This Mediterranean- and North African-inspired Vegan Couscous Salad is loaded with vegetables and coated in an herby, lemony, and tangy dressing. It's a nutritious and filling side dish option that can be served instead of rice or a boring side salad.
Not only is this vegan couscous salad super fresh and packed with vegetables, but it's also quite filling since it's a pasta salad in disguise: couscous isn't a grain, but a tiny ball of pasta.
Lemon juice and zest keep the salad light and tangy, and a dash of harissa adds a dose of flavorful spice that rounds out a balanced and delicious dish.
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Why We Love This Recipe
- Nutritious: This recipe is absolutely packed with vegetables, like zucchini, eggplant, bell pepper, onion and tomatoes. It also has white beans for some extra plant-based protein and pistachios, olive oil and tahini for a dose of healthy fats. It's a well-balanced salad that's perfect for any meal.
- Meal prep friendly: This is one of those recipes that actually tastes even better after a day in the fridge. Prep it at the beginning of the week and enjoy it for a quick meal when you need it!
- Enjoy warm or cold: This vegan couscous salad is delicious either way!
- Surprisingly easy: Although this recipe has a relatively long ingredient list, it's easy to prepare. Simply boil the couscous, sauté the vegetables, whisk together the dressing and toss everything together.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this vegan couscous salad:
Ingredient Notes
- Couscous: We're using pearl couscous (aka Israeli couscous) for this vegan couscous salad. You can also use regular couscous if that's what you have on hand. However, feel free to sub in quinoa for a gluten free option that's equally as delicious. Farro would also work well in this recipe.
- Parsley: For this salad, we definitely suggest using fresh parsley. You could also use cilantro or basil in a pinch.
- Harissa spice blend: Harissa is a red chili paste or spice blend that's a very popular condiment throughout North Africa (it's the national sauce of Tunisia) and the Middle East. In addition to the chili peppers, harissa also often contains spices like cumin or coriander, hints of garlic, and sometimes lemon, tomatoes, or bell peppers.
- If you can't find a powdered Harissa spice blend, you can always sub in 2 tablespoons of harissa paste or sauce. If you can't find any harissa, you can use a mix of paprika and chili powder instead.
- Pistachio: Pistachios provide a mild, nutty crunch to this salad. Feel free to sub them with any other nut you have on hand, including cashews, almonds or pine nuts.
- Golden raisins: You can use regular raisins instead, but we think golden raisins have a much more substantial texture that works better in salads. Apricots or dates will also work well, just be sure to chop them a bit, otherwise they'll be too big for the salad.
- White beans: White beans, navy beans, or cannellini beans will work.
- Roma tomatoes: Feel free to substitute with whatever tomatoes you have on hand.
- Agave: You can also use honey or maple syrup instead.
Instructions
STEP 1: Whisk together the dressing ingredients until well combined, and let the dressing sit while you make the rest of the salad.
STEP 2: Cook couscous according to package directions.
STEP 3: While the couscous is cooking, add 2 tablespoons of oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 3-4 minutes, then stir in garlic and lemon zest and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Next, stir in the eggplant and ¼ cup of water and cook for another 8 minutes.
STEP 4: Add in the zucchini, pepper, tomatoes, parsley, lemon juice, and salt and increase the heat to medium high. Stir frequently and continue cooking for another 8 minutes, until all of the vegetables are fork tender.
STEP 5: Add the cooked couscous, beans, raisins, nuts and vegetable mixture to a large bowl and stir to mix ingredients together. Toss mixture with dressing until evenly coated.
Tips and FAQs
- Storage: Place the salad in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Refrigerate for an hour before serving: This isn't required, but encouraged. After you toss everything together, give the vegan couscous salad an hour or so to soak up all of the flavor from the vinaigrette. The salad will be more flavorful, and it tastes best chilled (in our opinion). If you don't have time, no worries – it's also delicious warm!
- Meal prep: You can make this entire salad (including tossing it in the dressing) in advance and enjoy throughout the week for a quick, easy meal. We think it tastes even better when it has a chance for the flavors to meld together, so it's a great option to add to your meal prep menu!
