Tomato and Bulgur Salad With Herbs

By Noor Murad

Updated July 28, 2025

  • Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
25 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Rating
5(75)
Comments
Read comments

This earthy but bright salad comes together very quickly in just one bowl, and makes a wonderful side to a barbecue spread or as a light lunch with some soft cheese or a spoonful of hummus. Be sure to use the best tomatoes you can find; any assortment of your favorites will do. The pomegranate molasses is well worth sourcing for this dish, but if you can’t find it, you can simply up the amount of vinegar and maple syrup for a similar tart and sweet flavor.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1 large ripe plum tomato (8 ounces)

  • ½ cup fine bulgur

  • ¾ teaspoon ground allspice

  • Fine sea salt and black pepper

  • 1 ½ pounds ripe heirloom and cherry tomatoes, halved, quartered, or cut into large chunks

  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced

  • Scant ½ cup roughly torn mint leaves

  • Scant ½ cup roughly chopped parsley leaves and tender stems

  • 1 garlic clove, finely grated

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve

  • 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses, plus more to serve

  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup

  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

36 grams carbs; 246 calories; 8 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 11 grams fat; 7 grams fiber; 711 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 16 grams sugar

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.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Use a box grater to roughly grate the plum tomato into a large mixing bowl, discarding the skin. Add the bulgur, allspice, ½ teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon water, and give everything a good mix. Leave to settle for 10 to 15 minutes, until the bulgur softens.

  2. Step 2

    Stir in the cut-up tomatoes, scallions, herbs and garlic. Add the olive oil, pomegranate molasses, maple syrup, vinegar, another ½ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, and toss to combine. Taste and adjust salt quantities as desired, then pile onto a large serving bowl.

  3. Step 3

    Drizzle with more pomegranate molasses and olive oil, and serve.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
75 user ratings
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Comments

Karekin

Delicious, but just be sure to use the finely ground bulghur, which is sometimes labelled as #0 or #1, as all the others with higher numbers will not hydrate properly or enough to be edible.

caarin

Yu-u-um!! Wonderful tabouli variation. I cooked the bulgur first and made a dressing using half of the pomegranate molasses and maple syrup (personal preference). I tossed the tomatoes in the dressing first before adding to the mix. Can’t wait to make again.

AND in CDMX

There's a comment below that explains different kinds of bulgur, and that would have been helpful in the recipe. I'm not that familiar with bulgur, so merely listing "fine" bulgur was not enough to tip me off that what I had would not hydrate (as the recipe doesn't call for it to be cooked). I ended up with hard, undone bulgur. In addition to a more explicit tip/headnote, I think it would be helpful to offer an alternative using non-fine, cooked bulgur...not many Americans have different bulgurs

Anne Flaningam

I live in central Mexico. I’m not going to even try to find bulgur. I’m going to use Quinoa instead.

Elaine K.

Last fall I reduced a gallon apple cider to less than a pint of "apple molasses". A question to those who know pomegranate molasses; Would the apple molasses be a good substitute for pomegranate? I live in northern Michigan and don't have access to many things.

Jamie

Is pomegranate molasses a requirement? Not sure what else I would use it for

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