Curried Couscous Salad
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Positively LOADED with flavor, this delicious Curried Couscous Salad recipe is sure to become a favorite! Chewy couscous, crispy carrots, buttery garbanzo beans, sweet raisins, and a curry vinaigrette make this salad an absolute feast for the taste buds!
Be sure to also try our tasty Thai Quinoa Salad and Greek Orzo Salad!
There’s a story behind the creation of this dish. Years ago my husband and I went on our usual Friday night date night. I was trying to shed a few holiday pounds and didn’t want to go out to a restaurant for dinner. I just wanted something relatively light and quick to eat. So here’s what happened…
Before we moved on to the “date” portion of the night we had to pick up a couple of groceries from the store. We headed over to the deli where my husband grabbed a sandwich and I got a small portion of a couple of different salads to try. One of them was a curried couscous salad and after one bite I was sold. I knew I’d have to recreate it at home so I left a few bites of it to take home so that I could do a side-by-side taste comparison as I worked on a copycat recipe. The end results was perfect: the flavor and texture were spot on!
Below left is my copycat. Below right is the original salad from the deli.
The contrasting flavors and textures in this curried couscous salad are sure to win you over. Crispy carrots and plump chewy raisins mingle with buttery garbanzo beans, tender couscous, and a lemony honey-curry vinaigrette that’s simply heavenly.
You can serve this as light main dish or as a side dish paired with grilled chicken, pork, fish, etc. This salad is quick to assemble it’s perfect for taking to work for lunch. It’s also a terrific salad to take on your next picnic, potluck, or backyard BBQ.
This curried couscous salad is a sensory adventure and a real treat for the palate!
Can I Substitute a Grain for the Couscous?
You sure can! Quinoa or millet, for example, both make great options.
Can This Couscous Salad Be Made In Advance?
Absolutely! In fact, it’s much better the next day after the flavors have had time to meld. So if you can resist, make it in advance for optimal flavor. This couscous salad will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge.
Curried Couscous Salad Recipe
Let’s get started!
A ton of healthy ingredients go into this salad: Garbanzo beans, carrots, celery, parsley, green onions, extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, honey, raisins (or zante currants if you prefer, they’re smaller – or you can use dried cherries or cranberries), curry powder, and turmeric. And if you want to bump up the health factor you can even substitute quinoa or millet for the couscous.
To prepare the couscous, simply add the water to a medium saucepan along with the salt and olive oil, bring to a boil, add the couscous, immediately turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, fluff with a fork and place it in a very large mixing bowl. Set aside.
Combine all the dressing ingredients and whisk until combined. Set aside.
Add all the veggies, the parsley, raisins and garbanzo beans to the couscous. Look at that beautiful array of colors and nutrients.
Stir to combine, then pour the dressing over it, about 1/3 at a time, stirring between additions to combine the salad.
That’s it! The couscous absorbs the color of the curry and turmeric beautifully.
Cover the couscous with a lid or plastic wrap. Because of the vinegar/acid content, make sure it’s in either a glass or plastic bowl. Refrigerate overnight for best results. The flavors need time to meld.
This couscous salad is perfect as a light lunch or as a side with dinner. Enjoy it along with some grilled chicken or fish.
Enjoy!
For more delicious salads try our:
- Thai Quinoa Salad
- Greek Wheat Berry Salad
- Lemony Quinoa Cannellini Bean Salad
- Southern Sorghum and Black Eyed Pea Salad
- Greek Orzo Salad
- Asian Wheat Berry Salad
- Mexican Wheat Berry Salad
- Italian Barley Salad
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Curried Couscous Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked couscous
- 1 cup finely shredded carrot
- 3/4 cup finely chopped celery
- 3 green onions , finely sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 cup canned drained garbanzo beans
- 1/2 cup raisins or dried currants
- 1-2 tablespoons finely minced preserved lemon (optional but fabulous)
- For the Dressing:
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons honey (Vegans: use agave nectar)
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- homemade curry powder recipe
- 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
- 1 tablespoon vegetable broth powder
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- To prepare the couscous, bring 2 cups of vegetable or chicken broth along with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil to a boil in a medium saucepan. As soon as it's boiling, add the couscous, immediately turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 15 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork and put it in a very large mixing bowl. Let cool completely.
