Juicy summer peaches meet crunchy cucumbers, nutty quinoa, and lots of herbs in this peach quinoa tabbouleh that’s the perfect side dish for those end of summer parties!
So there are about five weeks of summer left. Then it’s back to school, leaves changing, pumpkin spice overload and before you know it we’ll be driving down I-95 en route to turkey and cranberry sauce. But before we let the year roll away from us, we should party.
Now, I don’t mean party like it’s 1999 necessarily – mostly because that would mean we’d all be wearing low low rise jeans and tiger striped chunky highlights (why though?). But more “party like it’s 2019 and we’ve all got lives that usually start sometime early in the AM and so wouldn’t it be nice if we were all in bed by 11 (or 10 if we’re being honest)”.
Maybe it’s boring, but lately my idea of a great party is a small group of friends catching up over good wine and great food. To be more specific, great food that’s not a pain in the ass to make. So today I’m beginning a three week series of delicious, end of summer dishes that are perfect for your next lazy get together with your besties. It will take you through sides, salads, an easy but irresistible main, and culminates in a complete guide to throwing your next intimate soiree without breaking a sweat.
Peach Quinoa Tabbouleh
And to kick things off we’ve got this delightful peach quinoa tabbouleh. It’s hearty, healthy, and perfect to celebrate the end of summer. Bonus points for being stupidly easy and even more tasty. But first things first…
What is Tabbouleh?
Tabbouleh is a Middle Eastern salad, traditionally made with cracked bulgur wheat and more parsley than you can shake a stick at. In my opinion, it gets better as it sits and is the perfect side dish for any summer meal.
My version subs out quinoa for bulgur (mostly because I always have three or four half empty bags of the stuff kicking around) and folds tart and juicy peaches into the mix to make this truly a dish for the season. Of course it looks great at your next dinner party, but it’s also pretty clutch alongside a simple protein for an easy weeknight dinner.
How to Make Peach Quinoa Tabbouleh
This simple grain salad is dreamily easy to put together in just a few little steps. First we start by whipping up a batch of quinoa. If you’re new here you can pop over to this post for a quick primer on my favorite three ways to cook quinoa. You can totally do this part ahead of time, which will free you up for more important things – like re-watching all of The Office before Netflix unfeelingly pulls it from its catalog.
Next you’ll whisk together a lemony little dressing and dice up some juicy peaches and crisp cucumbers. Toss the whole thing together with a showering of fresh herbs and season to taste (because ALWAYS season to taste). Then let the whole thing sit for ten or so minutes so the quinoa can soak up all that tangy dressing and get next level delicious. And then serve alongside some more of your favorite things.
Make This Tabbouleh Your Own
This is a pretty straightforward dish, but that doesn’t mean it’s not flexible. Any stone fruit would be welcome here and if nothing fresh is available then an assortment of chopped, dried fruits would be lovely.
As for herbs, parsley and mint are traditional, but any tender herb would do the job. Just make sure it’s one you like, because you’ll be using a lot of it.
Oh also, I intentionally left any cheese out of this (because I was taken over by temporary insanity it seems) but a handful or two of crumbled feta, goat, or ricotta salata never hurt anyone now did it? So go with your gut and if your gut says “cheese please” then listen to that sage advice.
Serve it up to all your friends
Now that you have the perfect summer side dish, keep in touch for the rest of the dinner party menu and just how to put it together in less time than you think and without losing your mind. But in the meantime here are some peachy keen recipes to keep you busy.
- Peach and Tomato Caprese Salad
- Peach and Jalapeno Chutney
- Simple Quinoa Tabbouleh
- Zucchini Quinoa and Corn Salad
Is it pretty obvious that I’m not ready to say goodbye to summer? Thank you for reading, and also for letting me live in my denial. More to come so stay tuned!
Peach Quinoa Tabbouleh
Juicy summer peaches meet crunchy cucumbers, nutty quinoa, and lots of herbs in this peach quinoa tabbouleh that’s the perfect side dish for those end of summer parties!
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 15 Minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 10 Servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Juice of 3 lemons
2 tsp honey
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/3 C extra virgin olive oil
4 C cooked quinoa
3 large peaches, pitted and diced
1 English cucumber, diced
1 1/2 C chopped parsley
1 C chopped mint
Instructions
In a large bowl whisk together lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper. Add olive oil in a gradual stream while continuously whisking until dressing is emulsified and slightly thickened.
Add cooked quinoa, peaches, cucumbers, parsley, and mint to the dressing. Stir to combine and season to taste.
This can be served warm, room temperature, or chilled.
Notes
If you need a primer on quinoa visit this post which details the different types of quinoa and how to cook them.
Depending on how salty your quinoa is, you may need to adjust the salt and pepper in the final salad. If you’re serving this cold make sure to re-season after chilling, as cold food has the tendency to taste bland.
Any stone fruit would make a great substitute for peaches in this.
Keywords: peach quinoa salad, quinoa tabbouleh, tabbouleh, summer salad, side dish, jo eats
Jo, WOW! These photos just completely popped off the screen and made my hungry. So excited for this fun series that you’re doing! Also totally Lol’ed about the listen to your gut about the cheese….for me, my gut is most likely always going to say yes to cheese. Anyway, this peach quinoa tabbouleh looks DEEEE-LISH. Totally pinning!
★★★★★
Love everything about this salad! Such gorgeous colors and the flavors are fabulous. I especially love that you added mint – it sounds delicious paired with the peaches and adds a really bright and refreshing pop to the salad!
★★★★★