Filled with vegetables, spices, and a simple vinaigrette, this Moroccan Couscous Salad is brimming with flavor! It’s a complete meal with added chickpeas for protein and a hint of sweetness from raisins and mint.
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This easy Moroccan Couscous salad has hints of cinnamon, coriander, and turmeric. The vinaigrette is quick and easy to combine with lemon juice and olive oil. Slivers of almonds give it crunch, while the chickpeas and couscous give it bulk. However, this salad is super refreshing, too, with chopped vegetables, fresh mint, and parsley.
It’s a great recipe to bring to a potluck or picnic. It makes A LOT! So get ready to serve a crowd or prepare during your meal prep and serve leftovers throughout the week!
💗 Why You’ll Love this Moroccan Couscous Salad
- Vegan and Dairy-Free
- Inexpensive
- Huge Servings
- Healthy and Light
- Complete Balanced Meal
- Quick and Easy
🥣 Ingredients and Notes
Couscous: Often thought to be a grain, couscous is actually a type of pasta. It’s made from semolina and water. It is not gluten-free, as semolina is made from wheat. It is popular in Moroccan and North African recipes. It cooks quickly and is combined with water or vegetable broth.
Vegetables: You’ll need one red bell pepper diced, one regular cucumber peeled and deseeded, and one small red onion.
Chickpeas: A popular legume used in Moroccan cooking, chickpeas add texture and protein.
Raisins: Plump, sweet raisins add a hint of sweetness.
Almonds: Adds a nice crunch.
Herbs and Spices: Fresh mint, freshly chopped parsley, and turmeric give this salad a refreshing and herbal flavor.
Vinaigrette
Lemon Juice: You’ll need the juice of one lemon. If you don’t have lemon, you can use lime juice instead.
Olive Oil: If oil-free, use vegetable broth instead of olive oil.
Spices: This dressing contains Moroccan spices such as cinnamon, turmeric, and coriander.
Garlic: Two cloves of minced garlic give this vinaigrette a rounded flavor.
👩🏻🍳 How to Make Moroccan Couscous Salad
- Prepare the Vegetables: Wash and dice the red pepper. Peel the cucumber and remove the seeds, then chop. Dice the small red onion.
- Prepare the Couscous: Bring 2 cups of vegetable broth or water to a boil. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. When the water comes to a boil, add the couscous. Cover and remove the pot from the heat. Allow the couscous to sit covered for 5 minutes. Then, fluff with a fork.
- Prepare the Vinaigrette: While the couscous is sitting, prepare the vinaigrette. Add the juice of one lemon, olive oil, minced garlic, cinnamon, coriander, and salt. Whisk together until combined.
- Put it Together: Add the couscous, diced vegetables, and drained and rinsed chickpeas to a large bowl. Then add the raisins, almonds, chopped mint, and chopped parsley. Pour the vinaigrette over the top.
- Toss: Toss all of the ingredients and serve.
📝 Expert Tips
- Prepare all of your vegetables before doing anything else. Chopping the vegetables takes the majority of the time with this dish.
- Be sure to remove the seeds from the cucumber by using a spoon to scoop them out. The seeds from the cucumber have a lot of extra water, which can cause this salad to become soggy.
- Add your favorite vegetables. You can add other vegetables that you enjoy such as cherry tomatoes, more colored bell peppers, or even roast vegetables like zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant.
- Couscous cooks quickly. Be sure to check your package directions. The ratio of couscous to liquid is 1:1. After the water or stock comes to a boil, add the couscous, cover it, and remove it from the heat.
❓ Recipe FAQS
Yes! This salad is super healthy and full of vitamins and nutrients! Couscous is an excellent source of fiber. Red pepper, cucumbers, red onion, and fresh herbs add essential vitamins and minerals such as vitamins A, B, C, and K. Chickpeas and couscous are excellent sources of plant protein.
Couscous has fewer calories than rice and quinoa. It’s also rich in protein, which helps you feel fuller for longer. With only 200 calories in 1 cup of cooked couscous, it is a healthy addition to your weight loss meal plan.
The most popular spices used in Moroccan cuisine include cardamom, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, allspice, ginger, coriander, peppercorn, paprika, fenugreek, and turmeric. This couscous salad has many of these spices added to the vinaigrette and the salad giving it a distinct Moroccan flavor.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Side Dish: Serve as a side dish with grilled tofu kebabs.
Mixed Greens: Serve on top of mixed greens such as arugula, spinach, or spring mix.
Bring this dish to a picnic, serve it at a BBQ, serve it with lentil soup, or enjoy it as a complete meal!
⚖️ Serving Size
This recipe makes a significant 10-person serving. Perfect for a large gathering or to enjoy as a side salad throughout the week.
🫙 Storage
Refrigerate: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or transfer it to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This salad is enjoyed cold.
Recipe
Moroccan Couscous Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 large red pepper diced
- 1 cucumber de-seeded and diced
- 1 small red onion diced
- 2 cups dry couscous
- 2 cups vegetable stock or water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 14 ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ⅓ cup raisins
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- ¼ cup fresh parsley roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon fresh mint roughly chopped
Vinaigrette
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Prepare the Vegetables: Wash and dice the red pepper. Remove the seeds. Peel the cucumber and remove the inner seeds, then dice. Dice the small red onion.
- Prepare the Couscous: Bring 2 cups of vegetable broth or water to a boil. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. When the water comes to a boil. and the couscous. Cover, and remove from the heat. Allow the couscous to sit for 5 minutes covered. Then fluff with a fork.
- Prepare the Vinaigrette: While the couscous is sitting, prepare the vinaigrette. Add the juice of one lemon, olive oil, minced garlic, cinnamon, coriander, and salt. Whisk together until combined.
- Toss it All Together: Add the couscous, diced vegetables, and drained and rinsed chickpeas to a large bowl. Toss to combine. Then add the raisins, almonds, chopped mint, and chopped parsley. Pour the vinaigrette over the top, and toss to evenly combine.
Video
Notes
- Prepare all your vegetables before doing anything else. Chopping the vegetables takes the majority of the time with this dish.
- Be sure to remove the seeds from the cucumber by using a spoon to scoop them out. The seeds from the cucumber have a lot of extra water, which can cause this salad to become soggy.
- Add your favorite vegetables. You can add other vegetables that you enjoy such as cherry tomatoes, more colored bell peppers, or even roast vegetables like zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant to add to the salad.
- Couscous cooks quickly. Be sure to check your package directions. In general, the ratio of couscous to liquid is 1:1. After the water of stock comes to a boil, add the couscous, cover, and remove from the heat.
- Keep in the refrigerator for 5 days in an airtight container.
Caroline
Couscous salads are great for the summer, and love the additions in this.
Kathleen
I adore couscous, so I knew that I would love this recipe. Made for a girlfriends brunch and offered some grilled chicken on the side for those of us meat-eaters. It was gobbled up! I did not know that protein packed couscous was lower in calories than quinoa and rice! Learn something everyday!
Anita
This salad is so delicious. I love how colorful it looks, and it is super light and quite filling. Works great as lunch.
Andrea
I love all the flavors in this salad! It looks and sounds amazing!
Mirlene
I barely have made anything with couscous but I will surely try this. The salad looks healthy and light. Hope my family will enjoy this for dinner.