You can not talk about Turkish cuisine and not mention Bulgur Pilaf. If you have ever been there (or any other Middle Eastern or Mediterranean Country), you know this easy vegan side dish is a staple that we serve with almost all our meat dishes.
In this post I will show you how to make Bulgur pilaf (as we call Bulgur Pilavi) in two different ways. First, the classic Tomato Bulgur Pilaf and then second the version of it made with Bulgur Pilaf with Vermicelli.
Table of Contents
- What Is Bulgur Pilaf?
- Ingredients:
- How To Prepare Bulgur for Making Pilaf? Should I rinse it before cooking?
- How To Cook It in Turkish Style?
- Bulgur With Vermicelli – Mom’s Version
- What Kind of Bulgur Wheat is Best? Can I cook this pilaf with other types of bulgur wheat?
- Helpful Tips from My Mom’s Recipe Book:
- How To Freeze?
- What To Serve It With?
- Other Recipes with Bulgur Wheat:
- Turkish Bulgur Pilaf Recipe
- Other Turkish recipes you might like:
Before I continue talking about this Turkish bulgur dish, I recommend that you check out my post on What is Bulgur Wheat where I covered everything you need to know about different types of bulgur, where to purchase it, and how it is different from crack wheat.
And if you’d rather cook bulgur in a more basic way, feel free to check out the post I wrote on How To Prepare and Cook Bulgur like rice to learn how different types of bulgur are cooked differently (and why) along with other bulgur recipes to help you incorporate it in your daily cooking.
What Is Bulgur Pilaf?
Bulgur pilaf is a Turkish vegetarian (or vegan) side dish made by cooking bulgur with various vegetables, and water (or stock) on the stove top. With that being said, it is a staple in many other Middle Eastern countries including Lebanon and Syria.
In some circles, what we call bulgur pilaf is referred to as Turkish bulgur rice pilaf recipe as the method of cooking is very similar to cooking rice.
Ingredients:
To make this Turkish Bulgur Pilaf recipe, you will need:
- Coarse Bulgur Wheat #3: While I used coarse bulgur wheat to make this recipe, both medium coarse #2 and extra coarse #4 would work in the recipe.
- Tomato & Tomato Paste: One medium size tomato cut into small cubes should be fine. You can also use a cup of canned diced tomatoes.
- Onion: Chopped
- Green pepper: Seeded jalapeno or green (or any other color) bell peppers would both work.
- Chickpeas: I used a can of chickpeas to add in a bit more plant-protein into the recipe.
- Cooking Liquid: You can use both water or vegetable stock.
- Spices: I used ground cumin with salt and pepper
How To Prepare Bulgur for Making Pilaf? Should I rinse it before cooking?
While there is nothing special that you need to do to prepare it for cooking, most people wonder whether or not to rinse bulgur wheat before cooking.
You cannot go wrong either way. It is a personal preference.
Growing up my mother always rinsed bulgur before cooking. Nowadays, if I am buying packaged bulgur I usually skip rinsing it.
The only time I rinse bulgur before cooking is if I am buying it from the bulk bin section of our grocery store as they might get dusty easily.
How To Rinse Bulgur Wheat?
If you decide to rinse it, simply place it in a fine mesh strainer, rinse under cold running water for 30-45 seconds, and drain it before adding into the pot.
How To Cook It in Turkish Style?
This Mediterranean Bulgur Wheat Pilaf recipe is truly easy and quick to make. Here is how you cook it:
- Saute onion and tomato paste: Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add in onion, green pepper, and saute until translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add in tomato paste and stir constantly for a minute or so.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients: Add in ground cumin, bulgur, tomatoes, chickpeas, and water (or stock). Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir & Bring it to a boil: Give it a stir, bring it to a boil, put the lid on, turn down the heat to low. Let it simmer for 10-12 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.
- Let it rest & serve: Off the heat, allow it to rest for 10 minutes (with the lid on), fluff it with a fork. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve.
If you can’t find coarse bulgur in your local supermarket, you can buy it on Amazon. This Turkish brand coarse bulgur (affiliate link) is the one I use and recommend.
Bulgur With Vermicelli – Mom’s Version
Bulgur pilaf with vermicelli was one of my mom’s signature dishes. While the bulgur pilaf made with tomato sauce is more of a traditional way of serving it, you can also make a more basic version with vermicelli.
