Cinnamon Free Gluten Free Quinoa Tabbouleh
This bright, herb-forward grain salad is everything a great tabbouleh should be — fresh, vibrant, and packed with flavor from mountains of flat-leaf parsley, cool cucumber, juicy tomato, and a zippy lemon-olive oil dressing. Quinoa steps in as the grain base here, bringing a light, fluffy texture and a subtle nuttiness that pairs beautifully with all those chopped herbs. The entire dressing is built from lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and black pepper, so every single ingredient is completely transparent — no spice blends, no hidden seasonings, no surprises. For anyone navigating a sensitivity to warming spices, this kind of clean, straightforward recipe is genuinely hard to find in the grain salad category. Cooling the quinoa before tossing everything together is the small but important step that keeps the herbs bright green and the vegetables crisp rather than wilted. It comes together with minimal cooking and a lot of chopping, making it an ideal make-ahead dish for lunches or a refreshing side at the dinner table.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the quinoa
- ½ cup white quinoa
- 1 cup water
- ¼ tsp salt
For the salad
- 2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (about 2 large bunches)
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
- 1 medium english cucumber, finely diced
- 4 scallions (green tops only), thinly sliced
For the dressing
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon)
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- 1
Rinse the quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer under cold running water for 30 seconds, then drain well. Combine the rinsed quinoa, 1 cup water, and 1/4 tsp salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the water is fully absorbed and the quinoa tails have unfurled, about 12–14 minutes.
- 2
Remove the saucepan from the heat, uncover, and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Spread it in a thin layer on a large plate or sheet pan and let it cool to room temperature, about 20–30 minutes.
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