# Bulgur Salad with Vegetables and Lemon

> Fine bulgur is **soaked, not boiled** — boiling water at a ratio of one cup to one and a quarter, covered for fifteen minutes. Boiling turns it to paste. Dress the bulgur first so it absorbs the dressing, and add the vegetables last so they do not leach water.

**Lebanese Cuisine · 25 min · 4 servings · 230 kcal per serving**

Bulgur salad is the easiest filling salad there is, and the most common mistake is boiling the bulgur like rice. Fine bulgur is already parboiled during manufacture — it only needs to soak.

## Ingredients

- 1 cup — fine bulgur
- 1.25 cups — boiling water
- 2 pieces — tomatoes, diced
- 1 piece — cucumber, diced
- 1 bunch — parsley, chopped
- 4 stalks — spring onion, sliced
- 4 tbsp — olive oil
- 3 tbsp — lemon juice
- 1 tsp — salt
- 1 tsp — sumac

## Method

1. **Soak the bulgur** — Put the bulgur in a bowl, pour over the boiling water, cover immediately and leave for **15 minutes**. The cover traps the steam, which is what completes the hydration.
2. **Fluff it** — Fluff the bulgur with a fork until the grains separate, and let it cool to room temperature. A fork separates; a spoon compresses and turns it pasty.
3. **Dress it** — Mix the oil, lemon, salt and sumac and pour over the bulgur, stirring well. The bulgur absorbs the dressing at this stage — added at the end it would just pool at the bottom.
4. **Chop the vegetables** — Dice the tomatoes and cucumber small and chop the parsley and spring onion finely, using a sharp knife so the vegetables are not crushed into releasing water.
5. **Combine and serve** — Fold the vegetables and herbs into the dressed bulgur just before serving. Mixing early makes the tomatoes release their juice and the salad turn watery.

## Tips

- Fine bulgur only soaks — boiling turns it to paste because it is already parboiled in manufacture.
- Dress the bulgur before the vegetables, so it absorbs the dressing instead of leaving it at the bottom.
- Vegetables at the last moment — mixing early releases tomato juice and wets the salad.
- It keeps two days in the fridge, and is better on day two if the vegetables go in at serving time.

## FAQ

### Is bulgur boiled or soaked?
Fine bulgur is soaked only — boiling water at one cup to one and a quarter, covered for 15 minutes. Coarse bulgur is the kind that gets boiled, and it is used for pilafs rather than salads.

### What is the difference from tabbouleh?
Tabbouleh is built on parsley with only a very small amount of bulgur. Bulgur salad is the reverse — the grain is the base and the vegetables are the addition. The proportions are completely different.

### Why does my salad go watery?
The vegetables went in too early. Tomatoes and cucumber release water over time — add them right before serving, and store the dressed bulgur on its own.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/lebanese-cuisine/bulgur-salad-with-vegetables
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-09-12