Cauliflower Tabbouleh

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.

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

★ Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!

Cauliflower Tabbouleh

Cauliflower tabbouleh salad is the perfect healthy side dish! This low carb recipe is packed with flavor and so easy to make! Naturally gluten free, vegan, paleo and Whole30 friendly, this keto version of tabbouleh has all the flavor and less carbs than the traditional recipe! Perfect for cookouts or meal prep!

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cauliflower tabbouleh, low carb cauliflower tabbouleh

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

Total Time: 35 mins

Servings: 4

Author: Samantha Rowland

Guided 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.

Notes

How to make cauliflower rice:

• 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.

Other Mix-Ins:

• 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

Can you use frozen cauliflower rice? 

Yes! Cook the cauliflower the same way except don’t cover the cauliflower while cooking. 

See how I calculate food cost.

Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts

Amount per Serving

Calories

81

Fat

 

1

g

Carbohydrates

 

18

g

Fiber

 

6

g

Sugar

 

6

g

Protein

 

5

g

Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database.

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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.