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Close up of parsley and herb Tabouleh White Bean salad with a lemon wedge and mint leaves on the side.

Tabbouleh Inspired Herb and White Bean Salad

Healthy, bright, refreshing, this salad does it all. It is the perfect side to grilled meats, crispy halloumi cheese, or part of a hummus spread. Replacing the bulgur wheat with white beans makes this gluten friendly.
Course Salad
Cuisine Levantine
Keyword lemon juice, mint, parsley, scallions, white beans
Prep Time 30 minutes
Chilling 1 hour
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 1 large can of white or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed well.
  • 3-4 medium Roma tomatoes, remove the seeds and jelly membrane portion, small dice of the flesh
  • 3-4 scallions, small diced
  • 3-4 radishes, diced
  • 2-3 big bunches of parsley, finely chopped (by hand or food processor) Use as much as you want, you don't need to use all three bunches if you want other herbs to shine as well. See Notes
  • 1 large bunch of mint, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp minced dill
  • 2 tbsp mixed minced fresh herbs like basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, purslane, optional
  • 2/3 cup good quality olive oil, plus more for serving
  • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more for serving
  • 1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper, plus more to taste

Instructions

  1. Make sure the beans are well drained and rinsed, letting all excess liquid drain through a mesh sieve. Place in a large bowl. Make sure the parsley is also dried well (using a salad spinner before chopping works wonders)
  2. Add the tomatoes, scallions, radishes, parsley, mint, dill and other herbs if using, and toss.
  3. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss again. Taste to see if you want to add more seasoning. Cover with cling wrap or lid, and store in the fridge until ready to serve.
  4. Make sure to dry the parsley well before chopping. It will help the tabbouleh keep longer in the fridge.

  5. This salad will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. If making the salad in advance, prepare everything and store in the fridge till needed, but only add the tomatoes before serving. This will keep them fresh. When serving drizzle with more olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.

  6. See blog post for more details.

Recipe Notes

Making sure that the beans and parsley are well dried before making the salad will keep the salad bright and crisp, even in the fridge for a few days. If you ever find a tabbouleh salad bitter, it is more than likely that the parsley wasn't chopped fine enough.  So don't rush chopping by hand. If using the food processor, don't break them down to the point of making a paste though.

If you want to feel like summer in the middle of winter, use cherry tomatoes instead of Roma tomatoes, they will have more flavour than more mealy, out of season tomatoes.
This salad will easily feed 8 people, but you can reduce everything to feed 4. I would just swap out the large can of beans for a small one.

Even though this salad is traditionally made with bulgur wheat, it can be made with couscous or quinoa.
To make with bulgur wheat:
1½ cup fine bulgur wheat
1 cup of boiling water or chicken stock
1/4 tsp salt
Place the bulgur in a mesh strainer. Rinse it under cold running water.
Place it in a medium bowl and combine it with the water and salt. Cover with cling wrap or a plate and let it sit for 10- 15 minutes, until it has absorbed all or most of the water. If you are using coarser bulgur wheat, it may need to soak for 20- 30 minutes. Taste it and make sure is al dente tender. If it's not, add a little more boiling water. When ready, drain away any excess liquid through a mesh strainer.
You can use the same method for couscous, but it will only require 5-7 minutes of soaking to soften. Fluff with a fork and add to the bowl instead of the beans.