Houston’s Couscous

7 Freestyle Points 213 Calories

This EASY and fresh couscous is so easy and tasty, and it goes with just about everything. You can serve it with fish, chicken, beef, lamb, or pork, or you can serve it as a meat-free and light main dish.

This EASY and fresh couscous is so easy and tasty, and it goes with just about everything. You can serve it with fish, chicken, beef, lamb, or pork, or you can serve it as a meat-free and light main dish.

This EASY and fresh couscous is so easy and tasty, and it goes with just about everything. You can serve it with fish, chicken, beef, lamb, or pork, or you can serve it as a meat-free and light main dish.

Guest post from Skinnytaste dietitian Heather K. Jones, is a healthy dish that the whole family will love!

Hello, I’m excited to guest post here on Skinnytaste again (thank you, Gina!), and I’m also excited to invite you to my FREE 31-day Master the Weight Loss Mindset Challenge starting January 1st. If you struggle with weight anxiety, emotional eating, or body image issues of any sort, this free challenge is definitely for you. Click HERE to sign up!

This EASY and fresh couscous is so easy and tasty, and it goes with just about everything. You can serve it with fish, chicken, beef, lamb, or pork, or you can serve it as a meat-free and light main dish.

During my college years at the University of Maryland, my sister Cyndi and I waited tables at a restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland, called Houston’s. Everything they served was seriously addictive, but this couscous recipe is the one dish that Cyndi and I still make at home … over 20 years later!

This EASY and fresh couscous is so easy and tasty, and it goes with just about everything. You can serve it with fish, chicken, beef, lamb, or pork, or you can serve it as a meat-free and light main dish.

It’s so tasty, made with lots of fresh herbs, lemon, radishes, raisins and almonds. You can serve it with just about everything from fish, chicken, beef, lamb, or pork, or you can serve a larger portion and keep it as a light, vegetarian main dish by swapping the chicken broth for vegetable broth.

Is this a salad or side dish? Sort of both! Houston’s served it as a side dish, but I eat it as a salad for leftover sometimes. It’s room temperature when you make it, bur leftovers can be eaten cold. This will keep for several days, so it’s also great to make ahead for a few days (will it keep) Yes, it keeps for sure! It is good warm and cold.

This EASY and fresh couscous is so easy and tasty, and it goes with just about everything. You can serve it with fish, chicken, beef, lamb, or pork, or you can serve it as a meat-free and light main dish.

What is couscous?

Couscous is a pasta, not a grain, despite popular belief.

It has a rice-like appearance but is actually made of semolina and wheat flour that is steamed. It’s prepared in a matter of minutes unlike pearl couscous which is larger in size. Whole wheat couscous is more nutritious than the regular variety. Lundberg also makes a brown rice gluten free couscous.

It is widely available, you can find couscous in the pasta section, rice section, or often the “international foods” area of your grocery store.

For a low-carb alternative, you can use raw cauliflower in place of couscous. To do so, place cauliflower florets in a food processor and pulse a few times. Mix with the remaining ingredients and serve.

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Houston's Couscous

7 Freestyle Points 213 calories

Total Time: 20 minutes

This EASY and fresh couscous is so easy and tasty, and it goes with just about everything. You can serve it with fish, chicken, beef, lamb, or pork, or you can serve it as a meat-free and light main dish.

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cups reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 cup dry whole wheat couscous (Lundberg brown rice couscous for GF)
  • ¾ cup roughly chopped radishes
  • 2 scallions, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • ½ cup raisins
  • 12 grape tomatoes, halved 
  • 1/3 cup sliced almonds 
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint 
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

  1. In a small saucepan, bring chicken broth to a simmer.
  2. Add the couscous and cook gently until the broth is absorbed, approximately 3 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and transfer to large bowl.
  4. To the bowl, add the radishes, scallions, parsley, raisins, tomatoes, almonds, mint, lemon juice and olive oil and toss to coat.
  5. Season with salt and pepper, gently toss again, taste and adjust the flavorings and seasonings as desired, and serve. 

Nutrition Information

Yield: 6 servings, Serving Size: 2/3 cup

  • Amount Per Serving:
  • Freestyle Points: 7
  • Points +:
  • Calories: 213 calories
  • Total Fat: 6.5g
  • Saturated Fat: 0.5g
  • Cholesterol: 0mg
  • Sodium: 218mg
  • Carbohydrates: 35g
  • Fiber: 4.5g
  • Sugar: 11g
  • Protein: 7g
Recipe adapted from Hillstone Restaurant Group.
All images and text ©

This EASY and fresh couscous is so easy and tasty, and it goes with just about everything. You can serve it with fish, chicken, beef, lamb, or pork, or you can serve it as a meat-free and light main dish.

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