This couscous salad is really quick and easy to make and is a perfect mid-week healthy lunch. You can add in whatever you like and make a big portion to keep in the fridge and last you for the week!
I love having this quick couscous salad alongside a green leaf salad or some freshly baked homemade sourdough bread! Check out that recipe here, or try making this Seeded Sourdough Loaf, my Crusty French Baguettes or this German Wholemeal Seeded Loaf, which would also go really well with the couscous salad.
What is couscous and how do you make it?
If you haven’t heard of it before, couscous is a small grain made from semolina and is quite common in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and African cuisine. What I think makes it great for students, is that it is very cheap, quick and easy to make and requires NO COOKING!
All you need to do is put the couscous in a bowl and pour some boiling water over it, then cover and leave it for about 5 minutes to soak up the liquid. It´s that easy! To give the couscous more flavour, I also like to crumble in a vegetable stock cube before adding the water.
Couscous is by far my favourite grain to use to make salads. However, you could also use quinoa (check out my recipe for a Colourful Quinoa Salad) or bulgur. If you want to find out more about bulgur and how to make it check out my cooking basics post here.
What goes into this quick couscous salad?
I add four other ingredients to my couscous salad, all of which can be quickly washed and chopped up whilst the couscous soaks in the boiling water: some finely chopped red onion, cherry tomatoes, olives and fresh coriander. My favourite olives are the dried, quite salty Mediterranean ones, the same as I used to make my French Olive Baguettes. And I absolutely love coriander (or cilantro as it is called in the US) – I think it adds a lovely flavour and makes every summer salad or curry a million times better!
Of course, you can pick and mix and add whatever ingredients you like to this quick couscous salad! I know, not everyone likes olives and/or coriander – how?!?! Other nice additions could be some sliced peppers, cucumber, cooked shredded chicken, parsley or avocado.
More Recipes for Meal Prep
As I said, this quick couscous salad is ideal for meal prep. This salad keeps perfectly in the fridge for a few days, so why not make more whilst you´re at it? It´s totally worth spending a few more minutes preparing a larger portion of salad on one day, and then not have to make lunch for the next few!
If you are looking for more meal prep recipes, check out some of the recipes below:
- Colourful Quinoa Salad
- Vegan Mixed Bean Chilli
- Chicken, Sweet Potato and Spinach Curry
- Red Lentil Soup
- Roasted Cauliflower Pilaf
- Chicken, Chickpea and Spinach Sauce with Bulgur
- Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Lasagne
Quick Couscous Salad
Recipe
Ingredients (serves 4):
- 150g couscous
- 1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled
- 400ml boiling water
- Salt, pepper, turmeric (optional)
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 150g plum tomatoes, quartered
- 40g black olives, sliced
- 1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped
- Juice of 1 lemon
Method:
- Place the couscous in a heatproof bowl and crumble the vegetable stock cube on top. Add a little more pepper and/or turmeric for some optional, extra seasoning and stir. Pour over 400ml of boiling water, set a plate over the bowl and leave the couscous until it has absorbed all of the water (about 5 minutes).
- In the meantime, wash and chop the tomatoes, onion, coriander and olives.
- Once all the liquid has been absorbed, taste the couscous. It should still have a bit of bite to it (al dente) but should not be hard. If you think it needs a little more water, pour over some more boiling water, cover again and wait for it to be absorbed.
- Stir the onion, tomatoes, olives and coriander, squeeze over the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Any leftover couscous salad can be stored in an airtight container (or just cover the bowl with clingfilm) in the fridge for 4-5 days.
