An easy couscous salad packed with Mediterranean flavors. This couscous salad recipe comes together in only 15 minutes and makes an amazing side dish.

 

It’s great to see you love our Mediterranean recipes as much as we do.  Mediterranean cuisine offers many salad recipes that are so versatile and delicious. Some popular and tasty Mediterranean salad recipes are Fattoush salad, tabouli salad recipe, Greek salad and Mediterranean potato salad. All these salads are made with fresh ingredients and are packed with flavor thanks to their zesty, bright dressings. 

About this recipe

Salads never have to be boring. My couscous salad is packed with all kinds of delicious vegetables and is flavored with a bright, zesty dressing. Like our Turkish bulgur salad, this salad also takes advantage of herbs and keeps so well in the fridge.

One of the reasons that I keep making this salad is that it comes together in no time. It’s also very healthy and versatile because you can have it as a nice side dish, or an appetizer. This vegetarian couscous salad also makes a great lunch or dinner on its own or with the addition of some chicken.

All about couscous

Couscous is made of semolina which is the hard cracked wheat made from the first crushing in the milling process. In the olden days, it was made by hand and it required a lot of labor and long hours of drying in the sun. Couscous is made from the mixture of semolina and water comes in two forms of fine and pearl couscous.

It’s very easy to make couscous at home. This super fine pasta is very popular in Northern Africa especially Morocco. It can be served as a side dish alongside tagine, which is a Moroccan dish made with vegetables, meat and even fruit.

You can use couscous right away or refrigerate it for up to three days and use it in different recipes. Couscous on it’s own doesn’t have a special flavor so you can easily add flavors to it using salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, sumac and herbs.

Ingredients

• Couscous: Make sure to use fine couscous for this recipe. You can make it a day ahead and refrigerate it until you’re ready to make the salad.
• Olives: I like using pitted Kalamata olives but you can also use green olives.
• Artichokes hearts: Preferably the marinated kind.
• Cucumber: As always, my preference is to use Persian or mini cucumbers but English cucumber would work too.
• Tomato: Cherry, Roma or Campari tomatoes would work for this couscous salad. It’s best to use firm tomatoes.
• Red onion: Adds a lot of flavor to the salad.
• Herbs: You need parsley, cilantro, mint and green onions. If all is not available, use one or two of the herbs mentioned.

As for the dressing, you need the following:

• Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil gives all the flavor to this salad.
• Lemon juice: To have a bright and zesty salad, use freshly squeezed lemon juice.
• Garlic: A couple cloves of garlic go a long way when it comes to salad dressing.
• Spices: You need sumac, salt and pepper.

Instructions

Make the couscous

Couscous is unbelievably easy to prepare. The ratio of couscous to water is 1:1 1/2. Make sure you don’t use too much water otherwise there will be excess water in the couscous which would make it mushy and not fluffy. 

To make couscous:

• Place one cup dry couscous in a large bowl and pour 1 1/2 cup boiling water into the bowl.
• Lightly stir the couscous, cover and let it sit for ten minutes.
• Using a fork, fluff the couscous very well and make sure it’s not stuck together.

Make and assemble the salad

While the couscous is cooling, chop the kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion and the herbs. Make the dressing as well by mixing the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and spices in a small bowl or a mason jar.

Once the couscous has cooled completely, fluff it using a fork. Add in the chopped vegetables and herbs and give it a good stir. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix to combine. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

Additions and variation

This easy homemade couscous salad is so versatile. You can add other ingredients to make it even more delicious and filling such as:

• Grilled chicken (try my Greek grilled chicken) or leftover chicken
• Grilled vegetables
• Chickpeas
• Bell peppers
• Dried fruit such as raisins and apricots
• Nuts such as almonds, toasted pine nuts and walnuts. 

Serving suggestions

This couscous salad makes a great side dish for many Mediterranean dishes such as Mediterranean chicken, garlic chicken and Greek meatballs. It would also be perfect to serve with grilled dishes like beef shish kabob, shrimp kabobs or zaatar chicken.

If you’d like to make this salad as part of a larger mezze platter, you can serve it alongside marinated olives, hummus and baba ganoush.

Frequently Asked Questions

Notes and tips

• You can make the couscous ahead of time for this salad and simply mix it with chopped vegetables the day you’re planning to serve it.
• To make the couscous dressing, you can place all the ingredients in a small jar, secure the lid and shake well for about a minute or two.
• I like to chop the vegetables quite small so every bite contains almost all the vegetables. However, I only cut the olive in half.
• This salad is perfect for barbecues and potlucks. Make a big batch and take it to the party, everyone loves it.
• If you like spicy couscous salad, add 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper to the salad dressing.

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