipes sometimes have other additions too, depending on who is making them. This cauliflower rice tabbouleh salad has no bulgar wheat so it’s a gluten-free and low carb tabbouleh. There’s also the addition of cucumber for a little extra texture

Cauliflower tabbouleh salad

Ingredients

Find the ingredient amounts in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. For this healthy cauliflower tabbouleh salad, you will need –

  • A head of cauliflower. This will become riced cauliflower, and get chopped into tiny pieces. I use a food processor for this but you could use a grater too. When riced it takes on a similar texture to bulgur wheat.
  • Fresh tomatoes – Fresh but firm tomatoes. You could use big tomatoes or cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
  • Green onions – Spring onions give a nice little bite. This can be substituted with chives or finely diced red onion.
  • Cucumber
  • Fresh parsley and fresh mint
  • Lemon juice and zest
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Cauliflower rice

This cauliflower tabbouleh recipe uses cauliflower rice which is simply cauliflower florets that have been blitzed into fine pieces. A box grater works to do this but a food processor is the fastest and makes a better texture than grated cauliflower. You can also add the less tough parts of the cauliflower stalks to the food processor so there’s less food waste.

Once the raw cauliflower has been finely chopped, it’s simmered for 2-3 minutes in boiling water or microwaved until almost tender (but with a little bit of bite remaining.)

cauliflower rice

Step-by-step instructions

Chop the cauliflower florets into chunks. Add them to a food processor and blitz them into coarse bread crumbs. You will need to do this in batches. Alternatively, use a grater.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling, add the cauliflower and simmer for about 3 minutes until just about tender, but still with a little bite. Alternatively, you can steam it in the microwave for around 3 minutes.

Drain the cauliflower and let it cool completely (stirring it as it cools will allow the steam to escape faster.)

Finely chop the tomatoes and the cucumber and place them in a small bowl. Sprinkle them with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and toss to coat. Let them sit for 15 minutes, then drain them. The salt will draw out their excess moisture.

Add the drained tomatoes and cucumber to a large bowl.

Once the cauliflower has cooled completely, add it to the bowl of cucumber and tomatoes.

chopped herbs on cauliflower rice

If you washed your parsley and mint, dry them well with a clean kitchen towel. Use a food processor, pulse parsley, and the mint, or use a sharp knife to chop it really finely. Dice the spring onion. Add this all to the bowl of fresh veggies.

Make the olive oil dressing by whisking together olive oil and fresh lemon juice. Pour this over the salad. Toss to coat. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Storing

Any leftover salad can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

dressing being poured on salad

Substitutions and additions

The cauliflower can be subbed for couscous, bulgar wheat, or quinoa.

A little lemon zest can be added to enhance the lemon flavour.

It’s not traditional (though neither is the cauliflower), but fresh coriander/fresh cilantro is a lovely addition to this salad too!

You can bulk out the salad with other vegetables like finely chopped kale or chard, or chopped peppers. Or add salty cheese like crumbled feta or sauteed halloumi.

Other salad ideas

Here are other salad recipes you might like!

cauliflower salad

Cauliflower Tabbouleh Salad

Yield: 6 people
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes
Cooling time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 48 minutes

A fresh tabbouleh salad that uses cauliflower instead of bulgar wheat.

Ingredients

  • 500g fresh cauliflower
  • 2 medium tomatoes, finely diced, or use cherry tomatoes
  • 1 small-medium cucumber, finely diced
  • 2 spring onions, finely diced
  • 2 packed cups finely chopped parsley (about 3 bunches)
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped mint
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 4 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 - 1 tsp salt
  • Black pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Chop the cauliflower florets into chunks. Add them to a food processor and blitz them into coarse bread crumbs. You will need to do this in batches. Alternatively, use a grater.
  2. Bring a large pot of water to boil add in 1/4 tsp salt. Once boiling, add the cauliflower and simmer for about 3 minutes until just about tender, but still with a little bite. Alternatively, you can steam it in the microwave for around 3 minutes.
  3. Drain the cauliflower and let it cool completely (stirring it as it cools will allow the steam to escape faster.)
  4. Finely chop the tomatoes and the cucumber and place them in a small bowl. Sprinkle them with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and toss to coat. Let them sit for 15 minutes, then drain them. The salt will draw out their excess moisture.
  5. Add the drained tomatoes and cucumber to a salad bowl.
  6. Once the cauliflower has cooled completely, add it to the salad bowl with the cucumber and tomatoes.
  7. If you washed your parsley and mint, dry them well with a clean kitchen towel. Using a knife or a food processor, really finely chop the parsley and the mint. Dice the spring onion. Add this all to the salad bowl.
  8. Whisk together olive oil and fresh lemon juice and pour this over the salad. Toss to coat. Taste, and season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
  9. Any leftover salad can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 177Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 225mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 4gSugar: 16gProtein: 3g

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3 Comments

  1. I’ll try a variation on this as tomatoes and cucumbers aren’t in season here in New Zealand. Coal-fired greenhouses are used. But LOVE cauliflower and never thought to use it in tabbouleh, thanks 😊

  2. Hi Elien I am in Nelson New Zealand. I just want to say thank you for sharing your recipes. The gourmet sourdough crackers recipe is brilliant and the crackers addictive😊as one cannot stop once starting to eat them. I just love your recipes and have made quite a few already. Thanks for sharing and your generosity.

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