To cook Bulgur Pilaf with Vermicelli:
- Heat oil (or butter): You can use any oil but as it is usually the case, butter makes this pilaf taste better. Heat it in medium heat.
- Saute vermicelli: Add in the vermicelli and saute until it is golden brown. It should feel like it is almost burning.
- Add in the coarse bulgur wheat: Add in bulgur and saute for 4-5 minutes while constantly stirring.
- Add in the liquid & bring it to a boil: Add in your cooking liquid (water, stock or a combination), salt and pepper and any vegetables (like I used in the recipe above) if you like. Give it a stir. Bring it to a boil, put the lid on, turn down the heat, and let it simmer for 12-15 minutes.
Don’t have vermicelli on hand? You can use orzo instead. No need to make any changes to the recipe or the way that it is cooked.
What Kind of Bulgur Wheat is Best? Can I cook this pilaf with other types of bulgur wheat?
Growing up, my mom always used coarse bulgur wheat (#3 or #4 & also known as pilavlik bulgur) to make this bulgur pilaf recipe. However, you can certainly make this dish using other types of bulgur, like fine bulgur (#1), red bulgur, or medium-coarse bulgur (#2).
The only difference would be the cooking time as listed below:
- Fine bulgur – shorten cooking time by 3-4 minutes
- Medium coarse bulgur – shorten cooking time by 2-3 minutes
- Red Bulgur – treat it like it is medium-coarse bulgur and shorten cooking time by 2-3 minutes.
Do you feel confused about all these different kinds of bulgur? If you are new to cooking bulgur and adding it in your recipes, but don’t know which one to get, feel free to check out my post I wrote on Types of Bulgur Wheat.
I made sure to explain everything you need to know about shopping for and cooking with bulgur wheat to help you feel confident about bulgur wheat.
Helpful Tips from My Mom’s Recipe Book:
My mom used to refer to these tips as “the secret to making the best bulgur pilaf recipe.”
- Use butter: Even though you can certainly make bulgur pilaf with only vegetable oil, my mom thought that using butter was the key to a good-tasting pilaf. She used 2 tablespoons of butter per 1-cup of bulgur.
With that being said, if you want to make a vegan version of this bulgur pilaf recipe, you can omit the butter and use only vegetable oil instead. - Use boiling water and/or homemade stock: Instead of using cold (or room temperature) water, she would use boiling water to make the cooking process faster. Also, if we had it available, she would substitute 1 cup of the 2 cups of liquid with chicken or vegetable stock.
- Let it rest: This was another big step. Once all the liquid was absorbed, she would remove the lid, cover it with a paper towel, and put the lid back on to rest for at least 5-10 minutes before serving. Then she would fluff it with a fork, taste it for seasoning, and add more if necessary.
How To Freeze?
To freeze this bulgur pilaf recipe simply bring it to room temperature, place it in an airtight container, and freeze up to 2 months.
Thaw it a day in advance in the fridge and warm it up on the stove before you are ready to serve it.
What To Serve It With?
Traditionally, we serve this bulgur pilaf recipe as a side dish with chicken and meat dishes. However, below I do have some serving suggestions for those of you who are following a vegetarian diet as well.
As A Side Dish with Meat Dishes:
- Beef Stew
- Instant Pot Pot Roast
- Ina Garten’s Pot Roast
- Turkish Meatball recipe
- Orange Chicken with Fennel
- Meatball Potato Casserole
As A Vegetarian Dish With:
- Tzatziki Sauce – A bowl of it on the side would be perfect
- Yogurt Dressing – A drizzle of my yogurt salad dressing on top would be great
- Cauliflower Curry – I use this simple bulgur pilaf recipe as a bedding for my favorite vegan recipe like this cauliflower curry recipe.
Other Recipes with Bulgur Wheat:
- Tabbouleh Salad
- Chicken with Bulgur
- Middle Eastern Stuffed Peppers
- Bulgur Wheat Butternut Squash Salad
- Vegan Chili – This recipe uses coarse bulgur to mimic the meat texture
Turkish Bulgur Pilaf Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil, or butter
- 1 onion, chopped, medium sized (approximately 1 cup)
- 1 green pepper, seeded jalapeno or a small bell pepper would work (approximately 1/2 cup)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup coarse bulgur, both coarse and extra coarse bulgur would work for this recipe
- 1 fresh tomato, cut into small cubes (approximately 1 cup)
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups water, boiling water (or you can use vegetable stock)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Garnishes
- handful of Italian, or flat leaf parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Saute onion and tomato paste: Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add in onion and green pepper and saute until translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add in tomato paste and stir constantly for a minute or so.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients: Add in ground cumin, bulgur, tomatoes, chickpeas, and water (or stock). Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir & Bring it to a boil: Give it a stir, bring it to a boil, put the lid on, turn down the heat to low. Let it simmer for 10-12 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.
