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    Home » Salads

    Couscous Salad with Chickpeas and Turmeric

    Published: Jun 15, 2016 · Modified: Feb 12, 2022 by Shareba · This post may contain affiliate links ·

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    This couscous salad is inspired by North African cuisine, where these tiny grains are a staple ingredient. This salad is full of fresh vegetables and earthy spices!

    Couscous Salad with Chickpeas and Turmeric | InSearchOfYummyness.com

    I have really terrible eating habits. Especially for someone whose career revolves around food.

    I write about food almost every day. I take photos of food, I style food, I develop recipes and share information about food. Yet, I struggle with eating properly.

    When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is turn on my computer. I always intend to skim my Facebook feed and emails before I eat breakfast, but I end up sitting there for at least an hour. Then when I finally get up to eat, I grab a bowl of cereal, or a yogurt cup, and head back to my computer.

    I often forget to eat lunch too... This usually results in me either snacking on junk before dinner, or eating way too much dinner, to compensate for the fact that I've basically starved myself all day.

    Acknowledging a problem is the first step to overcoming it, right?

    Grape tomatoes for my couscous salad | InSearchOfYummyness.com

    My first step in fixing this problem is to make better food choices. For me, this means adding more fruits and veggies to my diet. I'm not about to start cutting carbs (so not happening!), but eating more produce is never a bad idea.

    To get started, I visited my great-aunt and asked her to share her couscous salad recipe with me. It's loaded with fresh raw vegetables, so I thought this would be a great place to start in my quest to eat better.

    This healthy couscous salad has lots of fresh raw vegetables, chickpeas and turmeric. Make it for dinner tonight! Get the #recipe at InSearchOfYummyness.com.

    The flavours in this recipe are loosely inspired by North African cuisine, where couscous is an important ingredient. Spices like cumin, cinnamon and paprika are often used in North African cooking, along with olives, fresh herbs and vegetables.

    While the turmeric isn't an African ingredient, it adds a beautiful yellow colour to the couscous, and it's supposed to be very healthy for you too.

    This healthy couscous salad, with chickpeas and turmeric, is loaded with fresh raw vegetables! Get the recipe at InSearchOfYummyness.com.

    I admit that this salad does require a lot of ingredients, and a lot of prep, which are two things that I generally avoid. The nice thing is that you can do a lot of the prep work ahead of time, and then just throw the salad together when you're ready to eat.

    If you've never cooked couscous before, you're in for a pleasant surprise. Couscous, which is steamed and dried durum wheat semolina granules, is extremely easy to cook. All  you need is a kettle, a bowl and a plate! I mean you can make it in a pot too, but I like the bowl method best so that's what I used in this recipe.

    Couscous has a neutral flavour, so you can use it in both sweet and savoury preparations. It will take on the flavour of whatever you mix it with, too. I usually buy the Casbah brand from Walmart, but you can find it at most grocery stores (it's usually in the aisle with rice). You can use either original or whole wheat couscous for this recipe - I just used whole wheat to make this salad more nutritious.

    Making couscous salad with tomatoes | InSearchOfYummyness.com

    Previously, the only couscous dish I would make was one with lemon, red chile and parsley from Jamie Oliver's Meal in Minutes cookbook. I had otherwise written couscous off as too bland, and never really experimented with it.

    This couscous salad is definitely not bland!

    First, the couscous is cooked with salt, black pepper, cinnamon and turmeric. This creates a flavourful base for the salad. Then all those vibrant diced vegetables get a burst of fresh green flavour from parsley. But the real showstopper is the garlicky, tangy dressing with smoked paprika and cumin.

    The bracing acidity and bold garlic flavour is what makes this salad interesting. It does take a few minutes to make, but you could always make it ahead of time and store it in an airtight jar in your fridge for later.

    You can be flexible with the vegetables if you want to. Feel free to replace black olives with green ones, use only one type of bell pepper, chop up a large tomato instead of using cherry tomatoes. Whatever works for you!

