Caffeine Free Vegan Fresh Freekeh Cucumber Salad
Freekeh — roasted young wheat with a distinctly smoky, nutty depth — is the kind of grain that makes a salad feel genuinely satisfying rather than just virtuous. Once it's cooked and cooled, it gets tossed with crisp English cucumber, juicy cherry tomatoes, fresh mint, parsley, and scallion greens for a bowl that's bright, herby, and full of contrasting textures. The dressing is a simple shake of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and ground cumin — nothing hidden, nothing processed, just clean flavors that let the ingredients do the talking. A handful of pomegranate seeds scattered over the top adds little bursts of sweetness and a gorgeous pop of color if you want to take it up a notch. Every single ingredient here is naturally free of caffeine, so there's no label-reading required and no swapping anything out. It works beautifully as a make-ahead lunch, a side dish at a summer gathering, or a light dinner on its own — and it only gets better as it sits and the dressing soaks into the grain.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the freekeh
- 1 cup whole-grain freekeh, rinsed
- 2 cups water
- ¼ tsp salt
For the salad
- 1 english cucumber, diced (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3 scallions (green tops only), thinly sliced
- ½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
For the dressing
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from about 1 ½ lemons)
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
For serving
- ¼ cup pomegranate seeds (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the rinsed freekeh, water, and 1/4 tsp salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the freekeh is tender and has absorbed all the liquid, about 20–22 minutes.
- 2
Remove the pan from the heat and let the freekeh steam, covered, for 5 minutes. Spread it onto a large mixing bowl or sheet pan and let it cool for at least 10 minutes, until no longer steaming.
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