Speedy Big-Batch Meal Prep: Lemony Chickpea Tabbouleh Salad

As many of you who are long-time readers already know, I’m a big fan of big-batch cooking on Sunday afternoon. In my opinion, it’s one of the easiest things you can do to set yourself up for a good week of healthy, clean eats and it doesn’t have to take a ton of effort.

Over the next little while, I plan to post a bunch of my favourite big-batch salad recipes in hopes that they’ll inspire you to jump on the Sunday afternoon meal prep bandwagon if you haven’t already. 

All of the recipes will…

• be easy to make
• be gluten free
• be nutrient dense
• make enough for 5 servings
• keep well in the fridge for at least 5 days
• contain only clean, whole food ingredients
• include options for vegan and vegetarian diets (if they’re not already suitable)
• include suggestions for ingredient swaps, plus ideas for making the meal larger in volume, without adding tons of calories

Sound like a plan? Let’s get to the first one!

This twist on traditional tabbouleh is light yet high in protein and super fresh flavour. All you need to prepare it is a big bowl, a good knife and chopping board, and a food processor.

Lemony Chickpea Tabbouleh Salad

by Angela Simpson

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients (5 servings)

• 1 large clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 4 cups flat leaf parsley (about 1 large bunch), washed, most stems removed – don’t worry if you don’t get them all out
• 3 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 2 English cucumbers, diced
• 2 green onions, diced, white and light green parts only
• 3 cups cooked chickpeas, drained (ideally from BPA-free cans)
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions

• In a food processor, whiz the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and cumin until the garlic clove has broken down into very small pieces and the mixture looks like a dressing. Empty it into a large bowl and set aside.
• Add the parsley and pulse on high until it breaks down into very small pieces.

• Empty the parsley into the mixing bowl with the dressing.
• Add all remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

• Allow the salad to sit for 10-15 minutes to allow the flavours to blend before seasoning with sea salt and black pepper.
• This salad will keep well refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 1 week.

Click here to print the recipe.

Still hungry?

Traditional tabbouleh contains grains (usually bulgur) and you could totally add some (or millet, quinoa or amaranth) to the mixture if you’d like to make it a bit bigger and higher in fiber. This won’t increase the preparation time by much – simply cook your choice of quick-cooking whole grain on the stove while you prep everything else, then toss it in the big bowl and stir to combine it with the other ingredients.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to add grains but still want a little more food in your bowl, serve the salad over mixed greens, or chop some extra cucumber and throw it in the mix. If you do this, you might want to add a few extra squeezes of lemon juice, but by letting the tabbouleh sit in the fridge for a few days, the flavours will naturally intensify so you might not feel the need to add anything at all.

So tell me…

• Did you do Sunday meal prep this week? What did you make?
• What’s in your lunch today?