Beef Free Cauliflower Tabbouleh
Bright, herby, and packed with fresh vegetables, this cauliflower tabbouleh delivers everything you love about the classic Levantine salad — just with riced cauliflower standing in for bulgur wheat. The food processor does the heavy lifting, breaking the florets down into tender little pieces that soak up the lemony, cumin-spiced dressing beautifully. A generous heap of flat-leaf parsley and fresh mint keeps things vibrant and aromatic, while crisp cucumber and juicy Roma tomatoes add satisfying texture in every bite. Draining the riced cauliflower before mixing is the key move here — it keeps the salad from turning watery and lets the dressing cling to every piece. The turmeric gives the whole bowl a gorgeous golden warmth, and a handful of pomegranate arils scattered on top makes it look as impressive as it tastes. This is the kind of dish that works equally well as a light lunch, a crowd-pleasing side, or something you meal-prep on a Sunday and snack on all week.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
- 1 small head cauliflower (about 1 ½ lb), cut into florets
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- 2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems, finely chopped
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
- 1 english cucumber, finely diced
- 2 medium roma tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
- 3 scallions (green tops only), thinly sliced
For the dressing
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from about 1 ½ lemons)
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
For serving
- ¼ cup pomegranate arils (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Working in two batches, pulse the cauliflower florets in a food processor until broken down into pieces roughly the size of couscous, about 8–10 short pulses per batch. Do not over-process — stop when the pieces are uniform and no large chunks remain.
- 2
Transfer the riced cauliflower to a fine-mesh strainer or a clean kitchen towel. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt, toss to combine, and let it drain for 10 minutes, then press or squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
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