Lentil Tabbouleh – Make room for legumes!
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This lentil tabbouleh is our take on the popular Arabic dish also known as tabbouli, which is traditionally served as ‘mezze’ across the Middle East.
An authentic tabbouleh recipe has a base of bulgar wheat, mixed with finely chopped tomato and parsley. It is seasoned with lemon, garlic and onion and served cold as a salad.
We have chosen to make our tabbouleh with couscous instead of bulgar wheat, and have added lentils to the mix, in order to up the protein levels and make it better suited to a weight loss diet!
Seize the day with a lentil tabbouleh!
Traditional tabbouleh ingredients are already pretty healthy, but we have made sure that our lentil tabbouleh is not only healthy but also optimised for a weight loss diet.
A quick look at the nutritional data tells you everything you need to know!
One serving of this tabbouli salad provides you with 512 calories, a solid amount of energy for a main meal. We know that a lot of weight loss schemes will focus on drastically cutting calories – but we say don’t listen to them!
You do need a calorie deficit to lose weight, but this does not (and should not!) be a huge one, or mean sacrificing proper meals.
The whole ‘low-calorie’ thing is part of a toxic diet culture that does no good for anyone. You need calories – they are just a measure of how much energy your food provides you with!
That’s why we make sure that all the recipes in our free 7-day weight loss plan provide you with enough calories to keep you going, while maintaining a slim deficit.
Packing in the good stuff
We also make sure that our recipes are full of good, filling ingredients, in order to maximise the benefits of the calories you consume.
For example, we like to focus on protein and fibre content, because we think those two things are key in making a meal ‘weight loss friendly’.
This lentil tabbouleh contains 19g protein and 17g fibre per serving – which is a lot!
Protein is important for many reasons. At the most fundamental level, it helps your body repair cells and produce new ones. On a more tangible level, it is important for maintaining and building muscle.
When it comes to weight loss, protein is important because protein rich foods are very filling – studies show that it increases levels of satiety hormones and decreases levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin.
Fibre is important for similar reasons, as high fibre foods are also very filling and take longer to digest than low fibre foods, keeping you feeling satisfied for longer and reducing the desire to snack between meals!
Subscribe to get our FREE 7-Day Vegetarian High Protein Meal Plan for Weight Loss
Make room for legumes!
The biggest difference between our tabbouleh salad recipe and a traditional tabbouli salad, is the addition of lentils. It’s a kind of tabbouleh inspired Moroccan lentil salad.
We did this because the health benefits of lentils are NUMEROUS and we think that they boost any salad.
For starters they are rich in fibre, folate and potassium, all things that are great for regulating cholesterol and promoting heart health.
Furthermore, they have a low glycemic index, which means they are good for regulating blood sugar levels.
Finally, they are a source of plant protein, which is super important as many vegetarians struggle to get enough protein in their diet once they cut out meat and fish!
In fact, we back them so much that this is not our first lentil salad nor will it be our last. We think our site has some of the best lentil salads out there – check out our lentil potato salad, or this lentil quinoa salad.
Top tabbouleh tips
There’s not really much to it when it comes to making tabbouleh. Chop everything finely, whack it all in a bowl and serve. However, depending on how much time you have, you can get creative with how you serve it.
For example, you could serve this easy tabbouleh recipe as is, or with hummus and/or flatbreads.
If you have time, why not try making your own flatbreads. It’s super easy!
For 4 flatbreads, all you need is 200g plain flour, 100 ml warm water, a dash of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Mix the flour and water together, add some olive oil, knead for 5 minutes then roll the dough into rounds and fry.
Jamie Oliver also has a recipe for amazing flatbreads made using just flour and greek yoghurt – check it out! These would also go perfectly with lentil tabbouleh!
You could even make your own hummus to go with it – why not try our creamy hummus recipe? You can make a big batch and eat it throughout the week.
However, it is, of course, super chill just to buy some flatbreads and hummus – we don’t always have time to make EVERYTHING from scratch!
We hope you enjoy your lentil tabbouleh!
Ingredients
- ½ cup lentils (or 1 cup cooked lentils eg. tinned)
- 2 cup vegetable broth (divided)
- ½ cup couscous
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- 1 green onion (finely chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 2 sprigs mint, fresh (chopped)
- 3 sprigs parsley, fresh (chopped)
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (or 1 tsp white vinegar)
- 1 small tomato (diced)
- ½ medium cucumber (diced)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- (Skip this step when using canned lentils). In a small pot add the lentils and 1 ½ cup vegetable broth. Once the liquid boils, cover, lower the heat and cook until the lentils are soft.½ cup lentils, 2 cup vegetable broth
- Meanwhile, add the couscous into a bowl. Pour in roughly ½ cup of hot vegetable broth until the couscous is just covered. Let sit for 10 minutes.½ cup couscous
- In a small bowl add onion, garlic, mint, parsley, water, lemon juice, salt and olive oil. Mix and rest until needed.1 green onion, 1 clove garlic, 2 sprigs mint, fresh, 3 sprigs parsley, fresh, 1 tbsp water, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- Dice the cucumber and tomato and add to the couscous.½ medium cucumber, 1 small tomato
- Once cooked, mix in the lentils and dressing. Season with salt and pepper. Add more lemon to taste. Done. Nice!Salt and pepper to taste
NOTES
- Tip: Lentil Tabbouleh goes nicely with hummus and flatbread! 🙂
- Make-ahead? Yes, prep the night before, it’ll be even more flavorful that way.
Nutrition
Dave Bell
I’m not a foodie, although I do love eating. I believe food should serve us and our goals, not hinder. Taking control and responsibility for what I eat is important to me. Lots of veggie protein is my way forward.
Abril Macías
Creator of this wonderful recipe!
I am a culinary creator and food photographer from Quito, Ecuador. I have a Master’s degree in New Food Thinking and a Bachelor’s degree in Gastronomy, my expertise lies in crafting and capturing creative dishes. Collaborating with websites and blogs worldwide, I develop recipes and bring them to life through captivating photographs.
I dedicate my work in the kitchen and through the lens to explore food from different backgrounds, origins and diets. I would describe my style as “comfort food with a twist”. My goal is to create recipes that are homely, yet attractive, delicious and have something different and exiting to them.
This article has been medically reviewed by James LeBaigue MSc Learn More
James LeBaigue MSc
James has a Masters Degree in Sport and Exercise Nutrition, as well as an Advanced Diploma in Human Nutrition.
He loves combining his scientific knowledge along with food in the real world, and these recipes are the result.
He’s on top of all the latest evidence and guidelines to make sure our nutrition advice on the website is as accurate as it can be.
By day he works as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner in a busy NHS GP Practice.
Each recipe is tested and then eaten (much to James’ delight), many times before it is deemed worthy to be published. Bon appetit!
Comments
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5 comments
Simple, flavorful & nutritious recipe.
Puzzled about the Sodium content, which is significantly high for a meal. Is the Sodium from Vegetable broth ?
Hi VS, yes exactly. And also the tinned lentils (if using). To cut down on sodium a low-sodium broth would be best, and if possible dried lentils cooked at home 🙂 PS glad you like it btw!
How much is a serving? I’m surprised you don’t ever say on your recipes. It’s hard to decide if a lovely looking recipe will fit into my diet without some kind of serving size. Thanks!
Hi Willow, I’m not sure what you refer to. At the bottom of the recipe you see all nutrition facts per serving. Does this help?
I get why it’s confusing. Above the recipe where it goes over cooking times, etc. it also says how many servings the recipe makes. So in this case, if left as is, a serving is half of the total yield. Hope this helps!