This Lemon Herb Couscous Salad is a perfect salad to enjoy any time of year. Light and fluffy couscous with roasted vegetables, salty feta cheese, fresh herbs and a lemon vinaigrette.
It’s officially spring and I’m am more than ready to start sharing some lighter and fresher meals. Not too long ago, I posted a roundup for 35 Sweet and Savoury Ways to use Lemons. There’s a lot of great recipes to look through there that would be prefect for spring. And this Lemon Herb Couscous Salad is one you’ll want to file in favourites to make on repeat for the months ahead.
What’s This CousCous Salad Like
- Difficulty – This is a super easy couscous salad. It has various parts to it, but all the steps are easy. Just make sure to follow the instructions carefully for cooking the couscous.
- Taste – The couscous is light and fluffy and goes so well with the tangy vinaigrette, roasted vegetables and feta cheese.
- Serving – This salad makes six good sized servings as a side dish. If you are planning to have it as a main course, I’d say it will serve four adults.
Ingredients
FOR THE SALAD:
- Couscous – This recipe uses Moroccan couscous. You can find it everywhere, it’s a small grain and cooks quickly.
- Vegetable broth – I used carton vegetable broth for this dish.
- Vegetables – I used red bell pepper, zucchini and fresh tomato.
- Olive oil – Any olive oil will work.
- Chickpeas – This recipe uses precooked jar of chickpeas.
- Feta cheese – I used a block of Feta cheese and just crumbled it apart.
- Herb – This recipe used fresh chopped parsley.
- Lemon zest – Lemon zest is outer layer of the lemon peel.
FOR THE DRESSING:
- Olive oil – I used extra virgin olive oil for the dressing.
- Lemon juice – Fresh lemon juice will work best for this dressing.
- Lemon zest – Lemon zest is the outer layer of the lemon peel.
- Vinegar – I used white wine vinegar.
- Garlic – Fresh minced garlic.
- Sugar – Granulated white sugar is used to balance out the tartness in the dressing.
- Salt – Regular table salt.
- Pepper – Black pepper.
REMEMBER, The full recipe and instructions can be found at the end of the post in the recipe card.
Instructions
MAKE THE LEMON VINAIGRETTE
- Make the vinaigrette – Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a small glass jar, shake well and set aside.
MAKE THE SALAD
- Roast the vegetables – Preheat oven to 375 f/190 c and on a large baking tray arrange red pepper and zucchini and drizzle over the olive oil. Place in the oven for about 30-35 minutes or until vegetables are soft and cooked. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Cook the couscous – While the vegetables are cooking, make the couscous. In a large saucepan, add the dry couscous. Evenly pour over the vegetable broth. Cover with plastic wrap and then the saucepan lid. Leave for 10 minutes.
- Fluff the couscous – When the couscous is cooked, remove lid and plastic wrap and fluff with a fork.
- Combine all salad ingredients – Transfer the couscous to a large bowl. Add all the vegetables, the tomatoes and chickpeas and stir well. Pour over the vinaigrette and give another stir. Add the parsley, lemon zest and feta cheese, reserving about 1/4 of each for topping the salad at the end.
- Garnish and serve – Top salad with remaining parsley, lemon zest and feta cheese. Can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days.
Recipe Tips
- Cooking couscous – It’m important not to cook couscous over heat. The boiling stock will cook the couscous off the heat. If you cook couscous over heat, it will likey become soggy and mushy.
- Time saving tips – If you are planning on making this for a dinner or lunch, it can be made in advance. Alternatively, you can prep and cook everything in advance and then assemble it just before serving.
Substitutions
- Vegetables – You can use any colour peppers that you like, eggplant, and even red onions work too.
- Parsley – Basil and chives will work.
- Feta cheese – You could use cubed mozzarella, mozzarella pearls or goat cheese for this recipe.
Serving and Storage
And if you’re looking for something to serve with this salad, give the Lemon Garlic Shrimp a try.
- Serving
- This couscous would go wonderful with the Green Olive Chicken or the Roasted Spatchcock Chicken. I also love it with the Lemon Garlic Shirmp or the Moroccan Spiced Pork Kebabs.
- Storage
- This couscous salad will keep for about two days covered in the fridge. It’s best to take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is couscous made of?
Couscous is a traditional North African dish of small steamed granules of rolled semolina.
Is couscous healthier than pasta or rice?
Calorie wise, couscous contains less calories than rice or pasta. It also contains a relatively high protein of 6 grams per one cup serving.
What’s the difference between Moroccan Couscous and Israeli Couscous?
Moroccan couscous is very small grains of semolina. Israeli couscous, is toasted pasta in tiny balls.
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Lemon Herb Couscous Salad
This Lemon Herb Couscous Salad is a perfect salad to enjoy any time of year. Light an fluffy couscous with roasted vegetables, salty feta cheese, fresh herbs and a lemon vinaigrette.
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories: 330kcal
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 cup couscous uncooked
- 1 1/2 Cups vegetable broth
- 1 medium red pepper cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 medium zucchini cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 Tomato de seeded and diced small
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Cup chickpeas cooked
- Zest of one lemon
- 3/4 Cup Feta cheese crumbled
For the dressing:
- 1/4 Cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 2 cloves Garlic crushed
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 Teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Make the Lemon Vinaigrette
- Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a small glass jar, shake well and set aside.
Make the Salad
- Preheat oven to 375 f/190 c and on a large baking tray arrange red pepper and zucchini and drizzle over the olive oil. Place in the oven for about 30-35 minutes or until vegetables are soft and cooked. Remove from oven and set aside.
- While the vegetables are cooking, make the couscous. In a large saucepan, add the dry couscous. Evenly pour over the vegetable broth. Cover with plastic wrap and then the saucepan lid. Leave for 10 minutes.
- When the couscous is cooked, remove lid and plastic wrap and fluff with a fork.
- Transfer the couscous to a large bowl. Add all the vegetables, the tomatoes and chickpeas and stir well. Pour over the vinaigrette and give another stir. Add the parsley, lemon zest and feta cheese, reserving about 1/4 of each for topping the salad at the end.
- Top salad with remaining parsley, lemon zest and feta cheese. Can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days.
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Nutrition Facts
Lemon Herb Couscous Salad
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 330
Calories from Fat 144
% Daily Value*
Fat 16g25%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
Monounsaturated Fat 9g
Cholesterol 17mg6%
Sodium 846mg37%
Potassium 320mg9%
Carbohydrates 37g12%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 10g20%
Vitamin A 1069IU21%
Vitamin C 35mg42%
Calcium 124mg12%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Thanks For Stopping By & Hope To See You Soon!
Delicious! I was pressed for time so didn’t add the tomatoes, and we don’t like chickpeas, so we left them out. I added a bit less dressing to compensate for the smaller volume. And I forgot to add the sugar to the dressing, but it wasn’t missed at all. I was looking forward to leftovers for lunch, but one of the kiddos packed it in her school lunch! Might have to make another batch.