Incredibly Delicious Couscous Salad

Whip up this light and fresh couscous salad using Israeli or pearl couscous, a simple lemon vinaigrette, juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumber, and fresh herbs. This incredibly delicious and easy salad bursts with fresh flavors.

Watch the Video

Couscous Salad Recipe Video

I’ve been making this easy couscous salad for years, and it’s always a crowd-pleaser! It’s my favorite summer side dish for potlucks and BBQs – my friends absolutely love it.

The best part is how simple and delicious it is. The ingredients are all fresh, and the salad comes together quickly. The couscous cooks in just 10 minutes, giving you plenty of time to prep the rest of the salad ingredients.

The Secret to the Best Couscous Salad

For the best, most flavorful couscous salad, add your vinaigrette to the couscous while it is still warm. Since the couscous is warm, it soaks up all the flavor from the dressing. We use the same trick when making pasta salad and even potato salad.

How to Make Couscous Salad

We use pearl couscous (also called Israeli couscous) for its unique texture. It resembles tiny pearls and cooks like pasta (about 10 minutes in boiling salted water).

Feel free to substitute with regular couscous, farro, quinoa, or even small pasta like orzo.

In addition to the couscous, you’ll also need these simple ingredients:

  • Diced tomato
  • Crisp cucumber
  • Lots of fresh herbs
  • Golden raisins
  • Crunchy walnuts
A bowl of Israeli or pearl couscous salad with a simple lemon dressing

We love this light salad — it doubles as a side, can be the main event, or works well topped with grilled chicken or Adam’s favorite, roasted shrimp.

To make our Mediterranean-inspired couscous salad:

  1. Cook your couscous or use pasta or grains.
  2. Make your dressing in the bottom of a large mixing bowl.
  3. Toss drained warm couscous into the bowl with dressing.
  4. Mix in veggies, herbs, raisins, and nuts.

My Favorite Couscous Salad Dressing

This salad dressing is one of our favorite recipes. We use it for other salads, too (see our Easy Chickpea Salad). To make our light lemon vinaigrette, you will need the following ingredients:

  • Dijon mustard
  • Honey or maple syrup
  • Lemon — the zest and juice
  • Olive oil

Whisk everything together until creamy, and then season with salt and pepper. It’s perfect for this couscous salad recipe, but keep an extra batch in the fridge for your next weeknight salad!

Couscous salad with tomatoes and cucumber

How Long Does Couscous Salad Last in the Fridge?

This salad is delicious when eaten immediately, but you can also make it, cover it, and refrigerate it for up to 4 hours. This way, all the flavors marry and mingle, making for an even more delicious salad.

Because of all the fresh ingredients, this salad only lasts a few days in the fridge. If you plan to make it ahead of time, keep the tomatoes and walnuts separate until you’re ready to serve since they don’t hold up as well as the other ingredients.

More Easy Salads

Easy Couscous Salad with cucumbers and tomatoes

Incredibly Delicious Couscous Salad

  • PREP
  • COOK
  • TOTAL

We love this easy couscous salad — it doubles as a side, can be the main event, or works well topped with grilled chicken or Adam’s favorite, shrimp!

This is undoubtedly one of our favorite salad recipes, with a lot of texture from crisp cucumber, sweet tomatoes, crunchy nuts, and raisins. You can even make it ahead of time. See the notes section below for our tips.

Makes approximately 8 (1 cup) servings

Watch Us Make the Recipe

You Will Need

1 ½ cups dried Israeli couscous, also called pearl couscous

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

2 to 4 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice, depending on taste

1 medium English cucumber, diced

1 large tomato, diced

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh herbs; use any combination of fresh parsley, cilantro, basil, dill, or mint

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1/4 cup raisins, we love golden raisins

Directions

    1Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add couscous and cook until tender, 8-10 minutes. Drain.

    2While the couscous cooks, in a large bowl, whisk the oil, mustard, honey, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add the drained couscous to the dressing and mix well.

    3Stir in the cucumber, tomato, herbs, walnuts and raisins. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and/or pepper as needed. Enjoy warm or cover then refrigerate until cool, about 1 hour.

Adam and Joanne's Tips

  • Couscous substitutes: regular couscous, farro, barley, quinoa, small pasta like orzo.
  • Toast walnuts: Add them to a dry pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently until the nuts turn golden brown and become fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes.
  • Make-ahead: Cover it and refrigerate for up to 4 hours. If you are planning to make a day or two ahead of time, keep the tomatoes and walnuts separate until you’re ready to serve.
  • Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We assumed 1/4 teaspoon of added salt.
Nutrition Per Serving Serving Size 1 cup / Calories 219 / Protein 5 g / Carbohydrate 29 g / Dietary Fiber 2 g / Total Sugars 4 g / Total Fat 9 g / Saturated Fat 1 g / Cholesterol 0 mg / Sodium 160 mg
AUTHOR:  Adam and Joanne Gallagher
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76 comments… Leave a Review
  • SANDI WHITE February 12, 2024, 5:12 pm

    I’ve made this twice now, and it’s my new favorite lunch to take to work. You can change the taste by adding different veggies, too. I love it!

    Reply
    • Adam February 14, 2024, 2:18 pm

      We love how flexible this recipe is. The dressing goes with so many veggies. So glad you enjoyed it 🙂

      Reply
  • Whaley Susan Marie January 27, 2024, 3:06 am

    A perfect recipe for a church potluck very tasty with garlic bread

    Reply
  • Tana Paris November 28, 2023, 5:24 pm

    I made this recipe and it was absolutely fabulous. I used a lot of fresh mint and parsley.
    Also, I tripled the dressing recipe. I mixed the hot pasta in with the dressing as prescribed. Soooo scrumptious.! I marinated chicken and fried it and then diced it and ate alongside the salad. Will definitely make this again.!!! Thanks much!!!

    Reply
  • Catherine Petrie September 24, 2023, 5:08 pm

    Just made this recipe – excellent!

    Reply
  • Rick July 7, 2023, 2:57 pm

    Fresh parsley and dried oregano. Served with feta and olives. Mwah!

    Reply

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