Mediterranean couscous salad with a fresh lemon herb dressing. Tiny durum wheat semolina cooks on the stovetop then gets tossed with colorful vegetables, feta cheese, olives, and garbanzo beans. A healthy side dish that packs a crunch!
This Mediterranean couscous salad strikes the perfect balance of phytonutrients and fiber-rich vegetables plus protein that makes this salad light yet satisfying. This vegetarian side dish celebrates the use of fresh and flavorful ingredients with each bite delivering a burst of flavor.
Couscous is an underutilized pantry item. It’s a staple in regions like Morocco and Northern Africa, but we often forget how versatile it is to use in our daily meals. The good news if you pick up a package of instant couscous, it only takes 5 minutes to absorb hot water and turn into tender grains.
Couscous has a lovely nuttiness and acts like little sponges, selfishly soaking up the citrus dressing for your benefit. It’s a wonderful solution when you’re needing a quick and light meal.
How to make Mediterranean couscous
- Allow couscous to absorb hot water until tender.
- Fluff with a fork and allow to cool.
- Combine with vegetables, garbanzo beans, herbs, and feta.
- Combine lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper.
- Toss with lemon herb dressing.
Is couscous pasta?
No, couscous is crushed durum wheat semolina that is formed into tiny spheres. It’s much smaller compared to traditional Italian pasta. There are different types of couscous available, and depending on the size can yield a more delicate or chewier experience.
How do you cook couscous?
With the instant variety, the stovetop method cooks in just 5 minutes of covered soaking in hot water, then it’s ready to add into the salad once cooled. The microwave method just involves heating water to near boiling, then stirring in couscous, covering, and sitting until light and fluffy. It’s an extremely convenient starch to use, that pleasantly absorbs the salad dressing for super flavor bites.
How do you make lemon herb dressing?
A combination of fresh lemon zest and juice, red wine vinegar, herbs, and extra virgin olive oil provides a nice tang to the salad. The ingredients are whisked to create a quick emulsified dressing.
The recipe makes just enough salad dressing to coat the components, but you can always double the amount if you would like to serve more on the side. If you have extra, a few slices of lemon to squeeze on top would be nice to serve at the table.
What ingredients do you add to couscous salad?
To infuse Mediterranean flavors, I add a hearty amount of red bell pepper, red onion, cucumbers, ripe tomatoes, kalamata olives, and feta cheese. Freshly chopped herbs like mint, basil, and parsley add fragrant aromas, while dried oregano adds an earthy taste. Garbanzo beans or chickpeas add a source of vegetarian protein and creaminess.
Serve this with
Why you should never boil instant couscous
Instant Moroccan couscous is pre-cooked, compared to the traditional varieties. This means that you don’t need continuous boiling or simmering, otherwise the texture will become overcooked and mushy. Just a simple stir and sit in hot water will perfectly cook them.
Mediterranean Couscous Salad
Ingredients
Couscous
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup instant couscous
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salad
- ½ cup diced roma tomato, ¼-inch dice
- ½ cup diced english cucumber, seeds removed, ¼-inch dice
- ½ cup diced red bell pepper, ⅛-inch dice
- ½ cup canned garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup minced red onion
- ½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
- 2 tablespoons feta cheese
- 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon chopped mint
- 1 teaspoon chopped basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
Lemon Dressing
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
Couscous
- Bring water, salt, and olive oil to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add couscous and stir quickly. Turn off the heat and cover.
- Let couscous stand until tender, 5 minutes and then fluff with a fork and let cool.
Salad
- Combine couscous, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, garbanzo beans, red onion, olives, cheese, parsley, mint, basil, and oregano in a medium bowl.
Lemon Dressing
- Whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and whisk until a thickened dressing forms.
- Pour dressing over the couscous salad, stir to combine.
Equipment
Notes
- This recipe uses instant Moroccan couscous, but Israeli pearl or Lebanese can be substituted.
- Other types of vinegar can be used like white wine vinegar, apple cider, or balsamic vinegar.
- The dressing can be doubled, reserving half for serving on the side.
- MAKE IT LOW CARB: Use 2 ½ cups cauliflower rice instead of couscous. You can eat raw or saute and then add with the vegetables.
- Serving Size: About 2/3 cups
Shawna Nelson says
Wondering how this would hold up in the fridge. I was thinking of prepping this ahead of time for lunches.
Jessica Gavin says
If you meal prep, I would wait to add the dressing. That way it doesn’t absorb completely and you have a stronger flavor when you add it right before enjoying.
dzubinski says
Holds up beautifully in the fridge. Made the recipe x3. I actually mixed everything with the dressing right away and it soaked in nicely. Only thing I add extra with every serving is lemon juice for freshness. Would recommend splitting the prep among 1-3 different containers, that way you don’t keep opening the one. Stays fresh for over a week. One of my favorites.
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you for sharing your make-ahead tips!
Tkbee says
Made this to go along side my eggplant parmigiana and it was perfect.
I mixed everything together, used chicken stock to cook the couscous the dressing soaked in but that’s fine just added a little fresh lemon juice.
Jessica Gavin says
Thanks for your feedback!
Megan Morales says
This recipe was AMAZING! It was the perfect balance of tang, salt, sweet and sour. The crisp cucumber, pop of the couscous, juicy tomatoes, crunchy red peppers and soft feta made for the perfect dance in my mouth. The lemon in the dressing and added fresh herbs made the whole thing taste so light, fresh and vibrant! The only change I made is that I added diced mango.
I served this with Greek chicken.
I’ve never made Mediterranean food before, but now it’s all I want to eat for the rest of the year 🙂 I had this last night for dinner, and now I’ve had it for both breakfast and lunch. I think it will become a staple in my fridge!
Thanks for such a stellar recipe!
Jessica Gavin says
I love the addition of the mango to the couscous salad!
Cathy Wallingford says
I doubled the fresh basil, parsley, and mint. Delicious! Thanks for this recipe 🙂
Jessica Gavin says
Sounds delicious!