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Cauliflower Tabbouleh is a refreshing summer salad featuring fresh herbs and a bright lemon dressing. It’s a delicious alternative to the traditional version!
Featuring cauliflower rice instead of bulgur wheat, this tabbouleh recipe is a fun twist on this popular Middle Eastern salad. It’s gluten-free, grain-free, low-carb, and loaded with nutrients!
It’s the perfect dish when you’re serving hummus and falafel, but can also act as the base for your favorite protein, too.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Just like traditional tabbouleh, you’ll need flat-leaf parsley, mint, tomatoes, garlic, cucumber, and green onions. Tossed with a simple combination of olive oil and lemon juice, this cauliflower tabbouleh salad is perfect for a summer meal.
If you have other veggies on hand, you could easily swap red onion for green ones, or use grape tomatoes for a slightly sweeter flavor. It’s easy to taste and customize as you go!
The traditional salad typically uses a higher ratio of parsley, so feel free to add even more if you love it. This recipe is dairy-free and vegan as written, but you can also add any extras you love, like a sprinkle of feta cheese on top.
How to Make Cauliflower Tabbouleh
To prepare the cauliflower rice, add the chopped cauliflower florets to a 12-cup food processor fitted with an S blade.
Secure the lid and pulse the machine several times, until the cauliflower has a crumbly texture.
In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, fresh lemon juice (and the lemon zest, if you like), garlic, salt, and black pepper.
Add in the pulsed cauliflower, chopped cucumber, tomatoes, green onion, parsley, and minced mint leaves. Stir well so everything is well coated, then adjust the seasoning to taste.
You can serve this salad right away or let it marinate in the fridge before serving. It can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Detoxinista Tip
This is not the best option to pack for lunch if you plan on eating at your desk in a shared office space. Your co-workers may not appreciate the pungent smell of raw cauliflower and garlic!
Looking for more cauliflower recipes? Try my famous Cauliflower Pizza, dairy-free Cauliflower Soup, or Buffalo Cauliflower Wings for more delicious ideas.
Ingredients
- 1 pound cauliflower florets
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt , plus more to taste
- 1 cucumber , chopped
- 1 large tomato , chopped (see notes)
- 3 green onions , chopped
- 1 cup fresh parsley , finely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh mint , chopped
Instructions
- Add the cauliflower to a food processor fitted with an "S" blade. Secure the lid and process briefly, just until the cauliflower looks crumbly and resembles rice. Set it aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt. Then pour in the riced cauliflower, cucumber, tomato, green onion, parsley, and fresh mint. Stir well so everything is well coated in the dressing.
- Taste the mixture and season with additional salt or lemon juice, as needed. (I usually add another ½ teaspoon of salt, but this will vary depending on the size of your veggies.)
- Serve this salad right away, or let it marinate in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep well for up to 5 days in the fridge and pairs perfectly with hummus, falafel, and more.
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this Cauliflower tabbouleh recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it.
Hey just noticed that you are breast feeding just a heads up, parsley can mess with your milk supply. I was eating a ton of it in smoothies and ended up almost loosing my supply. I’m good now but I had to stop eating it in such large amounts.
I love Tabouli! How awesome that this doesn’t have any grains in it. I’ll have to give it a try with all my parsley and cherry tomatoes from the garden!
I made this last night for dinner, and loved it so much that I had it for lunch! It was even better today!
I tried this recipe for dinner, and loved it! I added some apple cider vinegar, and did minced red peppers instead of tomatoes. Looking forward to using it in a seaweed wrap 🙂
Sounds wonderful and refreshing!
I’m going to try this over the weekend. Thanks!
Lorrie
This looks like a fabulous salad! What a nice way to savor the end of summer with these beautiful vibrant colors and light, refreshing flavors. Thank you for sharing this with us!
Thank you very much for sharing this receipe. Weather is now rainy in France and we need sun in the plate! The final touch with the hummus sounds great! And as we say in France: “toutes mes félicitations pour ce nouveau bonheur” (let you translate 😉 )