Couscous Salad Recipe – Oriental & Easy

Are you looking for a delicious couscous salad? Then you’ve come to the right place! Let me introduce you to my oriental-style couscous salad — it’s easy to make and incredibly tasty! I hope you enjoy my couscous salad recipe ❤️.

Oriental Couscous Salad

A couscous salad is a delicious and versatile way to prepare couscous. This oriental salad combines couscous with fresh vegetables, herbs, and a flavorful dressing. It’s easy to make, refreshing, and perfect for hot days or as a side dish to grilled meat or fish.

Couscous Salad – The Ingredients

Couscous: You can also use fine bulgur or quinoa as an alternative.
Parsley (flat-leaf):If possible, I recommend buying fresh herbs from a local produce market — you’ll get a large, vibrant bunch for just a small price.
Mint (fresh): If fresh mint is not available, you can leave it out completely or replace it with dried mint, but the fresh version is preferable.
Vegetable broth:You can also use plain water instead of broth to prepare the couscous.
Chickpeas: As this is a quick salad recipe, I recommend using pre-cooked chickpeas from a can/jar.
Vegetables of your choice: Here I used cucumber, red bell pepper, tomatoes, and red onion.
Pomegranate seeds
Dressing: Olive oil, lemon juice, honey, paprika paste, salt & pepper

Couscous zubereiten – so einfach gehts!

Preparing couscous is quick and easy. Typically, couscous is first soaked in hot water or broth and left to sit for a few minutes until it becomes soft. During this time, it absorbs the liquid and turns light and fluffy. After that, you can mix it with various ingredients like vegetables, herbs, and dressings to create a delicious couscous salad.

Step-by-step instructions

**Step 1: Prepare the couscous & sauté the chickpeas:**
Combine the couscous with the vegetable broth and pour boiling water over it. Stir and let it sit, covered, for about 10 minutes to absorb the liquid. Rinse the chickpeas, then toss them with olive oil, paprika, and salt. Sauté them in a pan for about 5 minutes until lightly browned.

2. prepare the vegetables: Cut the peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and onion into small pieces. Finely chop the parsley and mint.
Step 3: Prepare the dressing:
In a bowl, mix together olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper to make the dressing. Taste and adjust the sweetness or acidity as needed.
Step 4: Assemble the salad:
Add all the prepared ingredients to a large bowl. Pour the dressing over them and toss everything together until well combined.

Couscous salad with feta – here’s how!

Adding feta to a couscous salad is optional. Feta gives the dish a creamy texture and a salty flavor that pairs beautifully with the fresh ingredients. You can either crumble the feta and mix it into the salad or sprinkle it on top as a garnish. This variation is especially popular among fans of Mediterranean flavors and adds an extra layer of taste to the couscous salad.

About the dressing – I dare you!

The dressing can be easily adjusted to your taste. For example, if you prefer not to use honey, you can replace it with maple syrup, agave syrup, or another sweetener of your choice. You can also add different spices or herbs to the dressing to vary the flavor.

Storing couscous salad

To store couscous salad, keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This helps maintain its freshness and preserves the flavors. Couscous salad will usually keep well for a few days, though it may lose a bit of flavor over time and the texture of the ingredients can change slightly. Before serving, you can refresh it with a splash of lemon juice or a drizzle of olive oil if needed.

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More Salad Recipes from Me

If you liked my Turkish bulgur salad recipe, here are three more delicious salad recipes I’m sure you’ll love too:

How do you like my couscous salad recipe?

Praise, Criticism, Opinions

Go ahead and try it out to see how you like it best! I’d love to hear in the comments about your variations, experiences, and personal touches to my recipe. Let me know how your couscous salad turned out — I’m really excited to read your feedback below the recipe. You can also find me on Instagram, where I’d be happy to see your take on it, read your thoughts, or have you follow and share your favorite recipe!

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Now I wish you lots of fun baking!

Oriental Couscous Salad Recipe – Easy & Delicious!

Today, I’d like to share my recipe for a delicious Oriental couscous salad that’s easy to make and incredibly tasty. I hope you have lots of fun preparing it and enjoying every bite!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 5

Sonstiges 5

Total Time 25

Servings: 4 Personen

Course: Grill Salad, Party Salad, Salad Recipe, Vegan Recipe

Cuisine: Levant, oriental, orientalische küche

Calories: 158

Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

250 g Couscous
1 TL Vegetable broth
250 ml Hot water E.g. from the kettle
1 Can of pre-cooked chickpeas Drained weight: 250 g
1 Red onion
250 g Cherry tomatoes
½ Cucumber Or 1 large cucumber (English cucumber)
1 Red bell pepper
20 g Fresh mint sprigs
30 g Fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 Tbsp pomegranate seeds
150 g Feta cheese optional

Für die Kichererbsen:

1,5 tsp Paprikapulver
Salz nach Geschmack

Für das Dressing:

6 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp Lemon juice
2 Tbsp honey Or another sweetener
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Prepare the couscous: Mix the couscous with the vegetable broth and pour boiling water over it. Stir, then cover and let it sit for about 10 minutes to absorb the liquid.
Sauté the chickpeas: Rinse the chickpeas and toss them with olive oil, paprika, and salt. Then fry them in a pan for about 5 minutes until they’re lightly browned.
Prepare the vegetables: Cut the bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and onion into small pieces. Finely chop the parsley and mint.
Prepare the dressing: In a bowl, mix olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper to make the dressing. Taste and adjust the sweetness or acidity if needed.
Assemble the salad: Place all the prepared ingredients in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over them and mix everything well.
Optional — serve with feta: If you like, sprinkle the salad with feta cheese to give it a creamy touch.

Nutrition

Calories: 158kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 8gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 436mgPotassium: 180mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 464IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 195mgIron: 1mg

Notes

Why try this couscous salad?

Versatility:It’s perfect for many occasions — whether it’s a summer picnic, a barbecue with friends, or a quick lunch for work.

Health:This salad is a healthy choice for a balanced diet and offers a light alternative to heavy, high-calorie meals.

Simplicity: It’s easy to make and doesn’t require any complicated cooking techniques. With clear instructions and readily available ingredients, this recipe is accessible to everyone, no matter their cooking experience.

Cultural diversity: This salad brings together flavors from Middle Eastern cuisine, offering a culinary journey through the rich tastes of the Orient. Its cultural variety makes it an exciting and interesting choice for food lovers who enjoy discovering new flavor experiences.

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Hi, I’m Shiba

I’m glad you’re here. My dishes are very much inspired by the cooking skills of my mother, who comes from Pakistan. I also present Palestinian dishes that I learned about from my husband’s family. So you’ll find lots of dishes from 1001 nights here!

I hope you enjoy browsing and cooking.

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