- Customize: Another great thing about this salad? It's super easy to customize with vegetables and toppings of your choice. Here are a few ways to make it your own:
- Swap out some of the vegetables for ingredients like carrots, winter squash, red onion, cauliflower, etc.
- Swap the golden raisins with finely chopped medjool dates or dried apricots.
- Try a different nut, like cashews, pine nuts or slivered almonds.
- Try a different grain, like regular couscous, farro, or quinoa (for a gluten free option).
While commonly mistaken for a grain or a seed, couscous is actually a pasta that's made from a combination of semolina (a high-gluten flour) and water. It's then rolled into very small, mostly uniform pieces.
The main difference between pearl couscous and regular (Moroccan) couscous is the size of the pasta. Pearl couscous (as suggested by the name) consists of pea (or pearl) sized granules. Regular couscous is much smaller.
More Salad Recipes to Enjoy
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Couscous Salad
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8-12 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Mediterranean- and North African-inspired Vegan Couscous Salad is loaded with vegetables and coated in an herby, lemony, and tangy dressing. It's a nutritious and filling side dish option that can be served instead of rice or a boring side salad.
Ingredients
Salad:
- 4 cups cooked pearl couscous (~2 cups uncooked)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced (~1 cup)
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced (2 large cloves)
- 1 ½ tablespoon lemon zest
- ½ tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 cups diced eggplant, cut into ½-inch pieces (~½ of a large eggplant)
- ¼ cup water
- 2 cups diced zucchini, cut into ½-inch pieces (1 large or 2 small zucchini)
- 1 cup diced bell pepper (1 small bell pepper)
- 1 cup diced Roma tomatoes, deseeded (~2-3 large tomatoes)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 15.5 ounce can white beans, drained and rinsed
- ⅔ cup roughly chopped golden raisins*
- ½-⅔ cup roughly chopped pistachios
Dressing:
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 teaspoons honey or agave
- 1 tablespoon Harissa spice blend (or 2 tbsp Harissa paste)**
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon cumin
Instructions
Dressing:
- Add all dressing ingredients to a bowl and whisk together until well combined. Let the dressing sit while you make the rest of the salad.
Salad:
- Cook couscous according to package directions, then drain and set aside.
- While the couscous is cooking, add olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes, then stir in garlic and lemon zest and continue cooking for 2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Stir in the eggplant and ¼ cup of water and cook for another 8 minutes, until the eggplant starts to soften. (The steam from the water helps the eggplant soften faster without drying out).
- Add in the zucchini, pepper, tomatoes, parsley, lemon juice, and salt, and increase heat to medium high. Continue cooking for another 8 minutes, until all of the vegetables are fork tender.
- Add the cooked couscous, beans, raisins, pistachios, and vegetable mixture to a large serving bowl and toss with the dressing until well coated. Enjoy right away or refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
Notes
*Raisins: Feel free to use regular raisins, sultanas or currants instead of golden raisins. You can also use finely chopped medjool dates or dried apricot.
**Harissa: If you can't find any harissa, you can use a mix of paprika and chili powder instead.
Couscous: We're using pearl couscous (aka Israeli couscous). You can also use regular couscous. Feel free to sub in quinoa for a gluten free option that's equally as delicious. Farro would also work well in this recipe. Whichever grain you use, just use 4 cups of the cooked grain to make sure the quantities remain the same.
Pistachios: You can also use cashews, slivered almonds or pine nuts.
Storage: Place the salad in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Refrigerate for an hour before serving: This isn't required, but encouraged. After you toss everything together, give the salad an hour or so to soak up all of the flavor from the vinaigrette. The salad will be more flavorful, and it tastes best chilled (in our opinion). If you don't have time, no worries – it's also delicious warm!
Meal prep: You can make this entire salad (including tossing it in the dressing) in advance and enjoy throughout the week for a quick, easy meal.
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It may vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Salads
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Moroccan
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 408
- Sugar: 11.1 g
- Sodium: 277.3 mg
- Fat: 16.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 55.9 g
- Fiber: 8.2 g
- Protein: 11.6 g
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