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With fresh herbs, chopped vegetables and chickpeas, this Mediterranean bulgur salad is like a bulked-up tabbouleh. Hearty enough to serve on its own or as a healthy side for grilled meats or fish.
Made with nutty bulgur, fresh herbs, chopped vegetables, and buttery chickpeas, this Mediterranean bulgur salad recipe is hearty, healthy, and full of flavor. I like to make it over the weekend and keep it in the fridge for easy lunches over the next couple of days.
In addition to being delicious, bulgur is packed with fiber and protein, rich in vitamins and minerals, and low in fat and calories. You can usually find it near the pasta, rice, or hot cereal at most grocery stores—or in the bulk bins if your store has them.
“I love this salad! Perfectly balanced and great for easy meal prep!”
What You’ll Need To Make Mediterranean Bulgur Salad
- Medium-grind bulgur: The hearty base of the salad. Bulgur is made from whole wheat kernels that have been parboiled, dried, and cracked, which is why it softens with a simple soak in boiling water. Make sure to use medium-grind (#2) bulgur. The grind matters: coarse and extra-coarse bulgur may need stovetop cooking, so they aren’t direct substitutes for this soaking method. Look for bulgur near the rice, pasta, or hot cereal at the grocery store, or check the bulk bins.
- Chickpeas: Add creaminess, protein, and make the salad feel more like a meal.
- Red bell pepper, cucumber & red onion: This veggie trio brings color, crunch, and freshness.
- Fresh dill & parsley: Lots of fresh herbs give the salad a bright, clean flavor.
- Lemon juice, olive oil & garlic: The base of the dressing; bright, rich, and full of flavor.
- Cumin, sugar, salt & black pepper: A simple spice blend that adds warmth, balance, and just the right amount of seasoning.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Cook the bulgur: Start by putting the bulgur in a medium bowl with ½ teaspoon of salt. Pour 1¼ cups of boiling water over it, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it sit for about 30 minutes. The bulgur will soak up the water and become tender as it steams.
Soak the onion: While the bulgur soaks, I like to soak the red onion in cold water and then drain to remove the sharp raw onion taste. This is totally optional; if you like the sharpness of raw onions, you can skip this step.
Make the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, sugar, pepper, and remaining teaspoon of salt.
Finish the salad: Add the cooled bulgur, onion, bell pepper, cucumber, dill, parsley, and chickpeas.
Toss and chill: Toss well, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Chill the bulgur salad until ready to serve.
Make-ahead & storage instructions
This Mediterranean bulgur salad is a great make-ahead dish because the flavors improve as it sits. You can prepare it up to 2 days in advance and store it in a covered container in the refrigerator. Before serving, give it a good toss and taste for seasoning. The bulgur may absorb some of the dressing as it sits, so a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil can help freshen it up. Serve the salad cold, or let it sit at room temperature for about 15 to 20 minutes to take the chill off.
Mediterranean Bulgur Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup medium-grind (#2) bulgur
- 1½ teaspoons salt, divided
- ⅓ cup diced red onion
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, from 2 lemons
- 1 large clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 small English (or hothouse) cucumber, seeded and diced
- ½ cup finely chopped fresh dill
- ⅓ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 (15-oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Place the bulgur in a large bowl with ½ teaspoon salt and 1¼ cups (300 ml) boiling water.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let sit for 15 to 30 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed. Let cool, then fluff with a fork.
- Meanwhile, to soften the bite of the raw onions, place them in a small bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit for ten minutes, and then drain. (Feel free to skip this step if you don't mind the strong taste of raw onions.)
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, sugar, pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt.
- Add the cooled bulgur, onion, bell pepper, cucumber, dill, parsley, and chickpeas. Toss well, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Chill until ready to serve.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
What to serve with Mediterranean Bulgur Salad
With chickpeas and plenty of vegetables, this salad makes a satisfying lunch on its own. For dinner, serve it alongside Middle Eastern chicken kabobs or pan-seared salmon—the lemon and fresh herbs work beautifully with either. Add a bowl of hummus and warm pita for passing around the table.
More Mediterranean Salad Recipes You May Like
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I have not made this yet in fact, but I know your recipe are well tested thus know it’s going to be delicious!
However, I only have fine bulgur. Do you think it would still work or do you have another recipe you recommend to use fine bulgur in?
I used it previously for Tabbouleh and it was just fine!
Cheers!
So glad you like the recipes! Fine bulgur will work here – just follow the cooking instructions on the package. Enjoy!
Amazing! So fresh and delicious! Added more salt because…:
I’ve made this recipe so many times, always a hit! Thanks 🙂
Excellent Receipe
Taste is excellent. However, nutrition information is suboptimal (>1000 mg sodium per serving?!). Too many calories per serving (336 kcal) for a simple healthy salad; basically does not leave room for anything else in the meal as written. I modified it to have 1/4 tsp salt in the dressing only (and that was all the salt I used in the whole recipe) and 1 Tbsp oil + 3 Tbsp water added to the lemon juice for 1/4 (25%) of the fat of the recipe. It turned out great that way. Still had excellent flavor.
This was very good, But I found it needed quite a lot more dressing after sitting in the fridge a couple hours. The bulgar soaked up basically all the dressing.
Balanced, delicious.
May add feta cheese, and cherry tomato halves.
Delicious and nutritious. However, it’s better with more dressing, especially more lemon juice.
Love the sound of this recipe. I’m not the biggest fan of cumin however. I don’t hate it, but sometimes it’s just way too overpowering for me. Will just a few sprinkles of it alter the flavor too much?
Hi Sofia, that should be fine, or if you’d like to replace it, a good substitute would be ground coriander (it has a softer, slightly citrusy flavor that blends in without taking over). You could also use a small amount of paprika for warmth without the earthy cumin note.
I used 3 small green onion. garlic powder, and onion powder because I am lazy. I decreased the dill slightly because I only had a little. This will be in the rotation. Yum!! Even my true love liked it.