Delicious Vegan Mediterranean Couscous Salad Recipe

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Light Vegan Couscous Salad Recipe

This is one of my earliest recipes ever! As the name implies, I wanted a really light lunch that would give me lots of fuel and make me feel good. I also didn’t have much time on my hands, so I was kind of at a loss for what to do for lunch.

I love some starch in my salads. I’ve never been the type to eat a salad of just greens. Uh, no thanks! I’ll only do greens if it’s a Chicken Caesar salad! But a big bowl of spinach with other things just isn’t for me, unless it’s paired with a protein and a starch. That alone just isn’t enough!

I feel that adding some complex carbohydrates really bulks up a salad and makes it feel more filling. Not to mention also very aesthetically pleasing! I love couscous and quinoa salads, and I’ll definitely share some more recipes!

This salad has fresh beefsteak tomatoes, cucumber, onions, and is garnished with some chopped green onions. This combination is so simple but it tastes amazing! What brings it all together is curry powder! The best part? This should take you less than 20 minutes to make! This is almost effortless! So get ready to read on and try this recipe out!

Tell Me More About Couscous

Couscous actually originates from North Africa, they are tiny steamed balls of durum semolina flour. It is commonly misinterpreted as a grain, but it’s actually pasta! Couscous is unbelievably simple to make. It traditionally is served with stews or saucy mains. However, people are using it a lot in salads these days, and I see why!

There are three types of couscous:

• Moroccan couscous. The smallest kind of couscous. It’s grainy and is basically the size of semolina.
• Israeli couscous. This type of couscous is also known as pearl couscous. It is a bit larger and looks like small pieces of pasta.
• Lebanese couscous. This is also known as Moghrabieh couscous. These are even larger beads, about the size of chickpeas.

Source: Cooking Light

Simply follow the package directions to cook the perfect couscous. In my experience, Moroccan couscous is the fastest to cook. It cooks in about 2 minutes, no joke! I just add the water and bring it up to a simmer. Then, cover the pot and the magic happens without me doing anything to it! Pearl couscous is a bit more involved, but it doesn’t take that much longer - it’s just like cooking pasta!

I’m using pearl couscous in this recipe simply because I find it to look very stylish! That’s all! You can definitely substitute Moroccan couscous for pearl couscous if you want to save time. I tried it myself to see, and it doesn’t look half bad!

Please forgive me for forgetting the green onions as garnish, though! I bought green onions specifically for this dish but totally forgot the garnish. #epicfail

I developed this recipe to be convenient and healthy, so do what you gotta do! Whatever couscous you use, the taste won’t be affected and the nutritional benefits won’t change at all!

Tools Needed

• Pot
• Fork
• Pan
• Wooden spoon
• Cutting board
• Chef's knife
• Measuring cups

Ingredients in This Vegan Couscous Salad Recipe

This ingredient list is nice and short, perfect when you need to get a fast and healthy meal out on the table! Here’s what you’ll need:

• Pearl couscous: I also like to use pearl couscous instead of Moroccan couscous because it has a nuttier flavor. It’ll feel like a heartier salad overall, and it will hold its shape when you add the veggies. If you’re having this as a main, I would recommend you use pearl couscous. However, using Moroccan couscous would be great if you’re serving the salad as a side!
• Fresh garden veggies: Here I’m using onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers. These are classic Mediterranean favorites!
• Green onion: This adds a nice pop of color and is a fragrant garnish! If you don’t have green onions, you can substitute with a few fresh basil leaves for a nice garnish.
• Curry powder: Aside from salt and pepper, this is the only seasoning we need here. This will work some magic with your veggies and the couscous.

How to Make This Light Vegan Couscous Salad Recipe

This vegan couscous salad recipe can be made in 5 quick steps! Be sure to check out the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE at the bottom of this post, so that you can save it for later! You’ll also have all measurements, cook times, and nutrition info!

Heat a pot on medium heat and add the couscous. I am using a special couscous blend here, which also includes sun-dried tomatoes and red split lentils.

Add 1 1/4 times the amount of water/broth to the pan, and bring it to a boil. Ideally you would flavor the broth with aromatics (fresh herbs, whole spices and chicken/vegetable broth). To assist you with this quick lunch, a blend will work just fine with water.

Then, cover and cook covered as per package directions.

When the couscous has finished cooking, use a fork to fluff up the couscous and set aside for later.

Place a pot on medium heat and add 1 tsp of olive oil.

Sauté the onions until soft.

Add in the tomatoes and cook until it has become soft.

Add in salt, pepper, curry powder.

Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook out the spices for about 4-5 minutes.

Return the couscous to the pot.

Mix well.

Transfer to a serving bowl.

Top with diced cucumbers.

Finish with a garnish of fresh green onion, and enjoy!

