Couscous Salad

€2.68 │ €0.67 per portion │ Serves 4 │ Under 30mins

Refreshing, healthy, and filling - couscous salad is a great addition to a meal plan because you can throw in so many good ingredients! It's also fast and easy, making it an ideal summer weeknight meal.

Explore our flexible base recipe and some ideas for different ingredient combinations, plus the perfect punchy salad dressing that's delicious and simple to make on a weeknight!

• What to serve it with?
• What grain to use?
• Leftovers
• Utensils
• Base Ingredients
• Method

What to serve it with?

You could serve couscous salad with warm fluffy bread and houmous, a pepper paste, tapenade, or simply olive oil. Having said that, with the right mix of ingredients, a couscous salad is a meal all by itself. You don't need sides when it already has everything all mixed in together!

What grain to use?

Some people think of couscous salad as boring and routine. But there's plenty of variety, not just with the right mix of ingredients, but also different grains. What's more, many of the grains are usually around the same price. Try a Mediterranean supermarket for the best deal!

Check out these different grains and use what feels right on the day:

• Couscous - the classic, small-grain couscous. Cooks in minutes with boiling water, no cooking needed.
• Bulgur - comes in both small and large sizes. Large bulgur is sort of halfway between rice and couscous and is a great source of protein, cooks like rice.
• Pearl couscous - this is in fact pasta, and it cooks like pasta too, but it's fantastic as a sub for ordinary couscous. It both looks impressive and tastes delicious!
• Quinoa - plenty healthy and nutty, though is typically much more expensive. Maybe you know a place to get it, but quinoa at Colruyt is at best €6.86/kg compared to bulgur which can be €2.28/kg.
• Freekeh - smoky, chewy, and delicious. Harder to find and a more expensive treat.

Leftovers

Spoonfeed meal plans save you money by using the economy of scale. Making the extras from dinner into a leftover lunch avoids spending out and extra time cooking!

Couscous salad is perfect for leftovers! Simply eat from chilled the next day.

Utensils

• Heat-proof bowl and lid (if using small-grain couscous)
• Large mixing bowl
• Big serving spoon
• Sauté pan (optional, if cooking an ingredient)
• Saucepan and lid (optional, if using bulgur, pearl couscous, quinoa, or freekeh)

Base Ingredients

• 250g couscous/chosen grain
• 100g salad leaves
• 1 red pepper
• 1 carrot
• 1 salad tomato
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1/2 red onion
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Paprika
• Parsley

Method

Grain:

• Couscous: Add couscous to a heat-proof bowl with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika. Cover with boiling water and a lid and let steam in the bowl for about 5 minutes. After this, fluff with a fork and add it your mixing bowl or another plate so that it cools faster.
• Bulgur: Add bulgur to a saucepan with spices as above, then pour over boiling water. Once at a boil, simmer with the lid on for 12 minutes. After this, fluff with a fork and add it your mixing bowl or another plate so that it cools faster.
• Pearl couscous: Add boiling water to a saucepan, salt it, and wait until well bubbling. Carefully add in your pearl couscous. Once at a boil, simmer with the lid on for around 10 minutes. After this, drain the water and add it your mixing bowl or another plate so that it cools faster.
• Quinoa/Freekeh: Rinse the grain, then add to a saucepan and pour over boiling water. Once at a boil, simmer with the lid on for 12 minutes. After this, fluff with a fork and add it your mixing bowl or another plate so that it cools faster.

Salad:

1. First start cooking your grain. In the meantime, you can prepare the vegetables.
2. Finely dice red onion, pepper, carrot, cucumber, and salad tomato. Roughly chop fresh parsley.
3. Rinse salad leaves and add to a large mixing bowl with the chopped veg.
4. Prepare any alternative ingredients now, for example by cubing some cheese, defrosting frozen pomegranate seeds, or toasting chickpeas in paprika, and add to the bowl.
5. Once cooled, add in your chosen grains. Mix all together with some olive oil, salt, and pepper - or alternatively add in your chosen salad dressing.
6. Enjoy!