Can You Freeze Tabouli?

Can You Freeze Tabouli?

You should invariably try the Tabouli Salad if you ever taste Lebanese cuisine. Tabouli salad, also known as Tabbouleh Salad, is a vegetarian grain salad comprising Bulgur wheat, parsley, chopped vegetables, tomatoes, and mint. Tabouli salad is nutritious and tasty. So, it is natural that you might want a helping or two more of this salad. But, as a result, you could be left with excess tabouli salad that might need proper storage because of the perishable vegetables.

How Do You Store Tabouli Salad?

You can keep the tabouli salad in an airtight container inside the fridge for four days. So, what would you do if you needed to store the salad for more than four days?

That can be a tricky question because the ingredients in tabouli salad do not freeze well. The salad has vegetables with high water content like cucumbers and tomatoes. Besides, it has herbs making the salad non-freezable.

Can You Freeze Tabouli?

If you want a straight answer to this question, you will be disappointed because it is not possible to freeze tabouli salad in its salad form. But, there is hope because you can remove the non-freezable items from the salad and freeze the grains. You can always add the perishable items when serving the salad. It is the most practical solution to the tricky issue. So, we can say that you can freeze tabouli but in a different manner.

How Do You Freeze Tabouli Salad?

We have already seen that you cannot freeze tabouli salad in its prepared form as a whole dish. So, we shall look at the alternate options available to us.

You can remove the grain mix, including Bulgur wheat, wheat berries, and quinoa, and freeze them separately. The vegetables can wait. You can add them when serving. So, let us see how to freeze the whole grains present in the tabouli salad.

Freezing The Grains – Bulgur Wheat, Quinoa, And Wheat Berries

Bulgur wheat freezes well, but the most challenging part is cooking the grain. It can consume a lot of time. Since it takes time, we advise cooking the entire batch of grain at a time. You can apportion the wheat and other grains into consumable portions to make them comfortable for consumption.

  1. Cool the grains and drain them. Please ensure to drain them completely. Drying the grains is critical because the wet grains can cause the formation of ice crystals and change the grain’s texture.
  2. We advise you to apportion the grains into consumable parts. It becomes essential because you cannot refreeze the grains after defrosting. If you store them in an entire batch, you might have to defrost them together. So, there are chances of wastage.
  3. Spoon the portions into freezer bags. Please remove as much excess air as possible from the bags before sealing them. You can use a vacuum sealer to remove excess air. Alternatively, you can insert a straw at the corner and suck the air out before sealing the bag quickly. This process ensures against exposure to the cold air inside the freezer that can spoil the grains.
  4. Stick the label with the contents and the date clearly on the bags before pushing them into the freezer to freeze.

How Long Can You Freeze The Grains?

It depends on how you cook and freeze the grains. The grains can retain their freshness for twelve months if you follow the correct procedure for freezing them.

How Do You Defrost The Frozen Grains?

If you propose to add grains to soups and salads, they do not require thawing. But, we are using these grains for preparing Tabouli salad. Hence, defrosting the grains is critical. You can defrost the grains in multiple ways.

In The Fridge

Transfer the grains from the freezer to the refrigerator and allow them to defrost naturally. The process is slow and could take six to eight hours.

In The Microwave

The microwave allows you to defrost the grains quickly. However, you should use this process only if you heat the grains for the recipe. So, you can microwave it to prepare cooked Tabouli salad. Place the grains in a microwave-safe container inside the microwave and use the defrost setting for a couple of minutes. Check whether the grains have thawed. You can repeat the process until the entire grain batch defrosts completely.

How Do You Reheat The Grains?

You cook the grains as you usually do over the stovetop. Now, you can add the vegetables like cucumber, tomatoes, and the herbs like mint to prepare tabouli salad. This method of freezing tabouli salad in parts is unique. But it is the best option available to freeze tabouli salad.

Can You Refreeze The Grains?

We do not recommend refreezing the grains as they can become soggy due to repeated freezing and defrosting.

Can You Freeze Quinoa Tabouli Salad?

You cannot freeze tabouli salad as a whole dish. However, you can freeze the quinoa as you freeze bulgur wheat and add the veggies later when serving. It ensures that the salad remains fresh.

Can You Freeze Cauliflower Tabouli?

Cauliflower freezes well, and so do the grain ingredients in tabouli salad. But, the watery veggies like cucumber and tomatoes can make the salad lose its consistency and become mushy. So, you can free cauliflower tabouli if you freeze the grains and cauliflower. Then, you can add the other veggies when serving.

Can You Freeze Store-Bought Tabouli Salad?

No, we do not recommend freezing store-bought tabouli salad because it already contains the veggies like cucumber and tomatoes. Instead, we suggest refrigerating it inside the fridge for four days.

Can You Freeze Restaurant Takeaway Tabouli Salad?

Restaurant takeaway tabouli salad and store-bought tabouli salad are similar. So, you cannot freeze restaurant takeaway tabouli salad.

Can You Freeze Leftover Tabouli Salad After A Meal?

No, you cannot freeze leftover tabouli salad after a meal because the leftovers contain perishable vegetables that make it challenging to freeze tabouli salad.

Final Words

Tabouli salad is a unique dish that contains freezable and non-freezable ingredients. Unfortunately, it is impossible to freeze tabouli salad as an entire dish. However, we have found a way out of freezing tabouli salad in parts.

So, can we freeze tabouli? The answer is NO. You cannot freeze tabouli salad. But, you can freeze the compatible ingredients separately and include the perishable vegetables later when serving.

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