Cauliflower tabbouleh salad is such a flavorful, healthy side dish. A veggie packed version of traditional tabbouleh, but without the grains! Naturally gluten free, vegan, low carb, paleo and Whole30 friendly! This simple salad is great for meal prep or summer cookouts!
Why you will love this recipe:
- Everything you love about traditional tabbouleh! Bright and flavorful, this salad replaces the bulger with cauliflower rice for a lower carb take on a traditional dish!
- You won’t believe how many veggies on in this dish! This cauliflower tabbouleh will quickly become your go to way to get in lots of veggies at once!
- Perfect for meal prep or to make ahead for parties or cookouts! Because this salad doesn’t have any dairy or mayo in it, it is great for summer cookouts! The flavors are great the next day (up to 3 days later).
- Pairs perfectly with greek chicken, chickpeas, or grilled shrimp for a super simple weeknight dinner idea!
Ingredients:
- Riced cauliflower (fresh is best)
- Bell peppers
- Cucumber
- Tomatoes
- Flat leaf parsley
- Fresh mint (optional)
- Lemon juice
- Salt
- Garlic powder
Instructions:
Rice the cauliflower using a food processor or a box grater.
Preheat a large skillet over a medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, spray with non-stick and add the cauliflower rice.
Cover and cook the cauliflower rice over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While the cauliflower is cooking chop the bell peppers and cucumber.
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Finely chop the parsley and mint. The finer you chop the fresh herbs the easier they are to distribute throughout the dish.
Once the cauliflower is done cooking, add it to a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well.
Serve room temperature or cold.
What is tabbouleh
Tabbouleh is a traditional middle eastern salad that is made with chopped herbs, lemon juice and veggies all mixed together with bulger. The traditional recipe is not gluten free or low carb friendly, but it is super flavorful and one of my favorite summer dishes.
I wanted to find a way to serve this salad that would be just as delicious but also gluten free and could easily fit into my day whether I was eating low carb or not. Adding riced cauliflower is the perfect way to get the same texture without any of the gluten!
Other mix ins:
- Red onion
- Capers
- Olives
- Pepperoncini peppers
- Avocado (only if going to eat right away)
- Chickpeas or white beans (not paleo or Whole30)
- Broccoli crowns or broccoli rice
- Spinach or kale
How to make cauliflower rice
Cauliflower rice can be bought at most grocery stores now. You can often find it in the fresh and frozen sections of most grocery stores.
I find that the fresh cauliflower rice sold in grocery stores can spoil quickly and is often cut into larger chunks than you want for this cauliflower tabbouleh recipe.
Frozen cauliflower rice can be used for this recipe, however I find that fresh cauliflower that was riced at home is my favorite way to enjoy this dish.
To make cauliflower rice at home you can use a food processor or a box grater.
- Food processor: Chop the florets off the main stalk of the cauliflower and cut the florets down into smaller pieces (to fit in the food processor).
- Add the cauliflower florets to the food processor (about ½ a head at a time), process on high for 30 seconds or so until the cauliflower resembles rice.
- Repeat with the second half. Store in the fridge up to 2 days.
- Box grater: Keep the cauliflower intact with the stalk and simply grate it with the box grater like you would a piece of cheese. Move the cauliflower around so you can get the entire head grated. You don’t want to grate the stalk though.
- Store in the fridge up to 2 days.
Why cook the cauliflower:
I really enjoy the flavor of the cauliflower rice being slightly toasted and steamed before adding it to the salad. Fresh cauliflower is often a little overpowering and tough to chew.
Cooking the cauliflower on the stove gives it a texture that resembles the bulger in the traditional recipe.
If you are making this recipe with frozen cauliflower rice, you don’t need to cover the saute pan while cooking, as you want the water to evaporate off as it cooks.
Storage:
Store the cauliflower tabbouleh in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Substitutions:
Lemon juice: Red wine vinegar can replace the lemon juice, but lemon juice is the best option for the traditional tabbouleh flavors.
Flat leaf parsley: I do not like curly parsley but it is what is in traditional tabbouleh. If you cannot find flat leaf parsley, you can look for curly parsley.
If you love this recipe, you should try:
- Spring asparagus salad
- Shaved brussels salad with balsamic tahini
- Crunchy broccoli salad with lemon tahini dressing
- Kale brussel sprouts salad with cranberries
What you need to make this recipe:
- Food processor
- Cast iron skillet
Cauliflower Tabbouleh
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower – riced
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 cup chopped english cucumber
- 1/2 cup tomatoes – chopped
- 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley – chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh mint (chopped) – optional
- 2 Lemons – juiced
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Rice the cauliflower using the food processor or a box grater. See below for tips!
- Preheat a cast iron or stainless steel skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the riced cauliflower to the skillet and cook 5-7 minutes with a lid over the skillet.
- While the cauliflower rice is cooking,, chop all veggies and add to bowl.
- After cauliflower rice is done cooking, add it to the bowl with the rest of the veggies. Add the lemon juice, salt and garlic powder. Stir to combine.
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Notes
- Food processor: Chop the florets off the main stalk of the cauliflower and cut the florets down into smaller pieces (to fit in the food processor).
