Couscous Salad – Gimme Some Oven

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This simple couscous salad is made with loads of fresh veggies, chickpeas, herbs, feta and a zesty lemon dressing. Feel free to add in some grilled meat or seafood if you’d like too.

There are many virtues I could point out about this simple, fresh and flavorful couscous salad. But the most notable one for me is this:

I genuinely get so excited to eat the leftovers the next day. ♡

As someone who doesn’t exactly love working my way through tuppers full of leftovers in our fridge, I have to say that this salad is so tasty that I typically make a double batch just to be sure that we have extras for the week ahead. It’s loaded up with many of the usual Mediterranean faves — tender couscous, crisp fresh veggies, chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes, toasted pine nuts and tangy feta cheese. But the addition of loads of fresh mint and parsley really brighten it up, and the cumin-sumac-garlic lemon dressing and that brings everything together is perfection.

Feel free to add in an extra protein (such as chicken, shrimp or salmon) if you’d like, or sub in whatever other veggies, cheeses, or nuts you currently happen to have on hand. This is one of those recipes that’s endlessly flexible, so make it your own and enjoy, enjoy!

Couscous Salad Ingredients

Before we get to the full couscous salad recipe below, here are a few quick notes about the ingredients you will need:

• Couscous: We’ll use basic couscous for this recipe, cooked on the stovetop with water and a hint of sea salt.
• Chickpeas: You’re welcome to use a can of chickpeas or whatever other variety of beans that you happen to have on hand.
• Veggies: I used a simple mix of diced English cucumber, red bell pepper, and red onion for this salad, but again, feel free to swap in any other salad-friendly veggies that you happen to have on hand.
• Sun-dried tomatoes: I love the intense sweet-tart flavor of chopped sun-dried tomatoes in this salad, but you could swap in diced fresh tomatoes instead if you prefer.
• Pine nuts: The buttery taste and crunch of toasted pine nuts works so well this salad, but roasted pepitas or toasted slivered almonds would also be delicious alternatives.
• Fresh herbs: Please be generous with the fresh herbs here! I used a mix of fresh mint and parsley, but fresh basil or dill would also be great alternatives if you have some on hand.
• Feta cheese: The tangy flavor of crumbled feta weaves beautifully into this salad.
• Lemony vinaigrette: Finally, we will bring everything together with a simple lemony vinaigrette made with olive oil, freshly-squeezed lemon juice, ground cumin, ground sumac, garlic, salt and pepper.

Possible Variations

Here are a few additional ways that you’re welcome to customize this couscous salad to your liking:

• Add a protein: Add some grilled chicken, beef, shrimp, salmon, scallops, or even canned tuna to the salad.
• Add olives: Add your choice of olives to the salad.
• Add tahini: Drizzle some tahini on top or mix a few tablespoons into the dressing.
• Use a different grain/pasta/rice: Use an equal amount of quinoa, farro, rice, orzo, etc. in place of the couscous, cooked according to package instructions.
• Use a different cheese: Use goat cheese or mozzarella pearls in place of the feta cheese.

More Make-Ahead Salad Recipes

Looking for more simple make-ahead salad recipes to try? Here are a few of my faves:

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