This Mediterranean Pearl Couscous Salad is an eye-catching side dish, packed with Mediterranean-inspired salad ingredients, a zesty lemon dressing, and chewy pearl couscous cooked in broth until al dente for an irresistible chewy bite!
Enjoy this lemon couscous salad with various main meal options for your next lunch, dinner, or summer outdoor barbecue!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- This lemon couscous salad is an easy side dish, loaded with delicious texture, fresh ingredients, and zesty flavor.
- Enjoy this Mediterranean pearl couscous salad with various main dishes - perfect for a midweek family meal or summer backyard barbecue.
- Cooking the pearl couscous in broth adds complex flavor to this colorful salad.
This colorful summer couscous salad with fresh ingredients and bold flavors is a refreshing side salad enjoyed all year round!
🛒 Ingredients
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Note: The full list of this recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are in the recipe card below.
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Cook the pearl couscous on the stovetop on a low boil for 7-8 minutes or until al dente. Drain and transfer to a bowl and drizzle lightly with olive oil, stirring occasionally to cool and prevent it from sticking.
- For the dressing, zest a lemon, squeeze the fresh lemon juice into a bowl, and measure out the olive oil into a separate bowl.
- Measure out the salt and pepper in separate bowls.
- Combine the lemon juice, salt, pepper, olive oil, zest, honey, mustard, and minced garlic in a bowl or glass jar. Shake well.
- Cook 4 ears of corn in the microwave. Once cool, peel back the husks and silk and discard.
- Lay one ear of corn on a cutting board and cut the kernels off with a sharp knife. Repeat this process for the other ears of corn. Drizzle the corn lightly with olive oil and set aside to cool.
- Add all salad ingredients into a large bowl, except the dressing.
- Toss to combine.
- Drizzle 3-4 tablespoons of the dressing over the salad and toss again.
- Sprinkle crumbled feta on top of the salad and serve at room temperature alongside extra dressing.
🔪 Equipment
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You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
- Sharp knife - for cutting the fresh vegetables and herbs.
- Cutting board - a solid surface for cutting.
- Salad bowl - for mixing and serving the couscous salad.
🤔 FAQs
These are the questions we are most frequently asked about making this pearl couscous salad.
Yes! Pearl couscous is a great source of dietary fiber that will keep you full for longer. It helps to stabilize blood sugar, aids digestion, and reduces constipation.
Pearl couscous is larger in size and chewier than original couscous. Original couscous has a finer texture and cooks faster.
Absolutely! Couscous is a great source of complex carbohydrates, fiber, and protein. It also contains vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin B, iron, and selenium.
Pearl couscous and Israeli couscous are terms used interchangeably. Pearl couscous is the correct term for this larger couscous.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- The pearl couscous is cooked in broth instead of water which adds a deeper flavor.
- Cooked couscous tends to clump once it starts to cool. Use a spatula or fork to break it up when reheating or serving again.
- Reheat leftovers for a few minutes on medium heat on the stovetop, serve leftovers chilled or allow the refrigerated salad to reach room temperature before serving again.
- I've cooked the couscous al dente. This gives the couscous a deliciously chewy texture. I’ve coated the freshly boiled couscous in olive oil to keep it from sticking together.
- You can find pearl or Israeli couscous in the pasta section of the grocery store.
- The salad dressing can be made in advance and stored in the fridge. The fresh salad ingredients can also be prepared ahead of time and stored in separate airtight containers. I recommend only slicing the tomatoes and chopping the herbs before assembling this salad.
📚 Variations
- You could take an extra step and toast the couscous in a dry saucepan before cooking it to add a nutty flavor to this dish.
- Use any kind of broth in this recipe. Chicken broth or vegetable broth are great options.
- Add protein to this lemon couscous salad for a wholesome, balanced meal, such as shredded chicken, pulled pork, shrimp, or beef strips. Tofu is great as a plant-based protein option.
- Garnish this couscous salad with fresh parsley if you don’t like cilantro.
- Use chickpeas instead of corn when corn is not in season.
🥫 Storage
Store leftover Mediterranean pearl couscous salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
While couscous itself can be stored in the freezer for three months, I don’t recommend freezing couscous that includes vegetables or fresh salad ingredients as these will become overly soggy from freezing and thawing.
📗 Related Recipes
- Spicy Peppery Couscous With Fresh Vegetables - Another colorful and zesty couscous dish cooked in broth and Ro-Tel tomatoes for a spicy kick.