- Add all veggies, parsley, garbanzo beans, raisins/currants and preserved lemon to the couscous and stir to combine. To prepare the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk until emulsified.Pour the dressing over the couscous salad, 1/3 at a time, stirring to combine between additions. Cover and refrigerate overnight so the flavors have time to meld. Because of the vinegar/acid content, use a glass or plastic bowl.Serve as a light main course or as a side dish along with chicken, pork, fish, etc.Will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
First published on The Daring Gourmet January 9, 2014
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Can you use Better than bouillon base instead of vegetable broth powder?
You sure can, Brooke!
Made this yesterday, so tasty! I only had a tin of mixed beans, so next time I will look for Garbanzo. It made five big lunch sized portions for me, which I will eat happily for next four days!! Sharing on this recipe to a friend as she says it looks just like the one she bought at the deli counter, so want to try it.
That’s wonderful, Cathy, I’m thrilled that you enjoyed it, thanks so much!
I just made this! It is so delicious. I used bulgur wheat instead of cous cous and stuck to the recipe and it’s the best things I’ve tasted in a very long time. Thanks so much for sharing 😃
Thanks so much, Kim, I’m so glad you found and made this! This recipe gets overlooked by most but it’s one of my favorites too! :)
We’re in love with this recipe, it has just the right touch of spice, heat and sweet. I thought I had Turmeric on hand but used a bit of Bijol for color and Sumac for the earthy flavor and it turned out great. This recipe seems to lend itself for the creative cook to play with…We’re glad you posted it, we’ll use it repeatedly.
I’m so happy to hear that, Gary, thank you!
Hi this recipe was a dream come true when I found it! Ever since my aunt created a couscous salad recipe she ate from Whole Foods and brought over for dinner for me, I instantly fell in love and have been trying to replicate and find the recipe for it seems like what has been forever. After going over your recipe, mine actually turned out pretty much the same!! The only thing I did not have was the vegetable broth powder but like you said it’s more for the flavor and I used chicken bouillon instead.
Thanks so much!!
-K
Fantastic, Kimia, I’m so happy to hear that, thank you!
Hi Kimberly, I don’t have the vegetable broth powder. What is the function of that ingredient in the recipe, and what item could be subbed in? This recipe looks divine; excited to try it!
Hi Patricia, it contributes more flavor. Chicken bouillon/broth powder will probably work also if you don’t have vegetable.
Thank you; making it this wkend!
Your recipe looks delicious.My question is about curry. I use Mae Ploy brand curry paste. I think 2 tablespoons of paste would be stronger than powder. How much paste would I use, and would I use red, green or yellow curry paste? Thank you.
Hi Ellen, yellow curry paste would be the closest. It’s hard to say how much to use because curry paste includes other ingredients besides curry powder so using less may mean not enough of the curry powder flavor but using 2 tablespoons might mean the other ingredients in the paste are overpowering. It’s probably safest to go with a little less and if needed you can add more the next time around.
Kimberly, I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to come across your recipe recently! About 15 years ago, my local Ralph’s grocery store carried a very similar salad at their deli counter and it was love at first bite for me. I so loved and craved this deli salad that, whenever I was running errands nearby on my lunch hour, I would duck into the Ralph’s deli to grab a container of it to enjoy for lunch back at my desk. Then, sadly, my local Ralph’s discontinued carrying it about 10 years ago. Ever since then, I would periodically search online in the vain hope of finding a copycat recipe in order to try to replicate the salad at home. But, no other recipes even came remotely close — that is, until I finally strung together exactly the right combination of search words and just happened to stumble upon your version. You absolutely nailed the flavor profile, colors, and textures. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that I already had nearly all of the ingredients on hand, with the exception of the currants, which I substituted with chopped dried cherries and it was still scrumptious. Thank you so much for making a small dream of mine finally come true!
I’m absolutely thrilled to hear that, Jen, thank you so much for your feedback! <3