Freekeh, Chickpea and Herb Salad
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- 1cup freekeh
- ½teaspoon salt, more to taste
- ½cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- ¼cup chopped fresh mint
- 1cup thinly sliced celery, plus 3 tablespoons chopped leaves
- 1bunch scallions, finely chopped
- 1can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ¼cup fresh lemon juice, more to taste
- ½teaspoon lightly toasted cumin seeds, ground, more to taste
- 1garlic clove, minced or puréed (optional)
- 6tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
314 calories; 16 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 37 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 388 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Heat a medium-size heavy saucepan over medium-high heat and add freekeh. Toast in the dry pan, shaking pan or stirring, until freekeh becomes fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 2 cups water and salt and bring to a boil.
- Step 2
Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes or until water has been absorbed. Turn off heat and uncover. Place a clean dish towel over the pot and return lid. Let sit at least 10 minutes. Uncover and allow freekeh to cool another 10 minutes.
- Step 3
In a large bowl, combine freekeh, chopped herbs, celery, scallions and chickpeas and toss together. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, cumin, garlic, salt and olive oil; toss with salad. Taste and add more lemon juice if desired. Serve right away or let sit for up to 1 hour before serving.
Tip
- Advance preparation: The salad is best served within a few hours of tossing with the dressing, but it will keep for a few days in the refrigerator. The cooked freekeh will keep for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Judith H
I took suggestions from others and added some feta cheese and a handful of Greek olives to the mix. I also threw in a handful of golden currants. The results were delicious!
MsMcK
Loved this salad, made per the recipe. Next time I will use home-cooked chickpeas. Served the leftovers the next day with feta cheese mixed in & roasted eggplant on the side. Sooo tasty!
Barbara Natusch
Loved the flavors in this salad! Healthy, nutty, good combination of herbs, esp. ground cumin seeds.
Cheri
This is a meal, not just a side dish. You can find several brands of freekeh at the vitacost.com store. While you're there, you can buy a lot, really a lot of other products as well.
Sally
I add canned sardines and chopped pistachios, and also I made the chickpeas from dried. Very fulfilling and healthy lunch.
Nancy
This was excellent. My second go used fennel instead of celery and I'll try more changes.
K. McKinin
Just made this as a vegan side dish for Thanksgiving... I tweaked the recipe a bit, including using Harissa spice mixture instead of cumin, which worked well. My main comment is that the amount of oil in the dressing made for a rather greasy end result. Next time I will cut the oil or just add the dressing in stages instead of at once to find the right consistency. Also added some chopped yellow and red bell pepper to the mixture at the end, just to give it a bit more color for the table.
Laura C.
Hard to find the freekeh but worth it -- this was delicious, healthful and fresh!
Alexandra
This is a delicious dish to showcase freekeh, and adaptable to a variety of tastes and preferences. I didn’t have leaves on my celery, so I subbed in baby chard - and, though it’s good as-is, added a small amount of feta I had lying around in the fridge. Toasted walnuts would also be a pleasant touch, but I’ll save that for next time. I doubled the recipe and now have work lunches for the week.
Katy
Followed the recipe to the letter-- toasting the cumin seed then grinding it, fresh mint and parsley, etc-- and it turned out exactly like tabouli. It's freekah tabouli. I don't understand the rave reviews. I added way more cumin, chopped dates, and feta cheese so I could bring it to a dinner and feel like I was giving people something new.
KateNYC
This was terrific and my first experience with freekeh. I substituted thin slices of red onion for the scallions because that's what I had. I added feta as others did and added the dressing with a light hand. It was also excellent as a leftover for lunch the next day. I'll happily make it again but freekeh can be hard to find (and I live in NYC) and pricey, so I think you could easily substitute farro, wheatberries, or even barley although the tender, chewy texture of the freekeh was wonderful.
LJGenovese
Delicious! I made some adjustments as suggested by others: reduced olive oil to 4 Tbsp, used fennel in place of celery, added some olives and feta. My only dilemma was that it took way longer than 25 minutes for the freekeh to absorb the water. I cooked it on low for at least 45 minutes, then skipped the steaming under a dish towel instruction. Next I might reduce the amount of water and will definitely increase the amount of cumin.
PS
This is so easy and delicious. I usually add a tahini sauce for some extra flavor.
Sara Mac
Delicious!
Rose
Rather than adding all that olive oil, I drizzled the salad with walnut oil and added feta. Also added dukkah, an Egyptian spice blend wit ground nuts It was great.
dms
Be careful of stones in the freekeh. I nearly lost a tooth! There's a video online about how to swirl it in water, sort of like panning for gold, only you're panning for small stones.
Christy75
Swapped coriander seeds for cumin and chives/fresh coriander leaves for mint since it was what I had on hand. Added feta as suggested and also added the drained, rinsed chickpeas as the grain was cooking to remove the “can quality”. Phenomenal dish. So glad I randomly picked up the freekeh in the Middle Eastern shop the other day!
Michael
This recipe borders on the sublime, especially with a bit of feta added in. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Kaylé
Excellent recipe to iterate from. I added grilled halloumi and it sets it off so nicely! I love freekeh's smoky taste that adds a little something-something to the experience.
Kelly
Decided to make this because I had some freekeh in the pantry. Short version of craziness... ended up subbing Buckwheat for the freekeh, jicama for the celery, and cutting the oil to 6 teaspoons instead of tablespoons. I'm sure the original is fabulous, but the subbed version was great! Will try freekeh sometime soon.
SashaK
Added feta to the dish. Super flavorful!
LR
Delicious! Couldn't find freekeh, so we made it with bulgar instead. Added chopped kalamata olives and feta
Yoko Kuno
It was good.
Nell
Saute the chickpeas in olive oil first
KateNYC
This was terrific and my first experience with freekeh. I substituted thin slices of red onion for the scallions because that's what I had. I added feta as others did and added the dressing with a light hand. It was also excellent as a leftover for lunch the next day. I'll happily make it again but freekeh can be hard to find (and I live in NYC) and pricey, so I think you could easily substitute farro, wheatberries, or even barley although the tender, chewy texture of the freekeh was wonderful.
efg
I couldn’t find freekeh so I used spelt farro. I’m eating it right now and I’m really enjoying it. I haven’t ever had freekeh só can’t make a comparison, but this seems to work. I also added feta as I’ve seen mentioned in other notes - yum.
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