Original Article Published – 8/17/2021

Blueberry Quinoa Tabbouleh

I love this Blueberry Quinoa Tabbouleh because I love me some Meze! Think about a meal with this Quinoa Blueberry Tabbouleh, some Baba Ghanoush, hummus, and pita. How scrumptious. Toss in some veggie dippers like carrot sticks, peppers, and cucumbers, and you’ve got a uber-veggie meze party!

This Quinoa Blueberry Tabbouleh is perfect for Meze, a side dish to pair with a weeknight meal, or as a scrumptious side for a party!

Some Tabbouleh Background

Tabbouleh is a beautiful and colorful salad that can be eaten during a Meze-style meal. First, let’s talk about Meze. Meze is a selection of small dishes that can be served as an appetizer or a meal. The word Meze means an appetizer.

Tabbouleh is a salad that originates from the Middle east. It is made mostly of finely chopped parsley, tomatoes, mint, onion, and bulgur wheat, and is dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

In my variation of the Tabbouleh salad, I swapped out the bulgur wheat for quinoa and ramped up the number of whole grains. In addition, I added my own fun element, blueberries! Some variations of tabbouleh include pomegranate seeds but Jacob’s favorite food in the whole world is blueberries so I couldn’t resist this easy addition.

Star Ingredients in this Blueberry Quinoa Tabbouleh

Blueberry: Blueberries are ripe for picking in the summertime. Blueberries are super delicious on their own, as a snack, but this recipe is a perfect way to incorporate them into a dish! The sweet and tart blueberries are a super fun twist on this Mediterranean fave.

Quinoa: Quinoa is a nutritional powerhouse. Loaded with fiber and protein, I love any excuse to cook with it. Quinoa is a wonderful base for this tabbouleh and pairs well with all the flavors including parsley, lemon, and garlic.

Other Ingredients in this Blueberry Quinoa Tabbouleh

The following ingredients are optional and or can be swapped for any other veggie you have on hand or would prefer. My garden is often abundant with cucumbers and tomatoes in the summertime, which is why I love incorporating them into this summertime recipe. 

Tomato: Any tomato variety will work wonderfully in this recipe. Or even multiple varietals for a multitude of colors!

Cucumber: Option to de-seed or not to de-seed your cucumbers. For this recipe, I opted to remove the seeds from the cucumbers for a heartier crunch in every bite. 

Green Onion: For this tabbouleh, I wanted to keep the onion flavor mild so as to not clash with the sweet-tart blueberries. Chives would make a delicate addition as well. 

The Simple Tabbouleh Dressing

This salad dressing is so simple, what’s not to love? I love to create lemon vinaigrettes for all sorts of summertime salads because of their lively and pair perfectly with freshly picked, summer fresh produce. 

Olive oil: Use flavorful, high-quality olive oil in this dressing. If all you have is an extra virgin olive oil used for a light sautee, that is fine too. Another oil that works beautifully in this salad is avocado oil.

Lemon: Lemon is the final addition to this dressing (besides salt and pepper). I prefer to use freshly squeezed lemon, I always have a few lemons either out on the counter or in my fridge for dressings, a lemon fizzy, or for squirting over pesto to prevent oxidation and browning.

Great Pairings

Some traditional meze pairings include, but are not limited to, Lamb, Baba Ghanougsh (eggplant dip), hummus, Labneh  (strained yogurt with the consistency of soft cheese), and falafel. I love to serve this dish as a side with either grilled seafood like my Grilled Shrimp with a Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce, chicken like my Air Fryer Chicken Wings, or air-fried (very herby) falafel. 

Does all this talk about meze remind anyone else of something super yummy? How about Tapas! I love sharing small dishes with friends and family. Not only is the time shared fun and full of happiness, but I also love eating all the foods!

Sharper Nutrition Fix: Quinoa

For this Tabbouleh recipe, I swapped out the bulgur wheat for one reason, I have tons of quinoa in my pantry! But you can find Bulgar wheat online or at a specialty store. I just checked my local Whole Foods website and they have bulgur wheat stocked!

But since I used quinoa for this recipe, let’s talk about it!

Some fun facts: