How to Cook Bulgur, and Which Grade to Use

To cook bulgur, match the method to the grind. Fine bulgur needs no stove: cover it with boiling water and let it stand until soft, or let a salad's lemon and tomato juice soften it. Medium and coarse bulgur cook like rice. The stovetop bulgur recipe from Food Hero, Oregon State University Extension's recipe site, simmers 1 cup of bulgur in 2 cups of water, covered, for about 12 minutes, then drains off whatever liquid is left. One cup of dry bulgur makes about 3 cups cooked. It is that quick because bulgur is wheat that was boiled and dried before it was cracked.

What is bulgur?

Bulgur is whole wheat that has been cooked, dried and broken into pieces. Food Hero describes it as "cracked whole-grain kernels of wheat that are partly cooked and then dried before packaging." The Whole Grains Council gives the sequence: "When wheat kernels are cleaned, boiled, dried, ground by a mill, then sorted by size, the result is bulgur." Because the whole kernel is cooked before it is cut, the council says bulgur "remains a whole grain."

That first cooking is why it is fast. Duru Bulgur, a Turkish producer, explains that the starch in the wheat is gelatinized during precooking at the factory, and that this is what makes bulgur easy to cook. Wikipedia's bulgur entry goes as far as saying bulgur "does not require cooking" and that "soaking in water is all that is needed."

The word is the Turkish pronunciation of the Arabic burghul, according to the same Wikipedia entry. Food Hero lists bulgar and bulghur as other spellings, which is why the bulgur recipe on this site has "bulgar" in its web address.

What is bulgur made from?

Wheat, though not always the same wheat. Turkey's food code for bulgur, the Türk Gıda Kodeksi Bulgur Tebliği, No. 2016/49, defines it as durum, common, einkorn or emmer wheat that has been cleaned, cooked and dried, then hulled and cracked if wanted. Duru says yellow bulgur, made from durum wheat, is the most common kind in the world, and that darker bulgur comes from red soft wheats. Its production page lists the steps in order: cleaning and washing, boiling, drying, stone milling, then sifting the pieces by size.

Fine, medium, coarse: the grades and their numbers

That last sifting step makes the grades. Bags from Middle Eastern importers add a number to the word:

• Fine, #1: the smallest pieces, for salads and kibbeh.
• Medium, #2: in between, and works soaked or simmered.
• Coarse, #3: the usual grade for pilaf.
• Extra coarse, #4: the biggest pieces, and the slowest to cook.

The numbers come from importers' labels. Ziyad, a US importer of Middle Eastern foods, sells grades marked #1 (Fine) and #3 (Coarse), and its Turkish-style bulgur pilaf calls for "#2 Medium or #3 Coarse." Sadaf sells a Bulghur #4, Extra Coarse, which it pitches for pilafs, kibbeh and soups.

Turkey's food code does not number the grades. It names them by the dish they are for. Köftelik bulgur, "for köfte", is the fine grade, split into köftelik and köftelik ince (fine köftelik). Pilavlık bulgur, "for pilaf", is the coarse grade, in four sizes: pilavlık tane (whole-kernel), iri pilavlık (large), plain pilavlık and ince pilavlık (fine). The recipe on this site translates between the two systems in its ingredient list, which reads "pilavlik bulgur (coarse #3)".

Which bulgur for tabbouleh, kibbeh and pilaf

• Tabbouleh and kısır take fine bulgur. Wikipedia describes kısır, the Turkish bulgur salad, as made with "finely ground bulgur", parsley and tomato paste. Ziyad's tabouli uses 1/4 cup of fine bulgur and never soaks it in water. It rinses and drains the bulgur, then lets it "soften in the juices of the salad", because "the lemon juice and tomato juices will hydrate it perfectly."
• Kibbeh and içli köfte take fine bulgur too. Wikipedia's kibbeh entry describes bulgur pounded with meat "into a fine paste", and the Cypriot version in the bulgur entry has a crust of fine bulgur, flour, oil, salt and egg. Ziyad's pumpkin kibbeh starts with 2 cups of fine bulgur, rinsed and completely drained. Sadaf's #4 shows that some brands sell extra coarse bulgur for kibbeh too, so follow the recipe you are cooking.
• Pilaf and hot sides take coarse bulgur, or medium. The bulgur recipe on this site says in its FAQ that coarse bulgur keeps a pilaf "fluffy and separate", and that fine bulgur "would turn mushy as a hot side."
• Soups and stews can take any grind, added dry. Bob's Red Mill suggests pouring a cup of bulgur straight into a soup and letting it rehydrate in the broth.

How to cook bulgur, grade by grade

Fine bulgur: soak it

Fine bulgur needs only hot water. Food Hero's soaking method covers the bulgur with boiling water and leaves it for 10 to 30 minutes before draining off the extra, noting that "less time is needed for fine-grain bulgur." Start checking fine bulgur at 10 minutes and drain it as soon as it is tender. For tabbouleh or kısır, drain it well so the salad does not turn watery, or skip the water and let the dressing do the work, as Ziyad's tabouli does.

Medium and coarse bulgur: simmer it

Food Hero's stovetop method makes about 3 cups:

1. Put 1 cup of bulgur and 2 cups of water in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.
2. Cover the pan, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook until the bulgur is tender, about 12 minutes.
3. Drain off any liquid left in the pan and fluff the bulgur with a fork.
4. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Bob's Red Mill gives the same ratio and the same 12 minutes for its golden bulgur, and the Whole Grains Council's cooking chart lists bulgur at 1 cup to 2 cups of liquid, 10 to 12 minutes, for 3 cups. Bob's also says the finer the grain, the shorter the cooking time, so extra coarse bulgur may need a few minutes more. Taste a few grains before you drain. To season it, Bob's adds salt, dried herbs or spices and a little olive oil to the pot. Ziyad's pilaf takes water or stock.

Why some recipes use 1 1/2 cups of water instead of 2

The 2-cup method ends with draining, so a little extra water does no harm. A pilaf is cooked by absorption, with nothing poured off, so it gets less. Ziyad's Turkish-style pilaf uses 1 1/2 cups of water or stock for 1 cup of #2 or #3 bulgur, simmered covered on low "until all the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes."

On rinsing, the sources split. Ziyad rinses and drains its bulgur, and so does the recipe on this site. Duru says its bulgur is washed during production, so "there is no need to wash Duru Bulgur before it is cooked." If you do rinse, drain it well, because water clinging to the grain adds to the liquid in the pot.

Soaking or simmering?

Soak fine bulgur for anything served cold or bound with meat: tabbouleh, kısır, kibbeh. Simmer medium and coarse bulgur for anything served hot. Coarse bulgur can be soaked too, but it is slower. Food Hero's soak runs to 30 minutes for coarse grains, and Bob's Red Mill's pre-soak, 1 cup of boiling water stirred into 1 cup of bulgur, stands for an hour. Simmering is faster, and it is the only way to cook the grain in broth with onion and spices, which is what makes it a pilaf.

The coarse bulgur pilaf on this site

The Turkish bulgur and adana kebab is served on a pilaf made from 1 1/2 cups of pilavlık bulgur, coarse #3, cooked in 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth. That is about 1 2/3 cups of liquid per cup of bulgur, a little more than Ziyad's pilaf, and the cook is longer: 20 to 25 minutes covered on low, then 10 minutes resting off the heat with the lid still on.

Before any broth goes in, the recipe rinses the bulgur until the water runs clear and builds the flavor in the pot. Garlic and tomato paste cook in olive oil and butter for 1 to 2 minutes. A grated Roma tomato, half a grated onion and half a finely chopped red bell pepper follow for 2 to 3 minutes, until most of their moisture has cooked off. Then the bulgur is stirred in and toasted for 1 to 2 minutes before the broth, salt and paprika are added. The recipe's tips say toasting in oil or butter brings out a nutty flavor and helps the grains stay separate instead of clumping.

The kebabs air fry at 425°F for 12 minutes, rest for a few minutes, and go straight onto the bulgur so it catches everything that runs off them. The Middle Eastern pantry staples guide gives the short version in its grains section: fine bulgur for tabbouleh, coarse for pilafs. For the rest of the plate, see what to serve with kebabs.

Bulgur vs cracked wheat

Bulgur is cracked wheat that was cooked first. Cracked wheat sold under that name is usually raw, and Bob's Red Mill gives that as the main difference: "cracked wheat is entirely raw, and therefore takes much longer to cook." Swap one for the other and the timing in the recipe will be wrong.

