This EASY and fresh couscous salad 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.
Couscous Salad
Couscous Salad
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!
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!
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.
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.
More Salad Recipes I Love:
- Strawberry and Gorgonzola Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
- Cobb Salad with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
- Southwestern Black Bean, Quinoa and Mango Salad
- Chopped Wedge Salad
- Houston’s Grilled Chicken Kale Salad with Peanut Vinaigrette
Houston's Couscous
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
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, bring chicken broth to a simmer.
- Add the couscous and cook gently until the broth is absorbed, approximately 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and transfer to large bowl.
- To the bowl, add the radishes, scallions, parsley, raisins, tomatoes, almonds, mint, lemon juice and olive oil and toss to coat.
- Season with salt and pepper, gently toss again, taste and adjust the flavorings and seasonings as desired, and serve.
Last Step:
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Go Terps!
This dish was amazing! I was surprised by how well the ingredients worked together. I will definitely make it again.
I use to waitress at Houston’s in Nashville! Great food and great servers. Do you have the recipe for the cheese toast they use to serve??
Sorry I don’t!
Phenomenal!
I also love this salad, but I do a slight variation after experimenting. I cook the couscous in orange juice, use dried cranberries in place of raisins and chopped macadamia nuts instead of almonds. Have been doing it this way for many years and people go nuts over it! I could eat this several times a week. I’m making it for Labor Day to serve with grilled pork tenderloin. Can’t wait.
Hi Gina!
I’ve been a longtime lover of your site and came across this beautiful couscous a couple of days ago. I couldn’t wait to make it for my family and it did NOT disappoint (!!!). I served it with cod baked with lemon and butter and your massaged kale salad. It was a total hit with even my three and one-year old.
Again, we love your site and recipes. Thank you for keeping our life flavorful!
The best cous cous recipe
Excellent salad. Such a nice change
I love this recipe. I substituted quinoa for couscous to make it GF.
If you made this with cauliflower rice, would you still cook it in the chicken broth?
I used Quinoa instead of the couscous and it was AMAZING!!! I served it with your Shawarma Chicken recipe and it was both colorful and satisfying. Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!
This is one my favorites from Houston’s! I also LOVE the veggie burger!
I also loved Houston’s! Excited to try this!
Wow – this was yummy! Family devoured it. I look forward to sharing this with my friends at our next supper party. I might was well go ahead and print out the recipe for them!
Oh my gosh This is such a great recipe. I waited in line at the Houstons on Rockville Pike at least twice a week for years. Thanks for the great dish and for bringing back some great memories.
I followed the recipe exactly and this is wonderful. It tasted delicious when I ate it warm right after making, and I have now eaten it cold as leftovers the following two days and its still just as delicious. Thanks!