This Jennifer Aniston salad is such a textural delight! Made with bulgur, fresh veggies and herbs, simple dressing, chickpeas, crumbled feta, and roasted pistachios, this salad is a symphony of salty and acidic flavors.
Table of Contents
- Why you’ll love this Jennifer Aniston salad recipe
- What is the Jennifer Aniston salad?
- Ingredients Needed
- How to make delicious Jennifer Aniston salad
- What to serve with this salad?
- Recipe variations
- Storage instructions
- Recommended tools to make this recipe
- Recipe tips and tricks
- Frequently asked questions
- Jennifer Aniston Salad
- More delicious salads to try
Why you’ll love this Jennifer Aniston salad recipe
Like Kim Kardashian’s famous chia pudding or Gigi Hadid’s pasta, Jen’s salad also took the internet by storm.
Similar to my wedge salad, Green Goddess salad, or Asian cucumber salad, this salad is also filling, full of refreshing flavors, and easy to make!
- Light yet filling. This salad is a perfect lunch recipe, especially if you’re a vegetarian! You won’t feel stuffed, yet it’ll keep you full for a long time.
- Healthy and balanced. This salad is healthy and balanced with carbs from bulgur, good fats from pistachios, oil, and feta, proteins from chickpeas, vitamins, antioxidants, and veggie fibers.
- Simple. Like a chicken avocado salad or chicken salad with grapes, you don’t need complicated appliances, cooking techniques, or long durations to put together this salad.
- Tasty. Despite a simple vinaigrette, this salad wins all the brownie points for a fantastic taste.
- Perfect for meal prep. You can simply prep the veggies and herbs and cook the wheat bulgur in advance. Once ready to eat, combine everything with the dressing and serve!
What is the Jennifer Aniston salad?
Ever since the actor revealed her lunch salad to the world, the recipe has gone viral over the internet. And because it is so quick and easy to make, everyone is obsessed with it! This healthy and filling salad is made with bulgur, crunchy veggies, creamy feta, and a generous helping of pistachios and chickpeas. And because our beloved actress does not like sugar, the salad has no sweet elements.
Ingredients Needed
Don’t be frazzled by the list of ingredients below. You’ll likely have all the remaining contents in your pantry or refrigerator except for canned chickpeas and bulgur. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Bulgur. It is parboiled cracked wheat, rife with nutrients. Start with uncooked bulgur. If you cannot find bulgur wheat, make this recipe with quinoa.
- Water. To cook bulgur.
- Cucumber. Cucumber adds a nice crunch to the salad. Thinly slice your cucumber.
- Chickpeas. You’ll need one can of boiled chickpeas. Remember to drain and rinse the chickpeas before use. You can also cook your chickpeas at home.
- Red onion. Evenly chop your onion.
- Fresh parsley and mint. Chop your herbs finely so that they distribute well.
- Pistachios. If buying treated pistachios, go for salted, roasted, and deshelled ones.
- Feta cheese. It adds a soft, creamy, and salty element to the salad.
- Lemon juice. For the tangy vinaigrette. Use freshly squeezed lemon juice if possible.
- Olive oil. To make the oil lemon juice vinaigrette.
- Salt and black pepper. For the seasoning.
How to make delicious Jennifer Aniston salad
- Boil the bulgur. Add bulgur and water to a pot and allow it to boil. Simmer it covered for 10 minutes.
- Make the dressing. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
- Toss the salad and serve. Mix all the veggies, chickpeas, and cooked and drained bulgur in a large bowl. Top it off with pistachios and cheese, and drizzle with lemon dressing.
What to serve with this salad?
This salad stands tall on its feet. If Jennifer Aniston has just this salad for a meal, I trust that it is filling!
Nonetheless, a side of warm flatbread, chicken, steak, or salmon is always welcome! You can also make wrap like my Greek salad wrap.
Recipe variations
- Make it vegan. Substitute the feta cheese with a plant-based alternative to make this recipe vegan.
- Make it creamier. Add diced, ripe avocados for a creamy, tasty salad.
- Add sweet elements. Add pomegranate or dried berries to the salad to balance off the savoriness.
- Use other seeds or nuts. While salted pistachios have a luxurious flavor, you can opt for roasted almonds, pumpkin, or sunflower seeds.
- Add more protein. While chickpeas are full of protein, feel free to increase the protein content by adding tofu pieces or your favorite meat (we love chicken breast, steak, or even some salmon!). For a flavor explosion, add some sliced smoked chicken breast.
Storage instructions
To store. This salad is excellent for meal prep. You can make it in bulk and portion it in airtight containers so that it lasts the whole week in the refrigerator!
To freeze. I don’t recommend freezing this salad! Serve fresh and devour!
Recommended tools to make this recipe
- Salad bowl. You cannot do without this large salad bowl when making a salad for one or ten.
- Lemon juicer. You’ll need this juicer for many recipes unless you always use store-bought lemon juice.
- Small pot. This simple pot is so versatile. You can boil rice, cream, caramel, or cook bulgur.
Recipe tips and tricks
- Use stock to cook your bulgur. Use chicken or vegetable stock instead of good old plain water for cooking your bulgur.
- Customize it. This salad is easy to make, and there aren’t any pain points. So, experiment with your additions to create a smashing salad.
- Soak onions. Soak chopped onions in cold water to remove the sharp onion flavor.
- Cool bulgur before combining. Let the bulgur cool down before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients. You don’t want a mushy, warm salad.
Frequently asked questions
No, unfortunately, this salad contains gluten. But if you wish to make a gluten-free salad, substitute bulgur with quinoa.
Interestingly, this is not the said salad. Jennifer Aniston ate Cobb salad during the ten years of filming Friends.
Jennifer Aniston Salad
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place the bulgur in a small pot with water and bring it to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover the pot with a lid. Cook for 10 min and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- In a salad bowl, combine cucumber, chickpeas, red onion, mint, and parsley.
- Drain any excess water from the bulgur and combine it with the veggies in the salad bowl.
- Sprinkle with pistachios and feta cheese, followed by the dressing, and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
More delicious salads to try
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Hello, Can u sub quinoa for the bulgur?
Quinoa or brown rice!
Looks great and I love a salad with lots of ingredients but this is far from low carb.
Thanks for the recipe. And I love Jen! And watched the Friends series twice!
Looks so good looking forward to receiving your recipes!
Thank you for sharing.
Maggie
We make this often. It is easy to make and is wonderful!