- Let it rest & serve: Off the heat, allow it to rest for 10 minutes (with the lid on), fluff it with a fork, garnish with parsley, and serve.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: To freeze this bulgur pilaf recipe, simply bring it to room temperature, place it in an airtight container, and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw it a day in advance in the fridge and warm it up on the stove before you are ready to serve it.
- An earlier version of this recipe included a more basic bulgur pilaf made without tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetables (onion, pepper, etc.) and chickpeas. It is how my mother made it. To cook Bulgur Pilaf with Vermicelli:
- Heat oil (or butter): Heat oil in medium heat.
- Saute vermicelli: Add in the vermicelli and saute until it is golden brown for 5-6 minutes while constantly stirring it with a wooden spoon. It should feel like it is almost burning.
- Add in the coarse bulgur wheat: Add in bulgur and saute for 4-5 minutes while constantly stirring.
- Add in the liquid & bring it to a boil. Add in your cooking liquid (water, stock, or a combination), salt and pepper. Give it a stir. Bring it to a boil, put the lid on, turn down the heat, and let it simmer for 12-15 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Other Turkish recipes you might like:
- Tahini Yogurt Dressing
- Mediterranean Green Beans
- Turkish Simit Recipe
- Mediterranean Hummus Recipe
- Turkish Borek
- Turkish Coffee
This post was originally published in September 2015 and updated with additional helpful information in March 2020.
How wonderful that your mother lives on in her recipes! I love pilaf, but never thought of using bulgur! Fabulous idea!!
Yes, she does. Thanks Liz. Hope you’ll like it as much as we do. Cheers!
Hi, I am from Romania and bulgur is not a common dish for us but I bought it from curiosity and seeing the images from your recipe convinced me to give it a try tomorrow. I wish you lot of inspiration with your blog . Thanks for sharing the 5 tips, they really make the difference.
All the best, Roxana.
I am so happy to hear that you found them helpful. Sending you all the best too. ?
Ayลegรผl, I’m so sorry for your and your friend’s loss. I loved reading this post, I feel you just next to me when moving through the lines. Such an intimate post! And it’s really interesting that you both experienced similar things. Although I’m not a very religious person, I do believe such things happen in life. Sometimes we don’t need to question things, our feelings know the right direction.
And your mom’s bulgur pilaf looks so much like my mom’s. She makes it with orzo or green lentils. Thanks for sharing the secrets of best bulgur pilaf! And I love your addition of herbs. Hugs from Turkey!
Zerrin.. Cok tesekkur ederim. Guzel sozlerin icin. Soylediklerinin hepsine katiliyorum.
Ve eminim senin anneciginin tarifi de cok cok lezzetlidir. Bizim yemeklerimiz gibisi yok.
Eskisehir’e kucak dolusu sevgiler yolluyorum.
Sadly I know the type of loss your dear friend experienced, it’s a big part of what triggered my big change in life and sent me searching for a new self in a new country, , mine was much different but it echoes through my life and I imagine it will for the rest of my days. Food always tells such beautiful stories, this gorgeous recipe is a beautiful way to honor your mother…as always wonderfully done by you X Adriana
Oh Adriana.. we all have so many stories, don’t we? I am so sorry to hear that you’ve experienced something similar.
Yes, food is what connects us, even after we are no longer living in this dimension.
Thank you for your kind words, my friend.
I am feeling so grateful for your blending a portion of my Angels, Dragonflies, and Fried Egg Sandwiches blog post into your memorial post about your mom. I so wish I could have met her in life. I imagine her as a loving and fun soul. Thanks for sharing!
Dearest Monica,
She was, just like your beautiful daughter Lena.
I think your writing and experience should be heard/read. And I am glad to have the opportunity to feature it here in my humble blog.
Looking forward to reading (and healing through) more of your beautiful words, my friend.
Love and hugs!
