This fresh and herby fennel and apple salad with bulgur wheat is incredibly easy to make and a showstopping salad for a BBQ, buffet or summer lunch dish.
🍴Why you will love this recipe
A gorgeous salad with nutty bulgur wheat, crisp and fresh fennel and apple, creamy vegan feta and fresh herbs - it is simply packed with delicious flavours and textures.
This makes a perfect side-salad for a summer BBQ, or a delicious and filling lunchbox salad.
If you're transporting it for a picnic or lunch on the go, it is best to keep the dressing separate, then pour over just before serving. Also, toss the apple slices in a little lemon juice, to prevent them turning brown.
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📝 What you need
Fennel has a delicate anise flavour that goes so well with the apple and vegan feta. Don't over-cook it, it should retain its crunch and flavour.
Apple gives this salad a freshness and crunch. I like to use a tangy apple variety like Cox's.
Bulgur Wheat is best known in tabbouleh, the middle eastern salad. It comes from cracked wholegrain wheat kernels, which are par-boiled then dried before packaging for quick and easy cooking at home. If you don't have any to hand, couscous or giant couscous are great alternatives in this salad, but do cook them according to their own packet instructions.
Vegan feta is one of my favourite vegan cheese alternatives - creamy, fresh and tangy. If you can't get hold of any, just leave it out - or add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to the finished salad to replace the sharp, tangy flaovur.
👩🏽🍳 How to make your Fennel and Apple Salad with bulgur wheat
For a full, printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this page. 👇🏼
Trim and finely slice the fennel. Fry it gently until just golden with crispy edges, and set aside.
Simmer the bulgur wheat and peas in the vegetable stock until the bulgur wheat is just cooked through, but still has some bite. Tip into a large bowl and set aside to cool. Blitz the oil, vinegar, mustard and fresh herbs into a dressing.
Core and finely slice the apple then finely cube the vegan feta. Add the fennel, apple and vegan feta to the cooled bulgur wheat and serve drizzled with the herby dressing.
🔪 Top Tips & FAQs
If you are preparing this salad ahead, don't slice the apple until the last minute, or the slices will turn brown. Or you could toss the apple slices in a little lemon juice to prevent them browning.
Don't overcook the bulgur wheat. It should retain its 'bite' and nutty flavour.
Don't overcook the fennel, either! It should still have some crunch, but be slightly golden and charred at the edges.
Yes absolutely - if you prefer, you can slice the fennel very thinly indeed, (a mandoline or food processor would be good for this), and leave it raw.
This salad will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for few days, (except for the apple slices which will turn brown - don't add them until just before serving, or if you're storing leftovers, just pick them out).
Why not try my delicious Fennel Soup with peas and lemon?
🍽 If you liked that...
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📖 Recipe
Fennel & Apple Salad with bulgur wheat
Ingredients
- 1 bulb of fennel
- 2 tablespoon oil (rapeseed, olive or whatever you have to hand)
- 150 g bulgur wheat
- 300 ml vegetable stock
- 100 g peas (podded weight fresh or frozen)
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- handful fresh parsley
- handful fresh mint leaves only
- 3 spring onions trimmed and sliced
- 1 apple
- 100 g vegan 'feta' cheese I like Violife's Greek White
Instructions
- Slice the fennel bulb in half through the root, then trim and slice each half as finely as you can.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the fennel just for a few minutes until it starts to turn golden brown and charred at the edges.
- Meanwhile, place the bulgur wheat, vegetable stock and peas into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook gently for 10 minutes or until the stock has been absorbed and the bulgur wheat is cooked, (it should still have some bite and a nutty flavour). Season with salt and black pepper, then remove from the heat and tip into a large bowl to cool.
- Next, whizz together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, mint and parsley in a small blender (or chop finely and whisk together by hand in a bowl).
- Trim and slice the spring onions.
- Core and finely slice the apple. (If you are preparing ahead, you may want to toss the slices in lemon juice to prevent browning, or else slice and add them just before serving).
- Cut the vegan feta into small cubes.
- To serve, stir the herby dressing through the bulgur wheat. Scatter over the apple slices, then the spring onions, crumble over the feta, and top with the fennel.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
Love how easy this recipe is. Can’t wait to try it this weekend.thank you for the recipe!
Sharon says
This is a hearty salad that is full of flavor! I love the homemade dressing and crisp apples in it.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
I love bulgur salad and the flavors of apples and fennel works great! This recipe works great for meal prepping as well. I like to keep a batch of bulgur ready to assemble it for a quick lunch.
Joyce says
I was getting tired of making bulgur the same way and decided to try this recipe and wow it was fantastic! I'm going to add this to my rotation, thanks so much for sharing!
Roxana says
I love the combination of flavors. Something so refreshingly different and not boring. The colors are perfect and texture is crunchy.
Bernie Lazenbury says
This was a lovely meal although I had to make a couple of changes. No fennel available so topped dish with onions fried in olive oil and fennel seeds. Also added some Ras el Hanout to the couscous and a pinch of chilli.
Gorgeous!
thevegspace says
That sounds wonderful - lovely ideas!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
A gorgeous recipe Kate. I've featured it in this week's Meat Free Mondays), stumbled, pinned and tweeted. Could you link up to meat free mondays please. I want everyone to get as many new readers as possible
thevegspace says
Hi Jac, Thanks so much and really sorry to have missed off a link - now added and thanks so much for including my recipes in your roundups.
Kate
nadia says
Sounds delicious, Kate 😀 Love all the fresh herbs and flavours you've used.
thevegspace says
Thanks Nadia!
Cali says
I'm with you on all of those, plus dill, but excepting liquorice which I like (and to me isn't aniseed flavoured). I've always avoided fennel but given a similar liking of celeriac when it was roasted (I'm a celery hater too), perhaps I should give fennel a try...
thevegspace says
Glad I've found a fellow anise-hater, and with you all the way on dill! Do give roasted fennel a try though - completely different!
Nayna Kanabar says
What a lovely combination of ingredients, it looks so refreshing and delicious.
thevegspace says
Thanks Nayna!
Helen @ family-friends-food.com says
This looks lovely and really summery. Yum!
thevegspace says
Thanks Helen! x
Penelope says
This looks lovely - I adore fennel so will have to try this. It looks like it'd make a lovely light lunch too.
thevegspace says
Thanks Penelope!