This gluten free raw tabouli salad is for anyone who despises burghul (steamed wheat groats) in their tabouli. Or for anyone who is gluten free or raw vegan. Or anyone who just wants a super fresh, crispy clean version of the traditional tabouli (tabouleh… tabbouleh??)!
Although I can understand the benefits of raw food diets, I don’t think being 100% raw is something that works for me personally. But I do try to eat plenty of raw foods – especially during the day. And every once in a while I will do a week or two of fully (or 95%) raw foods to detox my body.
Normally when I make this tabouli salad, I use quinoa rather than burghul, which makes it gluten free, but not raw.
So on my most recent raw detox I used cauliflower rice instead of the grain and it was mind-blowingly good! The cauli rice brings that bit of added nutrition and crunch.
It also happens that I have truckloads of both parsley and mint growing in my garden, as well as cucumbers, tomatoes and spring onions. So needless to say, with fresh-from-the-garden ingredients on tap, I can’t get enough of this salad right now! A true garden salad.
How to Make Cauliflower Rice
As mentioned, this raw tabouli recipe uses raw cauliflower ‘rice’ instead of a grain. If you’ve never made cauli rice before, you just need a food processor (ideally) or blender.
You cut the cauliflower into chunks and then in a processor, pulse until it reaches a rice-like consistency. You can leave it a little chunkier or pulse for longer to make it finer, depending on your preference. The chunkier it is, the more crunch it has in the salad.
If you are using a blender, chop the cauliflower into smaller chunks (no bigger than 2-3cm) and add only 5-6 chunks at a time to the blender. Pulse until it reaches the right consistency then empty it into a bowl and repeat with remaining cauliflower. This is to ensure that the cauliflower on the bottom doesn’t blend to a pulp while the stuff on top stays whole – which is more likely to happen in a blender.
If you have neither a blender or food processor, you can always just very finely dice the cauliflower by hand!
How to Make Raw Tabouli
Along with the cauliflower rice, all you need to chop for this salad is:
- Fresh parsley (flat leaf or curly, whichever you prefer)
- Fresh mint
- Spring onion
- Fresh tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes)
Then you can optionally add some hemp seeds. Highly recommended. I put hemp seeds on just about everything. They’re so nutritious and easy to chuck on/in things for some added omega goodness!
I make most of my salad dressings in a jam jar, and this tabouli salad dressing is no exception. For this one, nothing but fresh lemon juice, a little olive oil and salt & pepper go into the jar. Give it a little shakey shakey then toss it through the salad and you’re good to go.
So fresh, delicious and healthy! The recipe makes 1 large salad for one, or 3-4 serves as a side salad. It makes a great accompaniment to a main meal.
Trust me friends, this raw vegan tabouli is SO much yummier than the tabouli you get on a kebab (ick!)… promise 😉
with cauliflower rice and hemp seeds!
- 200 grams raw cauliflower chopped into 2-4cm florets
- 2 cups parsley leaves loosely packed
- 1 cup mint leaves loosely packed
- 1 large fresh tomato (or equivalent in smaller ones)
- 1 small cucumber
- 2 tbsp hemp seeds (optional)
- 2 sticks spring onion
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp good salt
- pepper to taste
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Add the cauliflower to food processor and process to a 'rice-like' consistency. Leave it a little larger for a crunchier salad or smaller for a finer texture. See notes above if using a blender to make the cauliflower rice. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
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Finely chop the herbs, dice the tomato and cucumber and add them to the cauliflower rice. Add the hemp seeds (if using) and toss it all together.
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Add all the dressing ingredients to a small jar and shake well. Drizzle over the salad and toss well before transferring to a serving bowl. Enjoy!
8 Comments
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This raw tabouli salad is very uplifting and full of nutrition! I love all of the fresh ingredients used. I love adding hemp seeds to just about everything as well. Such an awesome superfood!
I know, how good are they! 🙂
Yum! This salad sound so delicious!
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Love your cauliflower take on tabouli and the added hemp seeds. It sounds full of vitality and freshness. Yum.
This salad was so easy to make and tastes amazing. You really can’t tell there is no bulgur.
Glad you liked it Julie 🙂
Awesome, so happy you enjoyed it!