Aysegul
Aysegul, my heartfelt pause for your Mother’s passing. I sank as I read this, contemplating the physical distance between my mom and I… knowing that time is of the essence in spending time with her. And then your friend. My eyes welled with tears. As death is a part of life, it’s sometimes hard to reconcile how the beauty of it must abruptly end. There must be something beyond.. how could there not be? Yet, living Now as you and Beeta discussed, is something I strive for… indeed easier said than done. And your mom’s recipe. Thank you for sharing with us, this precious time and moment in you and your mom’s life. For imparting her wisdom… for this. Thank you, Aysegul. I cannot wait to make this delicious recipe recognizing the care, and love behind it.
Dearest Traci,
Thank you so much for your kind note. It really means so much to me.
Like you, I believe that there must be something beyond. Though I have no choice, but to wait for my time to come to find out the answer. In the mean time, living in the moment, learning from our mistakes, and taking it one day at a time are all that I can do.
Thanks again! XOXO
Aysegul
What a touching post. I lost my father – not suddenly and quite expected as he had cancer – when I was quite young, and so whenever I read posts like this I am reminded of his passing. He imparted me with my love for food, traditional cuisine from my country, he gave that much to me that I became curious to know why we eat certain things the way we do in my country. Also, I love love love bulgur, so this recipe has got me salivating and wanting to recreate it so very much, and when I finally do, I’m sure I will think of you and your mother!
http://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt
Dear Miranda,
First of all, I am very sorry about your father. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you to loose him in such a young age.
But as you said, we are left with what they thought us and all the beautiful memories, some in form of food and some in life lessons.
I hope you’ll get a chance to try this bulgur pilaf as, thanks you my mom, it is truly foolproof.
Thanks so much for your kind words and support.
XOXO
Aysegul
Beautifully written post – and the pilaf is wonderful too! ๐
Thank you my friend.
What a beautiful post, Aysegul. The beginning passage from your friend Monica is so touching, as is your story about your own mother’s passing. What I can offer is that, though I have no scientific proof to appease the masses, I just know in my very being that we have angels with us protecting us, loving us, and comforting us until it’s our time to go. I also know that everything that happens around us is a matter of divine timing, Whether it’s the “coincidence” of an occurrence or the passing of a loved one, none of it is an accident and none of it is in our control. When we lose a loved one, we always feel shock, sadness, and mourn the loss of their physical being, but what we often fail to see is that the grief we feel is truly just an exorbitant amount of love for that person, and that not everyone can feel immense grief because not everyone can say they have felt such powerful love for another person. And for that, we must be grateful. Also, our loss is never truly a loss, because I truly do believe that our loved ones are always with us, even once their bodies are not. I was never a religious person, but believing in angels and the undying spirit that is our true selves is not a matter of religion; it’s our very core and our unquestionable truth, so scriptures nor science are not necessary as proof. If you’re ever looking for some answers and peace, I highly recommend watching or reading some of the work of the late Wayne Dyer or Eckhart Tolle. Both have completely changed my life for the better; their effect on my mind and spirit has been profound.
I can’t think of a better way of remembering the love you shared with your mother than by making one of her much celebrated recipes. This bulgar pilaf looks absolutely divine. I love that you included her secret tips – moms are always great at having those kind of tricks up their sleeve! Your pilaf looks so fluffy, and it sounds so flavorful and tasty. Thank you for sharing your story and special recipe <3
Dearest Beeta,
This is so sweet. Thank YOU so much for everything.
I believe in angels too and I feel grateful that my mom became one. She is by my side, every single day.
I have read from Eckhard Tolle in the past, and one of his books, The Power of Now, was a book that shaped who I am today. Though living in the moment is a struggle everyday. Certainly, easier said than done.
Again, thank you for your heartwarming and generous words. They mean so SO much to me.
Sending you lots of love and hugs.
Aysegul
Beyond the words What ฤฑ can say I miss her much as well But I believe your mom is with you and you feel it Thanks for the receipes There was a saying between us Cramer vs Cramer which was taken a film
Loves ayla
Ayla Teyze!!!
So good to see your name here. I know you miss her. She was wonderful, wasn’t she?
And I remember, she use to call you, “Kramercim”. โค๏ธ
Sending you warmest hugs.
Cheers!
Your pilaf looks tasty and light at the same time, I love it
Thank you so much!