Hearty and tangy, we call this Colorado tabbouleh grain salad, an adaptation traditional tabbouleh that’s rich with garlic, cilantro, chickpeas, and lemon. A staple of our river trip meal planning for years, this protein-packed salad keeps well in your river trip or car camping cooler for days. Plus, it can serve as a substantial main for vegans and vegetarians, and a satisfying side for omnivores.Â
Colorado tabbouleh grain salad stars in many of our river trip or car camping lunch meals. Just spoon it into a wrap or onto a leaf of romaine, add some additional protein such as tuna, and top with cashews. As a midday meal, it will keep paddlers going for hours. Or you can serve it with crackers before dinner as a substantial appetizer that will keep hungry paddlers at bay until you serve the main course.
Options for adaptations are endless. You could add cucumber, skip the chickpeas (although that makes it less filling), or use a different grain. I love the dense, chewy texture of bulghur.
I typically make this salad the night before we drive to the river and divide it into one or two airtight containers placed in the middle third of the cooler. See our tips on food packing for river trips for recommendations of leakproof containers that work best for grain- and bean-based salads like this.
And check out our post about easy river trip meals for our modular approach to putting river trip meals together to satisfy various dietary preferences—our take on tabbouleh factors into the meal plans in a big way.Â
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Colorado Tabbouleh Grain Salad
Cool, colorful, and hearty, this tangy grain salad is based on tabbouleh but packs additional protein with the addition of garbanzo beans (chickpeas). An easy keeper in the river raft or car camping cooler, this salad can be a main dish for vegans and vegetarians, a side for omnivores, and the base of tasty wraps for river lunches.
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings (about 8 cups) 1x
Ingredients
2 cups bulghur
3 cups boiling water
2–1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups grape tomatoes, slice lengthwise
Cilantro leaves from one bunch, lightly chopped
4–5 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions (use whites and a little of the greens), chopped
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
Instructions
- Put the bulghur in a dish with a tight lid
- Add boiling water and salt, stir well, cover with lid, and let steep for 20 minutes or until the water is completely absorbed
- Mix in olive oil and lemon
- Add remaining ingredients and mix well
- Chill completely before packing in cooler
Notes
- This grain salad provides a solid vegan base that can be built on to satisfy other dietary preferences: Just add tuna, cheese, nuts, or other additional protein.
- Serve as a side to the main river camp meal, as a main for vegans and vegetarians, or in wraps at the river trip lunch stop.
- Stored in an airtight container in the coldest part of your cool, this salad will keep for several days.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: None
- Category: Side
- Method: No cook
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 219
- Fat: 14g
- Carbohydrates: 21g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 4g
