My arugula salad with couscous, easy lemon vinaigrette, cucumbers, and feta cheese is one of my favorite arugula recipes. It’s unbelievably simple and tastes incredible. Once you try it, you’ll find yourself making it again and again!
It’s funny how specific recipes sneak their way into your weekly rotation. This arugula and couscous salad has done just that. We make it for dinner, eat the leftovers for lunch, and have served it to friends more times than I can count.
This arugula salad is simple, fast, and tastes like it came from a fancy restaurant. For more ways to use arugula, see our white bean salad or this fennel and arugula salad. For another salad with couscous, see our easy couscous salad!
Key Ingredients
- Arugula: I find it slightly bitter with a peppery bite, so I love it with lemon. Younger arugula tends to be milder, so I usually go for the smaller, young green leaves. If you’re not a fan, substitute it with your favorite tender greens like spinach, bok choy, or baby kale.
- Couscous: For this recipe, I prefer pearl couscous (also known as Israeli couscous) because it looks like tiny pearls and cooks up like pasta in about 10 minutes in boiling salted water. If you don’t have pearl couscous on hand, regular couscous or your favorite grain or small pasta shapes like quinoa, farro, or orzo will work, too. I also love using pearl couscous in my couscous salad with tomatoes!
- Cucumber: Seedless cucumbers, like hothouse or Persian cucumbers, are my go-to for salads, but you can definitely use regular peeled garden cucumbers with most of the seeds removed.
- Feta Cheese: I’m a big fan of briny feta cheese, but if you prefer something different, creamy goat cheese, cotija cheese, or shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano are great substitutes.
- Easy Lemon Vinaigrette: This lemon dressing is my favorite for fresh salads because it perfectly complements the peppery arugula and briny feta! You’ll need lemon juice, olive oil, honey or maple syrup, basil, salt, and pepper. For an extra boost of lemon flavor, consider adding minced preserved lemon (store-bought or homemade!). I’m currently working on a preserved lemon recipe to share, but in the meantime, you can use my lemon confit, which is equally delicious.
How to Make Arugula Couscous Salad
The real trick to this arugula salad is assembling it. Make the lemon vinaigrette while your couscous cooks (which takes 10 minutes).
Then, toss it with the vinaigrette while the couscous is still warm. The warm couscous will soak up all the delicious flavors of the dressing, which makes the salad taste incredible (I use the same trick for potato salad).
After letting the couscous cool a bit, add the remaining salad ingredients and toss well. I love this easy salad by itself or on the side to lemon baked chicken breasts, my Mom’s lemon dill baked salmon, and our turkey burgers!
Arugula Couscous Salad with Feta
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Our arugula salad, made with an easy lemon vinaigrette, pearl couscous, cucumbers, and feta, is crave-worthy. Once you make it, you’ll be itching to make it again. For this salad, we particularly love pearl couscous (often called Israeli couscous). It cooks quickly and gives the salad enough substance to stand on the plate by itself. You can substitute the couscous for pasta, quinoa, or other cooked grains like barley or wheat berries.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
For the Salad1 ½ cups dried pearl couscous, about 3 cups cooked
3 ounces baby arugula or tender salad greens, about 4 cups
Half of a hothouse (seedless) cucumber, chopped
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled, about 1/2 cup
For the Dressing2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, about 1/2 large lemon
4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
1 tablespoon minced preserved lemon, optional
1 teaspoon dried basil or a handful chopped fresh basil leaves, optional
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add couscous and cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, then add to a large bowl.
2Meanwhile, make the lemon vinaigrette. Whisk lemon juice, olive oil, honey, preserved lemon, and basil until it looks thick and blended. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper (we add a generous pinch of each).
3Toss the cooked and drained couscous with the dressing, then set aside for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooled slightly. Finish the salad by adding the arugula, cucumbers, and feta. Toss well, then serve.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: The salad will keep overnight in the fridge. As it sits, the arugula may wilt slightly, but still will taste great.
- Couscous: If you cannot find pearl couscous (also called Israeli couscous), substitute with a regular couscous, small pasta shape such as orzo or cooked grains like quinoa, wheat berries and barley.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We assumed 1/2 teaspoon of added salt.
This salad is fantastic! I had enough leftover, so I covered it and put it in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, I just added some fresh Arugula and cucumber to crisp it up, and it was great! Tonight, I’m making it and grilling some shrimp for supper. This salad will definitely be on the table at least once a week.
This recipe is fantastic! I especially loved how the couscous absorbed the lemon vinaigrette. The baby Arugula had a great taste with the lemony couscous. I have to say that it seemed there was way more couscous than other ingredients, so I added more. This will definitely be a keeper!
Yay! 🙂
I’ve been wanting to make this salad for over a month! I finally had all the ingredients in my kitchen at one time 😁 (except the preserved lemon which I will add next time to try) This salad is wonderful… Thank you for sharing!!!
Hi Karen! I am so glad it was worth the wait. Thanks for coming back and letting us know!
I made this the first time without the preserved lemons and I have to say now that I have made it a second time they are amazing! Briny and lemony. I did not know what I was missing! I did add extra honey to the dressing as it was a little bitter, but after that, it was great! This is a go to salad that I know I’ll be making for a long time. Thank you very much 🙂
One of my all time favorite recipes, I pair it with your baked chicken recipe!
I have made this multiple times for gatherings and now getting ready to bring it to Christmas Eve dinner with 30 people. Make sure to use a good imported feta and it won’t be too strong. Try letting the salad sit for a minute so the arugula soaks up some of the dressing. That might help too. I haven’t used preserved lemons in the recipe and not missing it. I think 😉
One of my favorites!! So good! love the textures, and the flavors are well balanced. I’ve brought this to a few family get togethers and it is always a hit! Thank you!
This salad was delicious. I didn’t have preserved lemons so I omitted that, otherwise I followed the recipe and loved it. I’ll definitely make again.
Very tangy and bitter. I would add more honey to the dressing and maybe swap out the feta for a milder cheese or use something other than arugula.
Hi Adrianne, I’ve shared a few tips in the recipe article to prevent this. First, arugula is already bitter/peppery, but if you have younger arugula, it will taste less so (much more mild). Second, you can always add more honey or maple syrup to balance the arugula if needed. As a final tip, try tossing in some dried fruit (like cranberries or dried blueberries), which will add more sweetness to each bite. If these tips do not help, you might be better off swapping the arugula for another green like spinach or baby bok choy.
OMG! This is delicious! Luckily my local grocery store had preserved lemons! I love it! Thanks!