Israeli couscous salad is packed with vegetables and cooked pearl couscous and chickpeas. With simple lemon dressing and loads of fresh herbs, this salad is great for picnics and potlucks on hot summer days.
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About couscous salad recipe
1. It’s a healthy salad that packs a crunch. It’s fresh, vibrant, and wonderfully delicious!
2. The salad is easy to make with a simple but flavorful salad dressing.
3. This recipe strikes a perfect balance of nutrients, fiber, and protein content. It’s light yet filling and satisfying.
4. Adding complex carbs like couscous to the salad makes it a filling/hearty meal rather than just a side.
5. Salad is loaded with fresh vegetables for taste and crunch. Cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, jalapenos, baby spinach, fresh mint, and parsley or cilantro plus loads of chickpeas. Couscous soaks up all the dressing making this salad packed with flavors and punch.
6. This recipe calls for Israeli couscous or pearl couscous. When couscous is cooked properly, it turns out light, and fluffy, and each bead is separated. The secret to perfectly cooked pearl couscous is soaking it in hot water before cooking.
Ingredients you’ll need
Here’s what you need –
For salad –
- Pearl couscous – Pearl couscous is bigger beads than regular couscous. Works great in salads.
- Garlic – garlic makes it more flavorful.
- Cherry tomatoes – cherry tomatoes make the salad look pretty. Tang of the tomatoes enhances the flavor of the salad.
- Cucumbers – add freshness and crunch.
- Red onions – the crunch element of raw onions when you bite into it is delicious!
- Baby spinach – spinach for phytonutrients. Make the salad more nutritious.
- Fresh herbs – use any fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro, fresh mint, dill leaves, and fresh basil. I used a mix of cilantro and fresh mint.
- Green onions
- Jalapenos (optional) – for an extra kick in the salad use finely chopped Jalapenos.
Couscous salad dressing –
- EVOO – extra virgin olive oil is best. Use the best quality EVOO for the best taste and flavor.
- Lemon zest – The zest of one lemon for freshness and tang.
- Lemon juice – Juice of one lemon.
- Mustard – use dijon mustard or stone ground mustard. I used stone ground mustard paste.
- Salt n pepper – Season salad.
How to make it
No canned chickpeas? No problem. Cook chickpeas easily at home. No need to soak overnight, cook easily following this recipe.
If using canned chickpeas simple drain chickpeas from the liquid and rinse it once in colander before using.
Cook couscous:
In a large pot, heat EVOO(use the best quality). Saute minced garlic and onions for 2 minutes, sautéing at regular intervals.
Once onions begin to sweat, add in pearl couscous.
Pour water or stock (use vegetable stock for vegetarian option), still for 30 seconds.
When water begins to boil, reduce heat to medium-low. Cover the pot with the lid and let it cook for 8 to 10 minutes.
Couscous should be light and fluffy. Open the lid, and fluff it with a fork gently. Set aside to cool.
Salad dressing:
While couscous cools down, make salad dressing. Pour EVOO (use best quality), lemon zest, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper into a jar, and cover tightly with a lid. Shake well.
Toss salad:
Into a large salad bowl, add cooked couscous. Add in the rest of the salad ingredients – halved cherry tomatoes, chopped cucumbers, red onions, roughly chopped baby spinach, cooked (or canned) chickpeas, chopped fresh herbs (cilantro or parsley and fresh mint), chopped green onions, chopped jalapenos (leave the seeds on if you like it hot).
Pour salad dressing over it. Gently toss the salad until well combined.
Serve the salad immediately for the side dish.
Tips to make best Israeli couscous salad
- Perfectly cooked couscous– This recipe calls for pearl couscous. Ensure to cook it perfectly, every bead separated, light, and fluffy. What works for me is 1 cup of couscous cooked in 1 ½ cups (not 2 cups) liquid. Gummy, soft, or overcooked couscous will ruin the salad.
- Do not prep ahead – To make life easy, often we do prep work ahead of time. Not for this salad. Chopping tomatoes and cucumbers and storing them in the fridge overnight or few days may not be a great idea. Resist the temptation of prepping ahead. Chop the veggies just before you make the salad. It’ll have that wonderful freshness and crunch intact.
- Best quality EVOO – Salad dressing is a flavor enhancer for the dish. Using the best quality EVOO will make the salad taste its best.
- Cook your chickpeas- Though you can use canned chickpeas, cooking your chickpeas from scratch is better in terms of texture and taste, especially in salads. Chickpeas cooked at home are perfect in texture, hold its shape, and tastes richer and creamier.
- Serve it the same day – Once the salad is dressed, leave the salad at room temperature for a few hours and serve it the same day. Couscous will soak in all the flavors from the dressing. The salad tastes better after a few hours but on the same day.
FAQS
Couscous looks like a grain, but it is pasta made from semolina. It’s a staple in Arabic countries and Northern Africa.  It cooks quickly and it’s pretty much like you cook rice. Just follow the packet instructions, or test it on your own to get the perfect couscous-to-liquid ratio.
NOTE – though in the packet the instruction was to add 2 cups liquid to every 1 cup of couscous, I use 1.5 cups liquid for every 1 cup of couscous. Adding 2 cups made couscous too soft and it turns gummy. Be careful with the liquid ratio. Test it out first.
Couscous is mostly served with meat or stew in countries like Morocco. Dressing it as a salad is another common dish one makes with couscous. The salad is very versatile; you can add any vegetable of your choice.
