Bulgur Salad
Updated Jun 14, 2025
Bulgur salad made with #1 fine bulgur wheat, doesn't require cooking. It soaks up all the dressing and flavors of the cucumbers, tomatoes, and fresh mint.
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bulgur chickpea salad!
This bulgur salad is a grain-based recipe that feels like a cheat code. The trick? I don’t actually cook the bulgur; I just pour the dressing over it and let it soak. It softens right up and soaks in all that flavor. The only catch is that it has to be fine bulgur (look for #1 on the package). Anything coarser won’t work the same way. The tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh mint, and parsley make it extra fresh!
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Bulgur Salad Ingredients
- Bulgur: Bulgur comes in fine to coarse varieties, but I like #1 fine for this recipe because it doesn’t need to be cooked, and it easily soaks up the dressing.
- Pomegranate molasses: This is basically pomegranate juice reduced down to a thick, concentrated syrup. You can make your own pomegranate molasses or use a balsamic glaze.
- Chickpeas: Any standard-sized can of chickpeas will work!
- Olive oil: I always add olive oil to my salad dressings for flavor and textures.
- Lemon juice: I use fresh lemon juice rather than bottled.
- Seasoning: Feel free to use any of your favorite herbs and spices, but I usually go with oregano, garlic, and black pepper.
- Salad produce: Use whatever you have in the fridge! I love making this salad with tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, and fresh mint.
How to Make Bulgur Salad
Bulgur Salad Recipe
This Bulgur salad is made with #1 fine bulgur wheat, so it doesn't need to be cooked. It soaks up all the dressing and flavors of the cucumbers, tomatoes, and fresh mint.
Video
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- ¼ cup Cortas olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Pomegranate molasses
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 large garlic clove grated
- black pepper
For the Salad
- 1 cup fine #1 bulgur wheat
- 2 ripe plum tomatoes seeded diced
- 1 large cucumber seeded and diced
- 1 cup parsley chopped
- 3 green onions trimmed and thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint chopped
- 1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, oregano, garlic and black pepper until well combined.
- Add the bulgur to the dressing and let it soak until it is soft and plumped, about 15 minutes, fluffing occasionally.
- When ready, add the tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, green onions, mint and chickpeas on top of the bulgur. Gently toss to combine.
- Serve at room temperature or cold.
Equipment
Notes
Storage: Keep covered and refrigerated for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 299kcal, Carbohydrates: 42g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Sodium: 18mg, Potassium: 514mg, Fiber: 11g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 1209IU, Vitamin C: 23mg, Calcium: 81mg, Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
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Recipe Tips
- Drain and rinse your chickpeas before using them. I never skip this step! The water that canned chickpeas are stored in can be a little salty, so I like to give them a good rinse under cold running water to remove excess sodium before adding them to my salad.
- Dice your tomatoes and cucumber into small pieces. I make sure my produce is cut super small because it helps incorporate veggies like tomatoes and cucumbers into the salad more fully. It’s the kind of salad I like to eat with a spoon!
Serving Ideas
- Add your salad to a mezze platter: If I’m putting out a snack plate with some of my mezze favorites (think: hummus, my Lebanese baba ghanoush, or tzatziki), this bulgur salad is a great addition to the spread.
- Make lettuce wraps: When I’m in the mood to eat with my hands, this salad is a great filling for lettuce wraps made with romaine or butter lettuce!
Comments
This is so good! For those (like me) who can’t get hold of fine grain bulgur wheat [I went round multiple shops and had a choice of precisely one (brand and type…)], I cooked up the bulgur wheat as per online directions (I searched for “how to cook coarse grain bulgur wheat”), and then, as the wheat was cooling (so after the cook and rest periods), I mixed in the dressing.
I also made a couple of other changes:
I substituted tamarind paste for the pomegranate molasses due to non-availability of the molasses.
I used a capsicum and a couple of sticks of celery in place of the tomatoes (my partner doesn’t eat tomatoes…)
The salad was really tasty, and so easy to put together! It is definitely going on the regular rotation 😀
Wow, love the tweaks you made! So happy you were able to make the recipe work with different ingredients that were more available to you. Thank you so much for sharing, Jo!
Could we sub quinoa for the bulgar? Also, any idea what the weight of canned rinsed/drained chickpeas is? Just soaking some dry chickpeas and will cook them according to your recipe.
I admit I made this a bit differently. I was out of garlic cloves so I used garlic powder. I didn’t have this special kind of molasses so I used regular molasses and a touch of grenadine, since it’s pomegranate flavor. I also only had medium grain bulgur on hand, which worked ok but did take way longer to soak, and I ended up adding more water to it and microwaving for a short time to get it to soften fully. I probably did not choose the ideal way to do this. I see now in the comments that it is important to use fine grain to make this recipe as directed. I also decided not to scoop out the cucumber and roma tomatoes, and I think it turned out fine that way, since I didn’t find it to be too wet or mushy.
My partner thought the flavor of the end result was alright, but he thought it was a little dry and suggested adding some more oil. I thought it was bland and needed more seasoning, spice, and salt. After having some, I did try adding some cumin, cayenne and salt and I thought it was a bit better.
So glad you were able to enjoy the recipes with those modifications!
i must have not had the right bulgur but I needed to add water to it at the end to fluff it up. I also added avocado to make it more filling and I really enjoyed it as a main dish. Thank you for the recipe.
You’re welcome! It’s important to use fine bulgur in this recipe, as it doesn’t need to be cooked and it easily soaks up the dressing. It’s also known as quick-cooking, #1 and extra-fine bulgur, and is the smallest!
Amazing salad.
Simple recipe and was a big hit for dinner. Paired it with some baked salmon for a quick dinner.
Thank you! I love that. Sounds delicious!
I love this recipe! The fresh herbs smell devine.. the mint reminded me of my Greek grandmother from when I was a kid. I did use tri-color quinoa my local store did not have bulgar wheat. I used a little more lemon and red wine vinegar that I had in the pantry. We really enjoyed this delicious salad. We prefer it cold. It tastes so fresh and looks beautiful. Thank you Yumna
Thank you so much! Sounds good with quinoa too. That’s great to hear!
This was a delicious salad. I made it for my kids to pack in their lunch and they loved it. We have something similar in Turkish cuisine call Kisir, but it does not have the garbanzo beans. That was an amazing addition! It added extra protein to make a great lunch.
We are currently avoiding oil so I substituted the olive oil with vegetable broth and it worked out fine! My kids asked me to make this a regular lunch option. Thank you!
Thank you so much! I’m glad to hear the kids loved it too! I have yet to try it with vegetable broth, but sounds like an interesting substitute.