Bulgur Salad with Cucumbers, Red Peppers, Chickpeas, Lemon & Dill

Tested & Perfected Recipes

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.

With fresh herbs, chopped vegetables and chickpeas, this Middle Eastern-style bulgur salad is like a bulked-up tabbouleh.

Bowl of bulgur salad with cucumbers, red peppers, chickpeas, lemon, and dill.

Made with nutty bulgur, fresh herbs, chopped vegetables, and buttery chickpeas, this Middle Eastern-style salad is like a bulked-up tabbouleh. I like to make it over the weekend and keep it in the fridge all week long for healthy lunches.

What you’ll need to make bulgur salad

bulgur salad ingredients

Bulgur is a chewy and nutty-tasting grain made from whole wheat kernels that have been parboiled, dried and cracked. In addition to being delicious, it’s super healthy — high in fiber and protein, rich in vitamins and minerals, and low in fat and calories. You can find it in most supermarkets near the pasta, rice, or hot cereal, and many stores also carry it in the bulk bins.

Step-by-Step Instructions

To begin, in a medium bowl, combine the bulgur bowl and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

bulgur and salt

Pour 1-1/4 cups boiling water over top and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

bowl covered with plastic wrap Let the bulgur steam for 30 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed.

Glass bowl of steamed bulgur.

While the bulgur soaks, prepare the vegetables and herbs.

Chopped red onion, cucumber, red peppers, and more on a wooden cutting board.

I like to soak the red onions in cold water to remove the raw onion taste. This is totally optional — if you like raw onions, skip this step.

soaking red onion in water

Once the chopped onion has soaked, drain thoroughly.

Red onion draining in a sieve.

In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, sugar, pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt.

Whisked dressing in a glass bowl.

Add the cooled bulgur, onion, bell pepper, cucumber, dill, parsley, and chick peas.

adding the bulgur and vegetables to the dressingToss well, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

tossed bulgur saladChill until ready to serve or up to two days. Serve cold or room temperature.

Bowl of bulgur salad with cucumbers, red peppers, chickpeas, lemon, and dill.

You may also like

Bulgur Salad with Cucumbers, Red Peppers, Chick Peas, Lemon & Dill

With fresh herbs, chopped vegetables and chickpeas, this Middle Eastern-style bulgur salad is like a bulked-up tabbouleh.

Servings: 4 to 6 as a side dish (2 to 3 as a main course)
Total Time: 40 Minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup medium-grind (#2) bulgur
  • 1½ teaspoons salt, divided
  • ⅓ cup diced red onion
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, from 2 lemons
  • 1 large garlic clove, finely minced
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 small English (or hothouse) cucumber, seeded and diced
  • ½ cup finely chopped fresh dill
  • ⅓ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Instructions

  1. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Place the bulgur in a large bowl with ½ teaspoon salt and 1¼ cups boiling water. Cover the bowl tightly with saran wrap and let sit for 15-30 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed. Let cool, then fluff with a fork.
  2. Meanwhile, to soften the bite of the raw onions, place them in a small bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit for ten minutes, and then drain. (Feel free to skip this step if you don't mind the strong taste of raw onions.)
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, sugar, pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Add the cooled bulgur, onion, bell pepper, cucumber, dill, parsley, and chick peas. Toss well, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Chill until ready to serve or up to two days. Serve cold or room temperature.

Pair with

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • Per serving (4 servings)
  • Calories: 336
  • Fat: 15g
  • Saturated fat: 2g
  • Carbohydrates: 46g
  • Sugar: 7g
  • Fiber: 11g
  • Protein: 9g
  • Sodium: 1085mg
  • Cholesterol: 0mg

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

See more recipes:

Comments

  • This recipe is so easy to make and so delicious. It is perfect for a hot day because it is cold and filling.

  • I would really love to make this. is it high in sodium?

    • Hi Lupe, You can reduce the salt or use no salt added chickpeas to reduce the sodium.

  • Delicious and easy to make

  • Jenn, not actually having bulgur on hand, is there another good substitution? Thanks!

    • — Cindy Condrich
    • Reply
    • Hi Cindy, You could try couscous.

  • Although we have liked most of your
    recipes, (not the kale salad) do you
    ever post recipe reviews where the
    recipe is not a favorite? I only have seen
    very favorable reviews and not everyone
    must love everything! This is the only
    site where everything is loved and because
    of that there is really no discussion about what can be changed within a recipe.
    Just wondering!

    • — sidney hubbard
    • Reply
    • Hi Sidney, I really do publish every review — and if you look through all the comments, you’ll find the ones that aren’t favorable 🙂 I do have to approve comments before they are published to sift through all the spam, especially since so many readers subscribe to the comment threads.

      • Just a further comment to Sidney. There may not be drawn out discussions on changes to Ms. Segal’s recipes, but if you read the reviews, you’ll see that many people change some of the ingredients either because they don’t like something, don’t have something on hand, or thought of modifying something to suit their taste, e.g.. sautéing the onions in this recipe. I do think, though, they should NOT rate when they have changed so many ingredients that they have basically almost created another recipe. And yes, all her recipes I have tried are really good, she even got me baking!

  • Obsessed! So delicious. I substituted lentils for the bulgar and added a jalapeno and feta cheese. All I’ve been eating!

  • I love making this salad on a Sunday and then packing the leftovers for lunch throughout the week. Sometimes I leave the onions out so I don’t have to worry about my breath at work. Ha! Either way, it’s fresh and delicious!

  • This is a great dish for lunch. It keeps well in the fridge and the flavors are a great combination. It’s great with grilled chicken for dinner as well. Make it for dinner and take the leftovers for lunch the next day!

  • I made this recipe on a Tuesday night for dinner on Wednesday. I didn’t have parsley, so I bought some and added it Wednesday right before we ate it. So the parsley didn’t have time to really set with all the rest of the ingredients. But WOW! This recipe was AWESOME!! I had it again for lunch today, and am looking forward to eating the rest. This will definitely be one of my new go-to salad recipes!

  • This salad is AMAZING! I love, love, love it and wouldn’t change a thing. I didn’t have any fresh dill so added 1/4 cup freeze dried, but other than that, I made the recipe exactly as written. Thank you!

Add a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.