    I used curly parsley, but you can use flat-leaf instead if you prefer. Although curly parsley is actually nice to eat if you chop it really finely. Some people recommend squeezing out the excess chlorophyll from curly parsley before eating it, which also helps. You just rinse the parsley under cold water, then give it a few good squeezes between sheets of paper towel before chopping it up.

    Finely diced vegetables for couscous salad | InSearchOfYummyness.com

    This couscous salad is perfect for summer, because you don't need to turn your stove on to make it! Just pour 1 cup of couscous into a bowl, top with 1 cup of boiling water, cover with a plate of a pot lid, and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes (until the water is absorbed). That's it!

    If you have your ingredients pre-chopped, and your dressing already mixed, it can be a fast weeknight dinner. You could even add chopped leftover chicken to make it more filling.

    You could make this the night before to take to work for lunch, but I wouldn't leave it for more than 24 hours, because the vegetables lose their satisfying crunch.

    Couscous Salad with Chickpeas and Turmeric

    This couscous salad is loaded with fresh raw vegetables! The tangy, garlicky, spiced dressing is what makes this salad delicious!
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    Shareba | In Search Of Yummy-ness
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    Prep Time 35 mins
    Cook Time 10 mins
    Total Time 45 mins
    Course Salad
    Cuisine North African
    Servings 8 portions
    Calories 340

    Ingredients
     

    For the Couscous

    • 1 cup whole wheat couscous
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
    • â…› teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
    • 1 cup boiling water

    For the Dressing:

    • 5 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    • 3 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 1 ½ tablespoon white wine vinegar
    • 1 ½ teaspoon garlic, , minced
    • 1 teaspoon honey
    • â…› teaspoon smoked paprika
    • ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon pepper

    For the Salad

    • 19 ounce chickpeas, , rinsed and drained (1 can)
    • 1 small yellow sweet pepper, , finely diced
    • 1 small red sweet pepper, , finely diced
    • 1 small orange sweet pepper, , finely diced
    • ½ medium zucchini, , finely diced
    • ½ medium cucumber, , finely diced
    • 2 tablespoon red onion, , finely diced
    • 1 cup grape tomatoes, , cut in half
    • â…“ cup Kalamata olives, , cut into pieces
    • â…“ cup dried cranberries, , optional
    • â…“ cup parsley, , finely minced

    Instructions
     

    For the Couscous

    • Pour couscous in a large bowl. Add salt, black pepper, cinnamon and turmeric. Stir to combine.
    • Pour in boiling water, stir, then cover tightly with a pot lid or plate. Let stand for 5-10 minutes, or until water has been absorbed.
    • When done cooking, fluffy with a fork and set aside.

    For the Dressing:

    • Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl, then adjust seasoning if needed. Set aside.

    For the Salad

    • Add chickpeas, vegetables and cranberries to the cooked couscous. Stir to combine.
    • Add a small amount of dressing to the salad and taste it. Keep adding dressing until it tastes good to you.*
    • Stir in chopped parsley and serve.

    Notes

    Tips:
    • Don't use all of the dressing at once. Add some dressing, and taste your salad, then add more as needed. I use all of the dressing, but you may find that it's too strongly flavoured for you. It's very garlicky!
    • Make ahead:
      Chop your ingredients, make the dressing, and store in the fridge until ready to eat. Then simply cook the couscous, and combine your prepared ingredients for a quick weeknight dinner.
    • Leftovers:
      Refrigerate immediately, eat within 24 hours for best texture.
    Please note that the nutritional information for this recipe is only an estimate, and has been calculated using a plugin. 

    See blog post for detailed tips and explanations.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 340kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 10gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 244mgPotassium: 347mgFiber: 9gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 1035IUVitamin C: 35.6mgCalcium: 55mgIron: 3.4mg

    Please note that these nutritional values are only an estimate, and have been generated from a database using generic products.

