All your favourite Middle Eastern tabouli flavours, now in an easy tabouli pasta salad! Combine fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley and mint with pasta and toss it all with fresh lemon juice and olive oil. An easy and incredibly delicious twist on a traditional Lebanese tabouli salad.
Traditional tabouli (or tabbouleh) is a Lebanese vegetarian salad made with bulgur wheat, lots of parsley, fresh mint and chopped tomatoes. It's a lettuce-free salad, with parsley as the main herb. It's often served with falafel or hummus.
But you don't have to make it with bulgar wheat!
For those who can't tolerate gluten, there are alternatives! You can still enjoy all the flavours of this salad by simply substituting something else for the bulgur. Add quinoa instead, as in this recipe for Red Quinoa Tabouli with Pomegranate. Or follow today's recipe and make it a gluten-free tabouli pasta salad instead!
All the flavour, without the gluten. Tabouli with pasta is delicious!
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🛒 Ingredients
This is a very simple recipe with only a handful of ingredients. Before we get to the recipe below, here are a few notes about the ingredients you'll need to make this healthy tabouli pasta salad!
pasta: any type! I use a gluten-free variety made with quinoa and rice in this tabouli pasta salad, but you can use your favourite pasta.
olive oil and sea salt: for tossing the pasta.
tomatoes: the best tabouli salad will have tomatoes that are fully ripe and have lots of flavour. I use sliced mini San Marzano tomatoes or cherry tomatoes.
cucumbers: it's best to slice them lengthwise in half then remove the seeds. A teaspoon works well for this job.
fresh parsley: use either curly parsley or flat Italian parsley. You'll be chopping it finely.
fresh mint: don't leave it out! It adds fabulous, yet subtle flavour to this salad and helps to balance out the flavour of the parsley, which is naturally bitter.
red onion: for a spicy bite! If you red onions too strongly flavoured, chop, soak them in water for 10 - 15 minutes, then drain and add to the salad.
lemon juice: freshly squeezed lemon juice adds a beautiful brightness to this salad.
garlic: just a couple of cloves
🔪 How to make Tabouli Pasta Salad
- Cook the pasta just to the al dente stage, following the directions on the package.
- Drain, rinse under cool running water, then toss with extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt.
- While the pasta is cooking, chop the tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, mint, and onion and mince the garlic cloves.
- Add the pasta to a large bowl, then add all ingredients to the bowl.
- Toss to combine, then add an extra squeeze of lemon juice and some freshly ground black pepper. Serve right away or chill until serving time.
👍🏼 Helpful Tips
You may be tempted to leave out the fresh mint. Denis and I both agreed that the mint really makes this salad stand out as something special! It adds a lot of fresh flavour and balances the natural bitterness of the parsley.
🔁 Possible Variations
Use whatever kind of pasta you like. I chose a gluten-free pasta made with quinoa and rice, but there are many varieties of pasta available, both gluten-free or made with wheat.
Helpful Tip: If you are using gluten-free pasta, it does not sit well, so you will need to toss it with the dressing and serve it right away.
Storage Instructions
Store tightly covered in the fridge. This salad will stay fresh for 3 days or so. You may find that you'd like to add a little extra oil and lemon juice to your leftover salad as the pasta tends to absorb it.
If you've used gluten-free pasta, it tends to turn a little mushy, so you won't enjoy it as leftovers!
🍽 Serving suggestions
This tabouli pasta salad goes well with any Mediterranean meals or with casual meals like burgers. Try it with falafel. I like to serve it with veggie burgers or with:
Open Faced Harissa Chicken Burgers with Yogurt Sauce
🗒More salad recipes
When you make this tabouli salad with pasta, please leave a comment and a star rating below. Thanks in advance! Subscribe to my newsletter and have new recipes delivered straight to your inbox.
📖 Recipe
Easy Tabouli Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried pasta, gluten-free, if necessary
- ¼ cup olive oil, extra virgin
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ½ cups tomatoes
- 1 ½ cups cucumbers, seeded, finely diced
- 1 ½ cups fresh parsley, finely chopped
- ½ cup fresh mint, finely chopped
- ½ cup red onion, finely diced
- 1 med lemon, juice of
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pasta to the al dente stage, following the directions on the package. Drain, rinse under cool running water, then toss with extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt.
- While the pasta is cooking, chop the tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, mint, and onion and mince the garlic cloves.
- Add the pasta to a large bowl, then add all ingredients to the bowl.
- Toss to combine, then add an extra squeeze of lemon juice and some freshly ground black pepper. Serve right away or chill until serving time.
Liz
I agree with the other comments--a good idea to sub in gluten-free pasta for bulgur. I've made this three time so thought I should finally comment and let you know how much we all like it.
Elaine
Thanks Liz! And I appreciate the 5 star rating!
Melissa
Loved this salad! I made it with regular pasta and it was gobbled up!
Delores
Such a great idea to use pasta. I usually make it with quinoa, but I decided to try it. I used a gluten-free fusilli pasta and it turned out really well. You're right--the mint really adds a fresh flavor. Great recipe!
Flavour & Savour
Happy to hear that! Thanks for commenting.