- Herbed Lemon Quinoa With Spinach - A gluten-free and healthy side dish consisting of sauteed shallots, bright lemon, parsley, thyme, and spinach.
- Farro With Tomatoes - This nutritional farro recipe is chewy with onion-tomato seasoning that can be made in one pan in 30 minutes.
🍽 Serve with
Serve this summer couscous salad with seared salmon or shrimp, grilled chicken, pork, beef, hummus, and pita bread. This salad is great warm as a delicious vegetarian main meal with crusty bread.
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
We love pasta salads any time of year but especially when there's a family gathering. Every year at our first outdoor barbecue we try to come up with a recipe that's a bit different. This year we decided that instead of using an Italian style pasta like the bow tie, we wanted to make it with the Israeli pearl-size pasta.
What we enjoy about this pasta is how easily it mixes with the other ingredients. Every bite holds a bit of lemony vinaigrette soaked pasta and veggies. We had a similar salad at The Crow's Nest on Venice Island. I've wanted to duplicate the recipe ever since and I think this one is even better!
Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
📝 Recipe Card
Mediterranean Lemon Pearl Couscous Salad is a bright and colorful summer salad loaded with fresh Mediterranean salad ingredients, a zesty lemon dressing, and chewy al dente pearl couscous!
Top this eye-catching salad with crumbled feta and freshly chopped herbs, and serve at room temperature.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Mediterranean Lemon Pearl Couscous Salad
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
For the couscous:
- 8 ounces Israeli couscous also called pearl pasta
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups water
For the dressing:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- finely grated zest from 1 medium-size lemon
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 medium clove garlic finely minced
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the salad:
- 4 ears fresh corn
- 8 cups 5 ounces baby spinach finely sliced
- ½ cup Kalamata olives pitted and sliced
- ¼ cup crumbled Feta Cheese more if you like
- 1 medium seedless English cucumber halved or quartered, if large and sliced ¼-inch thick
- ½ medium red onion thinly sliced
- 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes - cut in half
- 1 cup finely chopped cilantro or parsley
- ½ cup finely chopped fresh dill - some dill sprigs to garnish on top
Instructions
For the couscous:
- In a medium-large pot, bring chicken broth and water to a rolling boil. Add couscous and return to a boil, then reduce to a steady low boil and cook for 7-8 minutes or until al dente.
- Drain well and transfer to a bowl. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and stir to combine. Set aside to cool. Stir occasionally to facilitate cooling and to keep the pasta from sticking together.
For the dressing:
- Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake well.
For the corn:
- Place the 4 ears of corn in the microwave and cook on high power for 6 minutes. Remove from microwave with a potholder or oven mitt and set aside until cool enough to handle.
- Cut about an inch off of the stalk end of the corn, then peel back the husks and silk from the top and discard. Pull off any remaining silk strings.
- Lay one ear of corn on a cutting board and, with a sharp knife, cut a strip of kernels off of one side. Place cut side down and continue to cut and rotate until all the corn is removed.Repeat with the other 3 ears of corn. Drizzle corn lightly with olive oil and set aside to cool.
For the salad:
- Combine all ingredients except the dressing in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Drizzle with 3-4 tablespoons of the dressing and toss again. Sprinkle the crumbled Feta cheese on top. Serve extra dressing at the table. Serve at room temperature.
- Store leftover Mediterranean pearl couscous salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. While couscous itself can be stored in the freezer for three months, I don’t recommend freezing couscous that includes vegetables or fresh salad ingredients as these will become overly soggy from freezing and thawing.
Notes
- The pearl couscous is cooked in broth instead of water which adds a deeper flavor.
- Cooked couscous tends to clump once it starts to cool. Use a spatula or fork to break it up when reheating or serving again.
- Reheat leftovers for a few minutes on medium heat on the stovetop, serve leftovers chilled or allow the refrigerated salad to reach room temperature before serving again.
- I've cooked the couscous al dente. This gives the couscous a deliciously chewy texture. I’ve coated the freshly boiled couscous in olive oil to keep it from sticking together.
- You can find pearl or Israeli couscous in the pasta section of the grocery store.
- The salad dressing can be made in advance and stored in the fridge. The fresh salad ingredients can also be prepared ahead of time and stored in separate airtight containers. I recommend only slicing the tomatoes and chopping the herbs before assembling this salad.
Nutrition
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