Tips & Tricks for This Vegan Couscous Salad Recipe

Follow the ratio of 1 part couscous: 1 1/4 parts liquid to ensure fluffy, well cooked couscous.

If you have extra time on hand, toast the couscous with a touch of olive oil before adding the water. This will add additional flavor and color to the couscous.

Feel free to experiment with the aromatics you use in the couscous. My personal favorites are chopped sundried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes sautéed onions or root vegetables like carrots and celery. You can saute either one of these with the couscous before adding the water or broth. Plus, feel free to finish the couscous with fresh herbs like dill, basil or thyme.

What to Serve This Vegan Couscous Salad Recipe With?

The name sure implies that this is a very light salad! You could eat it on its own if you want, or you could add some Greek yogurt as a dressing to add some creaminess. Note however that the salad will no longer be vegan if you add yogurt.

To keep the salad vegan, I recommend adding in some chickpeas and adding a tahini dressing! You could also enjoy this salad with a slice of pita bread and some hummus on the side! Finally, I think this would make a great side for a mushroom vegan burger or my Power Bean Burger, which is vegan!

Getting the Texture Right

Texture is what makes this couscous salad. Cook the Israeli couscous in 1¼ parts water to 1 part couscous, then fluff it with a fork so the pearls stay separate and springy instead of clumping. Cooking the onion until soft and the beefsteak tomato until it breaks down gives you a mellow, curry-spiced base, and stirring the diced cucumber in right at the end keeps it cool and crunchy against the warm couscous. Spooned into a large bowl, it holds up as a light vegan main for one or as a Mediterranean side dish alongside grilled vegetables — and the texture stays pleasant even chilled the next day.

Easy Swaps and Add-Ins

This couscous salad is endlessly flexible:

• Swap the Israeli couscous for pearl barley or orzo.
• Use garam masala or ras el hanout in place of the curry powder for a different warm spice.
• Stir in chickpeas, crumbled feta, bell pepper, or a handful of herbs like parsley or mint to bulk it up. As written it is naturally vegan.

Is This a Sugar Free Couscous Recipe? And What I Would Change

It is, and not by accident. The whole ingredient list is Israeli couscous, a teaspoon of olive oil, a quarter of an onion, half a beefsteak tomato, curry powder, salt, pepper, a quarter of a cucumber and half a stalk of green onion. There is no dressing here to hide anything in, and the only sweetness in the bowl is what comes out of the tomato as it softens in the pan. That is worth saying plainly because packaged couscous salads and almost every bottled vinaigrette carry added sugar, which is exactly what people are trying to avoid when they search for a sugar free version.

A few things I would change depending on what is in the fridge. The recipe just says onion; red onion is what I reach for in a cold salad, because it keeps its bite after cooking and looks far better against pale couscous. Grape tomatoes, halved, work in place of the beefsteak tomato and hold their shape rather than collapsing, so the salad ends up chunkier. A clove of garlic softened alongside the onion is a good addition though it is not in the recipe as written. And at the end, chopped parsley next to the green onion, plus a squeeze of lemon juice, which is the single thing I would add if the salad tastes flat to you.

One note on why a small bowl of this is more filling than it looks. Between the couscous, the cooked onion and tomato and the raw cucumber stirred in at the end, you are eating mostly vegetables rather than mostly starch, and the fiber that comes with them is doing most of that work. It is also why the cucumber goes in off the heat: cooked, it turns to water and you lose both the crunch and the point.

The Instructions in Short, and How This Sits Among Other Salad Recipes

The instructions run to four steps and none of them are fussy. Couscous goes into a pot with a cup and a quarter of water, covered, cooked to the package timing and then forked through. Onion softens in extra virgin olive oil, the tomato follows and cooks down, then salt, black pepper and curry powder go in for four to five minutes. The cooked couscous is stirred through, the pot comes off the heat, and the diced cucumber and green onion go on last. Use extra virgin olive oil rather than a light one here; it is barely cooked and you taste it directly.

One thing worth knowing if you are comparing salad recipes: couscous is not a grain. It is a pasta, semolina rolled into tiny pearls, which is why Israeli couscous behaves far more like orzo than like rice. That matters for texture, because pasta holds a bite when it cools where rice tends to go firm and chalky in the fridge. You can absolutely build this on rice instead, but cook it separately and let it cool fully before it meets the vegetables. Olives are the other addition that turns this properly Mediterranean, and they need nothing else changed.

Two last practical notes. Get the water to a full boiling water stage before you start counting the couscous timing, or the pearls cook unevenly and you end up with chalky centers. And leftovers keep well in an airtight container in the fridge; this is one of the few salads that is as good cold the next day as it is warm from the pan, which is what makes it a weekday staple rather than a one-off. Feta cheese crumbled over the top, or a spoon of white beans stirred through, turns a side dish into a lunch that stands on its own.