The packaging does not always keep the names apart. Ziyad sells its #1 and #3 grades as "Cracked Wheat", its glossary puts those sizes in tabbouleh and cooked sides, and its recipes call for "fine bulgur wheat." So read the directions on the back of the bag rather than the name on the front. A soak, or a simmer of about 12 to 15 minutes, points to bulgur.

Bulgur vs couscous vs quinoa

Bulgur and couscous both come from wheat, bulgur from the whole kernel and couscous from semolina, while quinoa is the seed of a different plant. Per cup cooked, from USDA FoodData Central:

• Bulgur (182 g): 151 calories, 5.6 g of protein, 8.2 g of fiber.
• Couscous (157 g): 176 calories, 6.0 g of protein, 2.2 g of fiber. Wikipedia's couscous entry describes it as "small steamed granules of rolled semolina", made from "the hardest part of the grain of durum wheat." Supermarket couscous is usually pre-steamed and dried, and is made by adding "1.5 measures of boiling water or stock to each measure of couscous and then leaving it covered tightly for about five minutes."
• Quinoa (185 g): 222 calories, 8.1 g of protein, 5.2 g of fiber. Wikipedia's quinoa entry calls the plant "a pseudocereal botanically related to spinach and amaranth", grown for its seeds.

Wikipedia's bulgur entry says bulgur "is often used where rice or couscous could be used." Couscous is the quickest of the three, about five minutes off the heat. Quinoa is the one to reach for when the dish has to be gluten-free.

Is bulgur gluten-free?

No. Bulgur is wheat, and the Turkish code allows durum, common, einkorn or emmer. The NIDDK, part of the US National Institutes of Health, lists "wheat and types of wheat, such as durum, emmer, semolina, and spelt" among the grains that contain gluten. Couscous is no way around it: the Celiac Disease Foundation lists couscous with the pastas that contain gluten. NIDDK names rice as naturally gluten-free, and counts quinoa and buckwheat among the gluten-free foods.

Bulgur nutrition

Per cup of cooked bulgur (182 g), USDA FoodData Central lists 151 calories, 33.9 g of carbohydrate, 5.6 g of protein, 0.4 g of fat and 8.2 g of fiber, with 58 mg of magnesium and 1.1 mg of manganese. Cooked bulgur is 78% water by weight. Dry, 100 g of bulgur has 342 calories and 12.5 g of fiber (FDC 170688).

Is bulgur wheat healthy?

It is a whole grain with more fiber per cup than rice, couscous or quinoa in USDA's figures. The Whole Grains Council says bulgur "has more fiber than quinoa, oats, millet, buckwheat or corn", and USDA bears out the quinoa part: 4.5 g of fiber per 100 g of cooked bulgur against 2.8 g for cooked quinoa. The exception is anyone with celiac disease, who has to leave it out.

Is bulgur healthier than rice?

On fiber and calories, bulgur comes out ahead: 151 calories and 8.2 g of fiber per cup cooked. The two rices, per cup cooked, from USDA FoodData Central:

• Brown rice, long-grain (202 g): 248 calories, 5.5 g of protein, 3.2 g of fiber (FDC 169704).
• White rice, long-grain, enriched (158 g): 205 calories, 4.3 g of protein, 0.6 g of fiber (FDC 168878).

Enriched white rice does carry more folate, 58 µg per 100 g against 18 µg for bulgur. And rice is gluten-free, which settles the question for anyone who cannot eat wheat.

How do you use bulgur?

Anywhere you would put rice or couscous, plus a few dishes that are built on it:

• Salads: tabbouleh and kısır, with fine bulgur.
• Kibbeh and içli köfte, which use fine bulgur for the shell.
• Pilaf, with coarse bulgur, under grilled meat or beside a stew. Wikipedia notes that Armenian cooks make it "in chicken stock, with or without sautéed noodles."
• Soups and stews, stirred in dry.
• Breakfast porridge. Wikipedia says the medium and fine grains are used "as breakfast cereals".
• Bread, where "it adds a whole-grain component."

How to store bulgur

Keep dry bulgur in an airtight container somewhere cool and dark, which Bob's Red Mill says stops it absorbing moisture and growing mold. Cooked bulgur goes in the fridge within 2 hours of cooking. Food Hero says to use it within 3 days for best quality, or to freeze it in airtight packaging for up to 2 months.