Quinoa Cauliflower Tabbouleh

Quinoa-Cauliflower-Tabbouleh

I was thrilled that my quinoa cauliflower tabbouleh creation turned out FANTASTIC, so of course I have to share it with you!

I was about to try my hand at making cauliflower tabbouleh when I thought, “What if I combined cauliflower rice with quinoa to create a hybrid recipe for quinoa cauliflower tabbouleh?”

I’m glad I had that thought because this easy vegan recipe I came up with is super refreshing, satisfying, clean, and nutrient-packed. I have officially labeled it as a new “go-to vegan meal” on my list of meals I see myself making on a regular basis.

As much as I love convenience, I decided to make my own cauliflower rice, as opposed to buying it pre-made in the freezer section. From my experience, the frozen cauliflower rice (which may or may not be found in your local mainstream grocery stores) is great for cooking with, but for raw vegan recipes, it just doesn’t come out right.

Most tabbouleh recipes contain red onion. I’m not generally a fan of raw red onion because I feel like no matter what I do, I can taste onion in my mouth for the rest of the day. Red onion does add a nice crunch to dishes though, so I decided to add cucumber to this easy vegan recipe instead. I was pleasantly surprised how well this worked out! I did use garlic and onion powder in my recipe, but not enough to make you un-kissable 😉

I’ll admit, there is a lot of chopping involved in this quinoa cauliflower tabbouleh recipe, so I suggest making a double batch and snacking on it all week. I actually doubled this recipe and ended up eating half of it in just one day! I love making simple vegan meals that are guilt-free like this, knowing it’s doing my body good.

By the way, if you want to make this more of a meal than a side dish, I’m guessing lentils or chickpeas would be a great addition. And for my fellow fitness freaks, although quinoa contains complete vegan protein, adding legumes will up the protein content significantly.

Let me know how you like it!

Quinoa Cauliflower Tabbouleh

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cauliflower rice
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 cup cucumber, chopped
  • 1 cup parsley, chopped
  • 1 medium lemon, juiced
  • 6-10 mint leaves, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/8-1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
  • Black pepper to taste

Instructions for Cauliflower Rice

Option 1:

  • Place cauliflower florets in your high speed blender
  • Cover with water
  • Pulse blend until the cauliflower has been chopped into rice-size pieces
  • Strain thoroughly
  • Allow time to dry or use a paper towel to pat dry

Option 2:

  • Use a box grater with the medium-size holes to grate the cauliflower florets into rice-size pieces.Quinoa-Cauliflower-Tabbouleh-Ingredients

Instructions for Tabbouleh

  • Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly… That’s all, you’re done!

Enjoy!

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A passionate vegan for the last 28 years, Ella Magers, MSW is a leading voice for revolutionary transformation in the fitness industry. Ella connects people with the information, tools, support, and guidance they need to develop holistically healthy habits, claim mental and emotional well-being, and live more fulfilling and fiercely compassionate lives. Ella is a professional speaker, published author, and coach. She is the spirited host of the inspiring Rise & Thrive Podcast and the Vegan Life Coach Podcast, founder of Sexy Fit Vegan®, and creator of the 22Reboot total transformation system. As a plant-based athlete and former bodybuilding champion, Ella was recognized as one of the world's top personal trainers by bodybuilding.com and Shape Magazine. Having healed from her own struggles with disordered eating, Ella Magers shows people that there are alternatives to crash diets and excessive workout regimens, and how to align their lifestyle with true health by using compassion as their compass. Ella is on the founding board of Hogs & Kisses Farm Sanctuary, a 501(c)3 nonprofit with the mission of creating the best possible life for farm animals while inspiring compassion for all living beings.

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