This easy lemony herb couscous salad is full of fresh veggies, dried fruits and leafy greens. And it packs the ultimate flavour punch with that lemony herb dressing. The whole salad takes only 10 minutes to make and will be on repeat all spring and summer long. All ingredients from Aldi!
I love this recipe so much! It only takes 10 minutes to make from beginning to end and that dressing gets made in a jar so that it's just as easy peasy as we can possibly make it! So, let's get started on this amazing salad that you won't be able to stop thinking about.
Couscous Salad
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Ingredients needed
One of the best parts of this salad is how adaptable it is to anything you have on hand or to your favourite items. Personally, I love salads with lots of "things" in them. It's all about texture, temperature, sweet, salty, savoury and crunchy. And this couscous salad delivers on all of it. You can include all of the ingredients listed, some of them, or toss in your favourites.
- couscous
- vegetable stock (made with a stock cube) or you can just use water here, but I love the extra flavour that stock brings to this party.
- cucumber
- avocado
- rocket leaves
- tinned sweet corn
- pumpkin seeds (toasted)
- sultanas
- dried cranberries
- feta
For the dressing
- garlic clove
- basil
- mint
- lemon juice (from fresh lemons)
- honey
- olive oil
Step by step directions
- The beauty of couscous is that it only takes 10 minutes to make and it turns out light and fluffy every time. Simply boil your water in a kettle and pour the water into a jug with your stock cube. Let the stock cube dissolve and pour the stock over the couscous and stir. Cover with cling film and let stand for about 10 minutes. Uncover the couscous and fluff with a fork. Perfect every time.
- Couscous to water ratio- If you follow this ration no matter how big a bowl of couscous you need to make, it will be perfect every time. Make couscous at a ratio of 1:1 ½. So for this recipe, I've used 175g couscous to 250g stock. Using this ratio you can scale up or down as required.
- Toasting the pumpkin seeds in this recipe is an absolute non-negotiable in my book. It just brings so.darn.much to this party! To toast pumpkin seeds quickly and easily, just heat up a dry non-stick skillet and add in the pumpkin seeds. Be sure that the heat isn't up too high (somewhere around medium is perfect) because they'll burn quite easily. Also, be careful, because as pumpkin seeds toast, they start to pop and jump out of the pan. So, it's a good idea to have a lid handy for this part of the process!
To make the dressing
- Everyone loves a jam jar dressing right?! And this one is the best all-rounder that you'll ever meet. It's honey, lemon, olive oil, a clove of garlic and an aggressive amount of fresh herbs just because.
- Toss it all into the jam jar and shake... vigorously. Give it all a little taste and adjust accordingly. A little more honey, maybe a squeeze more lemon or potentially a pinch more salt. Either way, you're in the driver's seat, so it's all up to you.
Couscous salad FAQ's
I know. This whole salad is a short story. Toss, drizzle, taste, drizzle, toss, taste, taste... taste. You know the drill. But there are a couple of things you may need/want to know.
Q. What exactly is couscous?
A. Couscous is crushed durum wheat that's formed into little spheres. The beauty of this is that because they cook via the absorption method, they act like little sponges, which is excellent news when they're tossed with a dressing. Being completely neutral in flavour they take on and are adaptable to pretty much any flavour profile. Highly popular in Moroccan cuisine.
Q. Can this salad be made ahead? So, is it any good for meal prep?
A. This salad LOVES to be made ahead of time! It soaks up all the dressing and all the flavours marry together to create a world-class salad experience. Maybe that's dramatic, but yeah. It's perfect being made ahead. Just a couple of tips about making ahead
- Save the rocket and the pumpkin seeds until you're ready to serve otherwise they'll go limp and soft.
- Dress the salad while the couscous is still warm. This means maximum absorption potential.
- Feel free to add other ingredients like chicken, shrimp or flaky salmon, would all work amazing in this recipe.
And that's it! like I said, it's a short story, but so completely worth your time. This salad is texturally and colourfully very busy... but in the best way possible. So, get tossing and drizzling and let me know how you feel about your new found couscous salad obsession!
More Salad Recipes
Easy Lemony Herb Couscous Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 175 g (6 ⅙ oz) couscous *See notes on couscous ratio to scale up or down
- 250 g (1 cups) vegetable stock or water
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) sultanas
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) dried cranberries
- 50 g (3 cups) pumpkin seeds, toasted
- ½ (½) cucumber, sliced
- 1 (1) avocado, cubed
- ½ (½) tin of sweet corn, drained
- ½ (½) block feta, cubed
- ½ (½) bag rocket leaves
- For the dressing
- 200 ml (6 ¾ floz) olive oil
- 75 ml (2 ½ floz) fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) honey
- 1 clove (1 clove) garlic
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) chopped mint
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) chopped basil
Instructions
- To make the dressing, place all the of ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well. Set aside while you make the rest of the salad.
- Weigh the dried couscous into a bowl. Set aside while you boil the kettle. Pour the water into a jug with your stock cube. Let the stock cube dissolve and pour the stock over the couscous and stir. Cover with cling film and let stand for about 10 minutes. Uncover the couscous and fluff with a fork.
- Pour the dressing over the warm couscous and toss well. You may not need all the dressing so add as much or as little as you like.
- To toast pumpkin seeds quickly and easily, just heat up a dry non-stick skillet and add in the pumpkin seeds. Be sure that the heat isn't up too high (somewhere around medium is perfect) because they'll burn quite easily. Also, be careful, because as pumpkin seeds toast, they start to pop and jump out of the pan.
- Add the pumpkin seeds and all of the toppings into the salad. Toss well and serve.
- To make ahead, see notes.
Notes
Nutrition
THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING AND COOKING ALONG WITH ME! IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE A QUESTION, I’D LOVE IT IF YOU LEFT A COMMENT AND A RATING. YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW ALONG ON PINTEREST, FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM TO SEE WHAT WE’RE EATING, PINNING AND A LITTLE BEHIND THE SCENES TOO!
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