- Add the cauliflower florets to the food processor (about ½ a head at a time), process on high for 30 seconds or so until the cauliflower resembles rice.
- Repeat with the second half. Store in the fridge up to 2 days.
- Box grater: Keep the cauliflower intact with the stalk and simply grate it with the box grater like you would a piece of cheese. Move the cauliflower around so you can get the entire head grated. You don’t want to grate the stalk though.
- Store in the fridge up to 2 days.
- Red onion
- Capers
- Olives
- Pepepperoncini peppers
- Avocado (only if going to eat right away)
- Chickpeas or white beans (not paleo or Whole30)
- Broccoli crowns or broccoli rice
- Spinach or kale
Nutrition Information
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Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in March of 2015, but was published again in April 2020 to include step by step directions, recipe notes and new photos.
RFC
Pinning! We eat tabbouleh often, this recipe looks fantastic. Thank you for sharing!
Alyssa @ Renaissancerunnergirl
Looks like a perfect spring dish for an outdoor meal! If only the sun would come out to make said meal possible…
Thalia @ butter and brioche
I love tabbouleh but never tried a cauliflower version before. This is definitely a recipe I need to make.
Sue @ This Mama Runs for Cupcakes
I haven’t experimented a whole lot with cauliflower yet. I’ve made a pizza crust with it that was delicious but this sounds awesome! Definitely will be trying this out!
Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment
Looks great! Cauliflower is such a versatile vegetable.
Sam
Thanks Lauren – wish I could find that green or purple cauliflower you mentioned around St. Patricks Day!
Nicole Keener
Wow this is such a bright dish and makes me want to dig in right away.
Sam
Thanks Nicole – I just crave colorful food now that it’s getting warmer!
Kelsey @ Snacking Squirrel
looks just like the real thing and you got that from cauliflower! how cool!
Sam
Haha I know It’s seriously so good too! Who would have know cauliflower was so versatile!
Kathryn @ Dancing to Running
This looks delicious! I’ll be showing this recipe to my husband tonight.
Sam
Oh yay! Hope the hubby is just as excited!!
Farrah
I love how pretty + colorful this dish is! It’s perfect for spring! I’ve tried tabbouleh before, but haven’t ever attempted to make it. :O
Sam
Colorful food makes me so happy! I’m so excited it’s getting warm again!
Jessica Holoka
Oh my goodness! This sounds SO good! I tend to have cauliflower in my fridge a lot. I’ll have to think about making this the next time I buy cauliflower. Pinning!
Sam
Oh yay! I hope you enjoy it!
Margo
Okay–I need to figure out a way to get you out to Brooklyn so you can show me how to cook. Love this idea!!!
Sam
Margo, that sounds lovely! Blogger meet up/cooking lessons – I love it!!
Jess @hellotofit
I’m weird, and have to be in the mood for tabouleh. This recipe looks great!! My favorite substitution was quinoa for rice when doing fried rice. Pretty close to the real thing!!
Sam
Oh I just adore quinoa!! I haven’t tried it as fried rice though – that certainly needs to change!
Annmarie Licatese
Um this is amazing! I grew up eating tabbouleh and have made it GF with quinoa but never thought of cauliflower! Genius!
Sam
Thanks Annmarie :)
Krayl @ An Appealing Plan
I know what I am making this weekend! We are hosting a BBQ and this will be a great option as a veggie side! SO fresh looking.
Sam
Krayl, this will be a hit for sure!! Enjoy it :)
Elle
Nice. I have been enjoying Cauliflower Rice and Caulifower Tabouleh for some time now too. I find that cauliflower is a great sub for lots of things… tortillas, flatbreads, pizza crust..
Sam
Elle I still need to make tortillas, do you have a recipe?
Maureen
Cauliflower rice is the best! I love that it packs a nutritional punch! :) What a delicious dish you created.
Sam
Maureen I just love cauliflower! I love how versatile it is!! Thanks for the kind words!!
Elsie @ Sharing Healthiness
Haha! I love it! Tabbouleh just makes cauliflower rice sound so fancy! I have had regular tabbouleh before and I love middle eastern cuisine. I would add some eggplant and top it off with hummus! :)
Susie @ SuzLyfe
I ADORE tabbouleh, I adore cauliflower, and this is just freaking genius!
Sam
It’s Suz approved! Love it!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Way to make tabbouleh even better! WOOO cauliflower rice!
Jen @ pretty little grub
Cauliflower definitely seems to be the it vegetable lately. I just can’t stand the stuff. Interesting recipe but not for me. ha ha.
Kate @KateMovingForward
I’ve never heard of tabbouleh before, but cauliflower is one of the veggies I’m making myself try again and eat more of this year!
AJ @ NutriFitMama
I have not tried tabouleh before. This looks great though- I love cauliflower (but not the way it smells when cooking!)
Alli Smith
I’ve never been overly fond of tabbouleh, but I love cauliflower so I know I’d love your version. It looks so bright and delicious! Pinning and will be making it soon!
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner
We have been all over cauliflower rice dishes over here the past few weeks. Creative take on it!
Susan Mahlburg
I absolutely love recipes that incorporate cauliflower in interesting ways! My husband and I tried a cauliflower pizza for our daughter a few years ago (where you puree cauliflower to make the crust), and it’s one of her favorite meals.