Well not exactly! It may be called pasta of the Middle Eastern countries,  but it’s smaller in size compared to pasta and has a slightly slippery texture, so my mind might not be able to register it as pasta.
Regular couscous is usually soaked in hot/warm water for a few minutes until it’s light and fluffy.
Pearl couscous however needs to be cooked in water on a stovetop just like pasta. You can cook it in plenty of water just like pasta and then drain it soon as it turns light and fluffy and each bead grows in size a bit. Or you can cook it like steamed rice, adding just enough water to cook the pearl couscous.
I like to enhance the taste of couscous while cooking it, so I first saute minced garlic and onions, then add couscous along with the liquid. Following the packet instructions to cook perfect couscous can be tricky sometimes.
I noticed by following the packet instruction to cook 1 cup of couscous in 2 cups of water turned it gummy and very soft. So I always follow the ratio – 1 cup couscous cooked in 1 ½ cup water or stock. You get perfect, each bead separated couscous every time.
Couscous salad can be served immediately or can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 days. It’s best to serve it after a few hours the same day. Couscous soaks in all the wonderful flavors from the lemon salad dressing and tastes great.
Please do not store this salad beyond 2 days, it won’t taste its best.
MORE SALADS TO TRY –
- Watermelon Feta Salad
- 3 Bean Salad
- Fresh Spring Salad
- Mexican Quinoa Salad
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Summer Corn Salad
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📋Israeli Couscous Salad
Ingredients
Couscous-
- 1 cup pearl couscous
- ¼ cup cooked chickpeas (canned chickpeas works too)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons onion finely chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoons EVOO
- 1 ½ cups water or stock use vegetable stock for vegetarian option
For Salad-
- 8 oz cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 small cucumbers diced
- ¼ red onion diced
- 1 cup baby spinach finely sliced
- ½ cup chopped parsley or cilantro, chopped
- ½ cup fresh mint chopped
- 3 stalks of green onions chopped fine
- 1 jalapenos chopped fine (reduce it to half if you don’t want too spicy and remove seeds)
For Lemon Salad Dressing-
- â…“ cups EVOO use best quality
- 1 lemon zest
- 1 lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- No canned chickpeas? No problem. Cook chickpeas easily at home. Start by soaking dried chickpeas overnight and cooked them in a pressure cooker the next morning for 20 minutes (for 1 cup of chickpeas use ¼ to ½ cup water to cook).
- If using canned chickpeas simply drain chickpeas from the liquid and rinse it once in a colander before using.
Cook couscous:
- In a large pot, heat EVOO(use the best quality). Saute minced garlic and onions for 2 minutes, sautéing at regular intervals.
- Once onions begin to sweat, add in pearl couscous.
- Pour water or stock (use vegetable stock for the vegetarian option), still for 30 seconds.
- When water begins to boil, reduce heat to medium-low. Cover the pot with the lid and let it cook for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Couscous should be light and fluffy.
- Open the lid, and fluff it with a fork gently. Keep it aside to cool.
Salad dressing:
- While couscous cools, make salad dressing. Into a jar, pour EVOO (use best quality), lemon zest, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper. Shake well.
Toss salad:
- Into a large salad bowl, add cooked couscous. Add in the rest of the salad ingredients – halved cherry tomatoes, chopped cucumbers, red onions, roughly chopped baby spinach, cooked (or canned) chickpeas, chopped fresh herbs (cilantro or parsley and fresh mint), chopped green onions, chopped jalapenos (leave the seeds on if you like it hot).
- Pour salad dressing over it. Gently toss the salad.
- Rest for a few hours in the refrigerator. Serve as a side dish.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Notes
- Perfectly cooked couscous– This recipe calls for pearl couscous. Ensure to cook it perfectly, every bead separated, light, and fluffy. What works for me is 1 cup of couscous cooked in 1 ½ cups (not 2 cups) liquid. Gummy, soft, or overcooked couscous will ruin the salad.
- Do not prep ahead – To make life easy, many times we do prep work ahead of time. Not for this salad. Chopping tomatoes and cucumbers and storing them in the fridge overnight or few days may not be a great idea. Resist the temptation of prepping ahead. Chop the veggies just before you make the salad. It’ll have that wonderful freshness and crunch intact in it.
- Best quality EVOO – Salad dressing is a flavor enhancer for the dish. Using the best quality EVOO will make the salad taste its best.
- Cook your chickpeas- Though you can use canned chickpeas, cooking your chickpeas from scratch gives better-tasting chickpeas, hence a better-tasting salad. Chickpeas cooked at home are perfect in texture, hold their shape, and taste richer and creamier.
- Serve It Same Day After Few Hours – Once you toss the salad and dressing together, leave the salad at room temperature for a few hours. Couscous will soak in all the flavors from the dressing. The salad tastes better after a few hours on the same day.
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
Thank you for stopping by.
I’m Jyothi Rajesh (Jo for short) and i’m the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail where I share my culinary Adventures. I live in Bangalore, India. I’m a mom of two beautiful kids. My passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. I have been blogging since 2007 and many of my recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
Comments & Reviews
Linda says
The quantity of chickpeas, either canned or dried, is missing from the ingredients list.
Jyothi Rajesh says
Oops, sorry about that. Corrected it now. Thanks for pointing it out.