Amaranth Tabbouleh Salad is a hearty protein filled summer salad best when served cold! This vegan salad is perfect for your next picnic or BBQ. Full of fresh ingredients and oil free, you will love this healthy salad with good for you ingredients.
What is Amaranth?
If you have never heard or used Amaranth, you are not alone! I had only vaguely heard about this ancient grain, and until I did some research I did not realize that it is considered a complete protein. For plant based diet followers, this is great news! A whole protein that is full of fiber, good for you and naturally gluten free. It is technically classified as a pseudocereal – so if like to toss around the phrase ‘well technically’ – this grain is right up your alley!
On a serious note, this gem of a grain is gluten free, full of protein, micronutrients and antioxidants. This tiny grain packs a powerful punch for plant based vegans!
Of all the amaranth research I did, I could not find the answer to what does it look like cooked? I will answer that for you as I was quite surprised! Unlike other ancient grains such as quinoa or farro that cook like rice, this ancient grain appears almost gel-like in appearance after cooking. Amaranth would be a great alternative to your breakfast porridge! It would also hold well together for any type of fritter recipe.
Like many ancient grains, soaking the grain first is preferable, especially if you have sensitive ‘seed’ or digestion issues. Since that is my case (sensitive ot seeds) I always soak my ‘seeds’ and grains. I recommend soaking your grain for at least 4 hours, then rinsing well before you cook it.
Ingredients in Amaranth Tabbouleh Salad
I am always interested in expanding my plant based protein options and with all the wonderful benefits amaranth offers, I knew I needed to create a vegan recipe from this nutritious ancient grain!
This tabbouleh salad is full of fresh ingredients and uses amaranth! Tabbouleh salad is a traditional Arab dish that uses grains and fresh herbs for a delicious light salad. I wanted to retain that ‘light’ salad feeling and for me adding lemon to an ingredient list always makes your final dish seem lighter!
For this recipe you will need:
- Amaranth
- Chickpeas
- Fresh Parsley
- Lemon Juice
- Red Sweet Pepper
- Red Onion
- Cucumber
- Red Wine Vinegar
I love this recipe for meal prep as I can make amaranth ahead of time and then it is ready to be used in this cold salad recipe! This amaranth tabbouleh salad keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, making it great for a vegan lunch meal prep idea.
During the summer a fresh salad is a great idea to serve at any meal! If you make this vegan amaranth salad, I would love to know! Tag @badtothebowl on social media.
Vegan Amaranth Tabbouleh Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup uncooked *
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- 1 medium cucumber, seeded and chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
- ¾ cup chopped red onion (from 1 small red onion)
- 1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (from 1 large bunch)
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- To cook the amaranth: Combine the rinsed amaranth and the water in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the amaranth has absorbed all of the water, about 15 minutes, reducing heat as time goes on to maintain a gentle simmer. Remove from heat, cover, and let the amaranth rest for 5 minutes, to give it time to fluff up.
- Cool your amaranth – you can do this quickly by placing your pan in the freezer if you have space.
- In a large serving bowl, combine the chickpeas, cucumber, red bell pepper, red onion and parsley. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, vinegar, garlic and salt. Whisk until blended, then set aside.
- Once the amaranth is mostly cool, add it to the serving bowl, and drizzle the dressing on top. Toss until the mixture is thoroughly combined. Season with black pepper, to taste, and add an extra pinch of salt if necessary. For best flavor, let the salad rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
- This salad keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about 4 days. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Loved it! I wondered about the Amaranth being A: too soupy, B: too plentiful. No need to worry. It turned out so well. I used a little more red wine vinegar and my husband brought home curly parsley so that’s what I used. I also let the red onions sit in cold water a while to take some of the bitterness out of them (I’m the onion wimp; my husband is not). Delicious and love that I have a way to incorporate this new grain (to me) into our diet.
So glad you enjoyed it!