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 a light lunch, picnics, and potlucks on any day.
1 ½cupswater or stockuse vegetable stock for vegetarian option
For Salad-
8ozcherry tomatoeshalved
2small cucumbersdiced
¼red oniondiced
1cupbaby spinachfinely sliced
½cupchopped parsleyor cilantro, chopped
½cupfresh mintchopped
3stalks of green onionschopped fine
1jalapenoschopped fine (reduce it to half if you don’t want too spicy and remove seeds)
For Lemon Salad Dressing-
â…“cupsEVOOuse best quality
1lemon zest
1lemon juicefreshly squeezed
1teaspoonDijon mustard
½teaspoonkosher salt
½teaspoonpepper
Instructions
No canned chickpeas? No problem. Cook chickpeas easily at home. Start by soaking dried chickpeas overnight and cook 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.
Once onions begin to sweat, add in pearl couscous.
Pour water or stock (use vegetable stock for the vegetarian option), stir well.
When water begins to boil, reduce heat to medium-low. Cover the pot with the lid and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes.
Open the lid, and fluff it with a fork gently. Keep it aside to cool completely.
While couscous cools, make salad dressing. Into a jar, add EVOO, lemon zest, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper. Shake well.
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 while at room temperature, and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Perfectly cooked couscous- Ensure to cook it perfectly, every bead separated, light, and fluffy. For 1 cup of pearl couscous use 1 ½ cups liquid. Gummy, sticky, or overcooked couscous will ruin the salad.
Cook pearl couscous in advance - Regular tiny couscous is prepared to be soaked in water before use, pearl couscous is required to be cooked on the stove. You'll need to cook pearl couscous at least 1 hour before so it has ample time to cool completely.
Fresh is best - use fresh, best-quality vegetables and herbs. I'd also recommend you chop the veggies just before you make the salad. It’ll have wonderful freshness and crunch intact.
Best quality EVOO – Salad dressing is a flavor enhancer for any salad. Using the best quality EVOO will make the salad taste its best.
Cook chickpeas- Though you can use canned chickpeas, cooking chickpeas from scratch is better in terms of texture and taste, especially in salads. Chickpeas cooked at home are perfect in texture, hold their shape, and taste richer and creamier.
Serve it the same day – as soon as the salad is dressed in the dressing, leave it at room temperature for an hour 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. Also highly recommend serving the salad at room temperature.
 Nutritional Info – Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided is only a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.