Apple bulgur pilaf is healthy, delicious and cooked in one pan. With all the nutritional benefits of apples and bulgur, and with turkey as your protein, this dish is not only good for you, it’s also filling and very tasty.
Disclosure: This Apple Bulgur Pilaf post is sponsored by Ontario Apple Growers but all photos, words and opinions are mine. Thank you for supporting the brands and organizations that support me!
Welcome to the last instalment of our delicious apple trilogy! I absolutely loved working with Ontario Apple Growers.
And I feel very lucky to live in Ontario where, according to OAG, “close to 20 different varieties of apples are grown on 16,000 acres. The province’s major apple-producing areas…are spread along the shores of Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. These large, deep bodies of water help moderate temperatures, which makes Ontario an ideal place to grow apples!” <happy dance>
For my last recipe, I’m thrilled to share one of our favourite weeknight meals – apple bulgur pilaf.
We love experimenting with different grains and whole wheats, and bulgur is right there at the top of our list!
Add healthy, delicious Ontario apples and you have a one pan meal that I hope becomes a favourite in your family too.
What is bulgur?
We first had bulgur at a Turkish restaurant near where we live. We loved it so much that the next day, we bought bulgur, started experimenting on a few dishes, and haven’t looked back since.
But what is it? Bulgur
is a type of whole wheat durum grain. It’s a common ingredient in Turkish, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine.
It’s a great source of vitamins, minerals, fibre, antioxidants and phytonutrients. It is low in fat, high in minerals and a good source of plant-based protein.
Plus, bulgur provides a very good dose of the dietary fibre you need for digestive and heart health (source).
Related: Healthy Superfood Breakfast Cookies (with video)
Apple bulgur pilaf
There are many ways to prepare bulgur but usually, we cook bulgur similarly to how we cook rice, couscous
, quinoa
or barley
– boiled, fried like rice or a combination of both.
This time, we made delicious pilaf filled with amazing and tasty ingredients and spices. We usually eat this on its own though it also works great as a side dish to your heartier meals.
Honeycrisp apples
If you recall my first two apple recipes, I chose Empire apples for its tartness and crispiness then Golden Delicious for its sweet mellow taste (remember: always look for the Foodland logo when buying apples to make sure you’re getting only the best and freshest Ontario apples).
For this recipe, we went with Honeycrisp – nice, sweet and juicy! We cooked some of the apples then added diced apples towards the end for that extra crunch. It is delicious.
Complete meal in one pot
This apple bulgur pilaf has everything you need! It has ground turkey, vegetables and spices that bring everything together.
And it just goes to show how versatile apples are. They’re awesome fresh, in desserts or in savoury dishes. Here’s a great apple usage guide to help you find your favourite apple variety and how best to use it.
Hope you enjoyed our apple trilogy as much as we did! Remember, an apple a day!
Apple Bulgur Pilaf with Turkey and Walnuts
Ingredients
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp allspice
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 1 pc onion diced
- 2 pcs red or yellow bell pepper diced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups uncooked bulgur
- 2 pcs Honeycrisp apples peeled, cored and shredded
- 1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 pc Honeycrisp apple cored and diced
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix all spices until combined. Set aside.
- In a large skillet on medium high heat, stir onions and bell peppers in oil for 4-5 minutes. Then remove from pan and set aside.
- Place ground turkey in the same pan and brown until almost all the liquid from the meat has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper.
- Put back onions and bell pepper in pan. Add spices, garlic and tomato paste. Stir until combined.
- Add bulgur, shredded apples and stir. Then add crushed tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
- Lower the temperature and simmer for another 15 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed and the bulgur is cooked.
- Add diced apples, chopped walnuts and stir to combine. Remove from heat. Serve with shopped parsley.
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
Happy cooking!
Did you make apple bulgur pilaf? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
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Ashley A Gostomski
What do you mean by one piece of onion, one piece of pepper. How much is that?
Jolina
Hi Ashley, you’ll find a toggle on the recipe card so you can see the metric conversion of the ingredient list. So that would be 230 grams onion and 470 grams red or yellow bell pepper.
Stephanie
I love bulgur. My grandma used to make her vegetarian chili with it but it’s also the only recipe I have that uses bulgur. This one looks absolutely delicious. Honeycrisp apples are my favorite so I imagine this is the perfect fall side dish! Thank you for sharing!
Jolina
Hi Stephanie! Bulgur is a relatively new discovery for us actually but has become a favourite 🙂 Hope you like the dish!
Pradeep
I don’t eat meat but this dish still delicious. I like the added apples and walnuts but I use a different kind of apples.
Robert Hoffman
I recently tried out a recipe from the Jerusalem cookbook that had similar flavor profiles with the warm spices and sweet fruits mixed into a savory dished. This one looks like a great addition,… one where you look forward to leftovers.