This Bulgur Salad is a powerhouse recipe — packed with so much texture and flavor! Cooked and cooled bulgur wheat gets tossed with crisp cucumbers, sweet bell pepper, dried apricots, salty pistachios, and a vibrant herb blend. The fresh lemon-mint dressing finished everything off beautifully!
What Is Bulgur Salad?
It’s a salad with the base consisting of bulgur wheat instead of lettuce greens! Bulgur is a whole grain; the flavor is light and nutty. It ranges from fine to extra course. Texturally, we have found the fine bulgur to be fairly reminiscent of small couscous.
Bulgur Salad Recipes To Love!
We’ve been hooked on this Tabouli recipe for months now (ever since our trip to Dubai, it’s on the menu a few times a month!).
And after making this Jennifer Aniston Salad with quinoa, I also made it a few times with bulgur wheat. That inspired me to make a couple different versions of Bulgur Salad. So, this very recipe and this Blueberry Corn Salad have joined the ranks. Have you tried any of these yet?!
There’s nothing exotic about bulgur, but it seems very few people know much about it and I’m on a mission to change that. Not only is it so easy to prepare (more on this later), but it’s downright delicious and delivers nutritional benefits to boot!
How To Cook Bulgur Wheat For Salad
Bulgur is par-boiled wheat that is dried to make a quick-to-fix grain. There are different varieties, mainly varying in coarseness of the grind. We like fine bulgur best — not only does it make for the best texture in this salad, but it’s also so easy to prepare.
In fact, all you need to do is pour boiling water over it and let it stand — no stovetop babysitting!
Fine bulgur wheat can be a hard ingredient to find in grocery store, so it’s typically something I order online. You can sometimes find it (depending) in the baking or international sections or in the area where packaged grain mixes are.
Quick Tip
Unable to find bulgur? Use cooked and cooled quinoa or small couscous instead in this salad!
How To Prepare Bulgur Wheat For Salad
Once the bulgur is softened, let it fully cool before adding to the salad.
If you’re in a hurry, pop it in the fridge (or even the freezer). We love preparing the bulgur a day before — it makes the salad come together so much quicker!
How To Make Bulgur Salad
After preparing the bulgur, it’s all about tossing together all the other salad ingredients and drizzling the most irresistible lemon-mint vinaigrette on top.
Here are a few recipe tips:
- For the dressing, we love zesting the lemons with a microplane and then juicing them with this citrus juicer.
- Use a small, powerful blender to quickly prepare this dressing. We love this mini “Twister” jar for all sauces and dressing!
- Regular cucumbers don’t work as well since they don’t have enough flavor and are too watery. (Stick to English/Persian cucumbers, which are sometimes labeled as mini/salad cucumbers.)
- Save time (and your fingers!) by purchasing shelled pistachios. We love roasted and lightly salted pistachios best — more flavor without any extra effort on your part. (Here’s what we use in this salad).
- If you don’t have access to fresh-from-the-garden mint, a single .75 oz. packet is the perfect amount for this salad and dressing!
Storage
Storage
This salad will stay fresh in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Keep in mind that bulgur will continue to absorb the dressing, so before enjoying, make sure to give the leftover salad a good stir and taste to see if it needs more seasoning or another squeeze of lemon.
This salad doesn’t freeze or thaw well.
Bulgur Salad FAQs
What is the difference between bulgur and tabbouleh?
Tabbouleh (or tabouli) is a Middle Eastern salad with finely chopped herbs, tomatoes, and bulgur. Bulgur, a nutty whole grain, is made from pre-cooked, dried, and ground wheat groats and is a key ingredient in tabouli.
Do you have to pre-soak bulgur?
You don’t need to soak or wash bulgur before cooking. Simply soak it in boiling water to cook and soften the grains!
Is bulgur a carb or protein?
Bulgur is a carbohydrate and is actually one of the lowest-carb whole grains available.
Quick Tip
Want to make a meal out of this Bulgur Salad? Prepare this Italian Chicken Marinade or Blackened Chicken and serve atop or on the side.
More Salad Recipes:
- Quinoa Salad with avocados, tomatoes, and cucumber
- Tuna Nicoise Salad with an irresistible lemon vinaigrette
- Lentil Salad with sun-dried tomatoes and cucumbers
- Chickpea Salad with couscous
- Peach Salad with a balsamic vinaigrette
Bulgur Salad
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup fine bulgur wheat see note 1
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 2 cups diced cucumber see note 2
- 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
- 1/2 cup chopped pistachios see note 3
- 1 (0.75-ounce) packet fresh mint leaves divided
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
Dressing
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 lemons
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
- 1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Zest lemons with a zester to get 1 teaspoon zest. Juice the lemon using a citrus juicer to get 1/3 cup lemon juice. Set aside.
- Boil 1-1/4 cups of water in a small pot. In a large bowl, combine bulgur with 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Pour the boiling water over the bulgur, stir, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let it sit for 15–25 minutes until the water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and cool to room temperature. If you're short on time, you can chill it in the fridge. This step can also be done a day in advance for easier salad assembly.
- In a small blender or food processor, add 1/4 cup packed mint, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, honey, Dijon-style mustard, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Blend just until smooth. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.
- To the cooled bulgur, add red pepper, cucumbers, dried apricots, parsley, green onions, and pistachios and mix. Chop about 1/2 cup of mint and mix it in. Drizzle on half of the dressing and gently toss. Add the remaining dressing to taste—I'm a fan of using it all. If you have time, chill the salad for 15–20 minutes. Just before serving, toss again and add optional feta cheese.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