    Have you made this recipe?Please leave a review in the comments below!

    This recipe card may contain affiliate links that support this website.

    Disclosure:
    This is not a sponsored post.
    This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

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    Comments

    1. Teresa

      June 17, 2016 at 10:47 pm

      Grain salads are such a great way to work variety into your daily menu. Your great-aunt's version sounds delicious. It uses a great combination of spices. Smoked paprika alone is like a secret weapon in the kitchen!

      Reply
      • Shareba

        June 17, 2016 at 11:26 pm

        To be honest, I was a little worried about the cinnamon in there. But it totally works! I love smoked paprika too, especially with chicken!

        Reply
    2. mdivadomestica

      June 18, 2016 at 12:02 am

      Admittedly, i am also often a meal skipper. Ensuring all meals are accounted for is still a work in progress. Dishes like these that are great to quickly make and have ready for those times when you knowingly will get caught up in an activity.

      Reply
      • Shareba

        June 18, 2016 at 12:08 am

        It's definitely important to plan ahead for those busy times! I need to get better at that.

        Reply
    3. Brittany at I Love Vegan

      June 18, 2016 at 12:57 am

      I desperately need good summer salad recipes like this one! I love meals you can prep ahead and eat for a few days afterwards but a cold salad is even better in this heat. I really like how the couscous is spiced and flavoured before you even add the dressing, no more bland couscous!

      Do you think maple syrup would be a good sub for honey, or should I go with a less distinctly flavoured sweetener?

      Reply
      • Shareba

        June 18, 2016 at 11:47 am

        I think maple syrup might be too strongly flavoured. What about agave? That might work better, or you could try brown sugar.

        Reply
    4. sugarlovespices

      June 18, 2016 at 9:11 am

      I love cous cous and I make it often but always with roasted vegetables, never like a salad and now you inspired me to try it. Like the cinnamon and paprika added to the cous cous while it's cooking! Beautiful pictures too!

      Reply
      • Shareba

        June 18, 2016 at 11:46 am

        Thanks! I haven't tried making it with roasted veg, but that sounds like a good idea!

        Reply
    5. DianaL

      June 19, 2016 at 7:27 pm

      This is definitely my type of salad! I've never made it with turmeric however, I can't wait to try your version. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!

      Reply
    6. Sofia // From the Land we Live on

      June 19, 2016 at 10:03 pm

      This looks delicious! I love that the couscous is cooked with spices and all the spices in the dressing. I honestly haven't had couscous in such a long time, I usually sub quinoa or millet, as they have a little more flavour, but I forgot how great it is for letting other flavours come through. Looking forward to trying your recipe!

      Reply
    7. Amanda | The Cinnamon Scrolls

      June 20, 2016 at 4:49 pm

      I'm prone to skipping lunch on my "at-home working" days too. I never think about it. I get so involved in my daily activities that I never think to eat lunch. By four o'clock, I'm usually ravenous. I've been trying to eat more veggies too. I'm good at eating fruit (hello, it's sweet!), but I'm awful with veggies. Your couscous salad looks really tasty, and I love the sound of that dressing! My favourite couscous side is probably the Mediterranean version I have on my blog. SO tasty. 🙂

      Reply
    8. Anna

      November 23, 2016 at 12:44 pm

      This looks amazing with simple spices(I found it on pinterest). Great recipes(and pictures) on your site. -Anna

      Reply
      • Shareba

        November 24, 2016 at 11:01 am

        Thanks Anna! It's a very tasty dish, I hope you get a chance to try it 🙂

        Reply
    9. sue | theviewfromgreatisland

      January 17, 2018 at 11:32 pm

      This salad is so gorgeous, it just makes me happy to look at it!

      Reply
      • Shareba

        January 18, 2018 at 12:22 am

        Thanks so much Sue! You've got some lovely photos on your site too! I'm going to follow you on IG 🙂

        Reply

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