This easy pearl couscous salad is made with sweet cranberries, zucchini, tomato, parsley and pine nuts. It’s tossed with a lemony turmeric dressing and makes for one easy side to dinner or light lunch.
Sharing an easy couscous salad recipe with you all today.
I got the inspiration for this pearl couscous salad from my local grocery store. They sell a similar salad in their deli department that hubby loves. Of course, you know I had to try my hand at a homemade version!
The ingredients for this couscous salad recipe are pretty simple and all pretty healthy. Aside from cooking the couscous, it’s just mix and toss.
This one has lots of textures too, from the crunchy zucchini and pine nuts to the sweet dried cranberries. You can pretty much say that this couscous salad has it goin’ on, if there ever was such a thing!
What Is Pearl Couscous?
Pearl couscous or Israeli couscous is a type of pasta made of semolina flour and is much larger than the regular (smaller) granular couscous variety. It’s pretty versatile and can be used in place of rice or smaller pastas in soups or salad.
How To Cook It
Couscous takes minutes to cook, which makes it a great choice for easy meals. Unlike the granular version of couscous, you cook pearl couscous like you would pasta. Basically, you cook it in a pot of boiling salted water for about 10 minutes until tender.
Can Couscous Be Eaten Cold?
Totally! Matter of fact, this is a cold couscous salad recipe!
Recipe Variations
- The cranberries work beautifully in this salad and adds a nice pop of sweetness to the other savoury ingredients. However, golden raisins work great too!
- Pine nuts are delicious, but they are also expensive. Feel free to sub in another nut, like sliced almonds.
- Instead of parsley, try cilantro (or a combo of the two). A little fresh mint is great too!
Lemon Turmeric Vinaigrette
For this simple vinaigrette, I added turmeric to the mix. Do not, though, get that turmeric on anything you don’t want ruined. That stuff stains, even your hands. Speaking from experience here!
The dressing ingredients for this salad are:
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Maple syrup
- Salt
- Pepper
- Turmeric
Simply place them in a mason jar and get shakin’! Pour over the salad and stir to combine.
What To Serve With This Salad
Of course, you could totally enjoy this pearl couscous salad on its own, but if you want to make things more substantial, serve with any of the following:
- Soup
- Add in some grilled halloumi cheese (or serve it on the side)
- Toss in some tofu
- Serve with your favourite protein
- Side of olives
More Easy Side Dishes
If you make this couscous salad recipe, be sure to leave a comment below!
Pearl Couscous Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Pearl Couscous Salad
- 1 cup pearl couscous
- 1 cup chopped (peeled) zucchini
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup chopped tomato
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 3 to 4 stalks green onion, chopped
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Lemon Turmeric Vinaigrette
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
Instructions
Pearl Couscous Salad
- Cook couscous per package instructions. Note: For mine, I placed 1.5 cups of cold water, ½ teaspoon of salt and 1 cup of couscous in a medium pot. Bring to boil, lower heat, cover and cook about 10 minutes. Turn off heat, leave covered for a couple minutes. Rinse with cold water and drain.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the cooked couscous, zucchini, cranberries, tomato, pine nuts, green onion, and parsley. Then pour over vinaigrette, stirring until well combined. Serve and enjoy!
Lemon Turmeric Vinaigrette
- In a small jar, combine olive oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, salt, black pepper and turmeric. Cover and shake to mix everything together.
Nutrition (ESTIMATE ONLY)
Nutrition estimate (if provided) is based on 1 Serving.
Nutrition information (if provided) is provided as a courtesy and should be considered an estimate only. Ingredients can vary and Girl Heart Food makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are guidelines only.
Tried this recipe?
If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!
