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This easy couscous salad is fresh, flavorful, and packed with veggies, herbs, and feta. It comes together quickly and makes the perfect side dish or light meal for any occasion!
If you’re looking for a quick and vibrant salad to add to your meal prep or bring to your next gathering, this couscous salad has you covered. It’s loaded with juicy tomatoes, crunchy cucumber, fresh herbs, and a simple lemon dressing that ties everything together. The couscous makes it hearty enough to enjoy as a light lunch, but it’s also the perfect side for grilled chicken, fish, or falafel.
This recipe reminds me a little of my quinoa salad and tabbouleh salad, but the fluffy couscous gives it its own unique texture and flavor. It’s fresh, fast, and just the kind of easy recipe I love to have on repeat!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Salad
This salad is the perfect balance of bright, fresh, and satisfying. Here’s why it’s a keeper:
- Quick and easy – Thanks to instant couscous, it’s ready in about 20 minutes.
- Fresh and flavorful – Packed with crunchy veggies, lemony dressing, and creamy feta.
- Perfect for meal prep – It holds up well in the fridge, making it great for lunches or easy dinners.
- Super versatile – Enjoy it on its own or pair it with your favorite protein for a full meal.
- Crowd-pleaser – It’s light but filling, and perfect for picnics, potlucks, or summer barbecues.
Ingredients Needed
- instant couscous – also known as Moroccan couscous, this is the star ingredient for this salad! It cooks up in just 5-10 minutes, which makes this salad come together in no time! Couscous can usually be found in the grain section of most grocery stores, with rice and quinoa. I used RiceSelect Moroccan-Style Couscous for this recipe.
- grape tomatoes – adds a sweet and juicy component to the salad. You can dice them or halve them. Cherry tomatoes will also work.
- english cucumber – adds a nice crunch! Feel free to use a regular or persian cucumber instead if that’s what you have on hand.
- red onion – a little bit adds a sharpness and depth of flavor. Feel free to use a yellow onion if you prefer.
- fresh parsley – fresh herbs always elevate a dish and parsley pairs perfectly with the rest of the ingredients in this salad. You could also use mint or basil or a combination of both.
- extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice – for the dressing we’re just using olive oil and lemon juice to keep things simple!
- sea salt and ground pepper – for seasoning.
- crumbled feta cheese – adds a creamy and salty element that pairs beautifully with the other textures.
Substitutions & Notes
This couscous salad recipe can easily be customized! Here are some substitutions & notes:
- Add protein: To turn this into a meal-sized salad, add in some grilled chicken, shrimp, chickpeas, tofu or tempeh.
- Dressing: If you want a dressing with more depth of flavor try this red wine vinaigrette, white balsamic vinaigrette, greek salad dressing, garlic tahini dressing or lemon vinaigrette dressing instead.
- Gluten-free: If you’re looking for a gluten-free alternative to couscous try making my easy quinoa salad instead.
- Dairy-free: If you need this salad to be dairy-free skip the feta cheese or use a vegan feta like this Follow Your Heart dairy-free vegan crumbles or VIOLIFE Just Like Feta Block.
How to Make Couscous Salad
This easy couscous salad comes together in just a few steps:
Step 1: Bring water to a boil in a medium pot. Once boiling, add couscous, cover, and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until the water is absorbed and the couscous is tender.
Step 2: Fluff the couscous with a fork and transfer it to a large bowl. Add the tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion and parsley to the bowl and toss to combine.
Step 3: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. This creates a simple and flavorful dressing.
Step 4: Pour the dressing over the couscous mixture and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed.
Brittany’s Tips
A few little tips to help your salad turn out extra fresh and flavorful:
- Save the feta for last: Crumbling the feta right before serving keeps it nice and fresh instead of getting mixed in and mushy.
- Fluff well: After the couscous soaks, grab a fork and fluff it up! This keeps everything light and prevents any clumping.
- Cool it down: Give the couscous a few minutes to cool before tossing in the veggies. Nobody wants soggy cucumbers.
- Fresh lemon makes a difference: Trust me, fresh-squeezed lemon juice brings a bright, zippy flavor you just can’t get from the bottled stuff.
What to Serve with Couscous Salad
Honestly, this salad pairs well with just about anything! It’s a great side salad for cookouts, but also makes for the perfect salad to meal prep for lunches throughout the week. Here are some pairing ideas:
- Apple cider vinegar chicken – My go-to grilled chicken recipe!
- Grilled curry chicken – Looking for a little extra flavor? Try this curry chicken recipe.
- Blackened salmon – This refreshing couscous salad is the perfect way to balance out the spice from the salmon.
- The best turkey burger – Make these delicious turkey burgers as your main and serve this salad alongside it! For a vegan burger option, try this tempeh veggie burger.
- Baked falafel – Because this salad has Mediterranean vibes, I think it would be delicious paired with homemade falafel and creamy hummus.
How to Store
To make it in advance: I would recommend leaving the feta cheese out and adding that in right before serving. The rest of the salad can be fully assembled and stored in an airtight container for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.
To store leftovers: Store any leftovers in an airtight container for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Moroccan-style instant couscous works best here because it cooks quickly and has a light, fluffy texture that’s perfect for mixing with fresh veggies.
This salad is meant to be served chilled or at room temperature, but if you prefer it slightly warm, you can enjoy it that way too—just know the veggies will soften a bit.
No, traditional couscous is made from wheat and is not gluten-free. If you need a gluten-free option, try swapping the couscous for quinoa.
Couscous is made from tiny balls of semolina flour, the same flour used to make pasta. Even though it looks like a grain, it’s actually a type of pasta! It has a mild, slightly nutty flavor and works perfectly in salads because it soaks up all the delicious dressing and flavors.
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If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Couscous Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup instant couscous, Moroccan style couscous
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, diced
- 1 cup english cucumber, diced
- ½ red onion, diced
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 Tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Once boiling, add couscous, cover and let sit for 5-10 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the couscous is tender.
- Fluff the couscous with a fork, transfer to a mixing bowl and add the tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion and parsley.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Pour dressing over the couscous mixture and stir to combine.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. Top with feta cheese right before serving.
Notes
- Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.
- Gluten-free: If you’re looking for a gluten-free alternative to couscous try making my easy quinoa salad instead.
- Dairy-free: If you need this salad to be dairy-free skip the feta cheese or use a vegan feta like this Follow Your Heart dairy-free vegan crumbles or VIOLIFE Just Like Feta Block.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this last night for dinner, and it was delicious!! I didn’t add the parsley, but I did add some rotisserie chicken that I chopped up (about 1 1/2 cups). The whole family loved it, and my husband has already requested a redo. Thanks so much for a great recipe!
Ahhh this is the best, I am so glad to hear that this recipe is a hit for the whole family, Kelly. Thank you for sharing your review & star rating, I really appreciate it!
Hi Brittany, What other cheese would you recommend besides Feta? Should it be a crumbly cheese?
Thanks,
Cindy
Hi Cindy – I think some mozzarella balls would be delicious in this salad if you wanted to replace the feta. Hope you give this recipe a try, let me know how it turns out for you!
perfect for a quick summer meal when it’s warm outside
I couldn’t agree more! So glad you’re loving this salad, Serena. Thank you for your review & star rating, I really appreciate it!