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    Home » Recipes » Salads

    Couscous Salad with Chickpeas

    Published: Jul 28, 2022 · Modified: Jul 28, 2022 by Daniela Apostol · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

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    Couscous Salad with Chickpeas, dried fruit and harissa roasted vegetables, a deliciously spiced dish with Moroccan flavours. Ready in about 20 minutes, this salad is absolutely delicious. The harissa paste gives it a distinctive exotic flavour and an earthy heat, while the dried fruit work beautifully with the roasted vegetables.

    Overhead shoot of a light blue plate with couscous salad

    This might not be a traditional salad with green leaves and a dressing, but a much more sophisticated, exotic dish that screams perfection. After my Moroccan chicken tagine, I fell in love with the Moroccan flavours, and decided to go for something as flavourful, but light and low calorie.

    Despite the fact that it can be served as a salad, it can definitely be considered a side dish too, and it goes perfectly well with any roast. If you are looking for a nice packed lunch option, this Moroccan salad is the perfect recipe, especially if you like healthy food.

    Plain couscous might be boring to some people, although I actually quite like having it that way. But throw in a few spices, some nicely roasted veggies coated in harissa paste, some dried fruit, and you get one awesome couscous recipe.

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    • How to make couscous salad with chickpeas
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    A light blue plate with couscous salad

    How to make couscous salad with chickpeas

    Making it at home cost me a lot less than buying the ready-made version stores have to offer. Couscous only needs to be hydrated, which means it's ready in less than 5 minutes. But adding the roasted vegetables really takes this salad to the very next level, so do not skip this step.

    • chop the aubergine (eggplant) and red pepper, add 2 tablespoons of harissa paste, and mix well to coat
    • roast in the pre-heated oven at 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit) for 10-15 minutes until tender
    • add the couscous, turmeric, cumin, ground coriander and dried fruit to a large bowl, pour over the boiling water (or any kind of broth) and cover.

    The water will be completely absorbed, and the couscous will double its volume, so keep that in mind when deciding how many servings you need.

    The boiling water will hydrate the dried fruit too, but you can just throw them in after the couscous is ready.

    • add the chickpeas, roasted vegetables and parsley, give it a good stir, season with salt to taste, and the salad is ready
    Collage of 4 photos to show how to make moroccan couscous salad

    Easy swaps

    This recipe is pure pleasure, and it's very popular in the UK. In almost every shop, there ready-made couscous salad. I have tried a few of them, but I found the amount of cumin used quite overwhelming.

    The harissa vegetables aren't a usual addition, but I find that they add such a great Moroccan touch, that I had to add them. But they can be left out, in which case you can proceed with the recipe without them.

    Other dried fruit that work well in a couscous salad are apricots, prunes, dates or a combination of any of them.

    If you don't have harissa paste, any spicy sauce can be used instead, or just roast the vegetables simple, the salad will still be nice and spiced.

    Overhead shoot of a light blue plate with couscous salad

    If you’ve liked my MOROCCAN COUSCOUS SALAD WITH CHICKPEAS or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.

    5 from 1 vote
    Overhead shoot of a light blue plate with couscous salad
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    Couscous Salad with Chickpeas
    Prep Time
    15 mins
    Total Time
    15 mins
     

    Couscous Salad with Chickpeas and harissa roasted vegetables, a deliciously spiced dish with Moroccan flavours. Ready in about 20 minutes, this salad is absolutely delicious. The harissa paste gives it a distinctive exotic flavour and an earthy heat, while the dried fruit work beautifully with the roasted vegetables.

    Course: Salad
    Cuisine: Moroccan
    Keyword: couscous recipes
    Servings: 4 people
    Calories: 307 kcal
    Author: Daniela Apostol
    Ingredients
    • 1 cup couscous
    • ½ cup dried cranberries and raisins
    • 1 red pepper
    • ½ aubergine (eggplant)
    • 1 ½ cup boiling water
    • 1 teaspoon turmeric
    • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
    • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
    • 1 tablespoon harissa paste
    • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
    • salt to taste
    • 1 cup cooked chickpeas
    Metric - US Customary
    Instructions
    1. Chop the aubergine and red pepper, add the harissa paste, and mix well to coat.

    2. Roast in the pre-heated oven at 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit) for 10-15 minutes until tender.

    3. Add the couscous, dried fruit and spices to a large bowl, pour over the boiling water, cover the bowl with a lid or a large plate, and set aside for 5 minutes.

    4. Use a fork to fluff it up, add the roasted vegetables, chickpeas and parsley, and stir well to combine.

    5. Serve it either warm or cold.

    Recipe Notes
    • you can use any kind of broth (stock) instead of boiling water, the chicken or vegetable ones being particularly nice
    • use any other dried fruit like apricot, prunes or dates
    • add a pinch of chilli peppers, for a hot and spicy kick
    • if you don't have harissa paste, not to worry, just add the ground cumin, turmeric, and coriander, and some smoked paprika to the vegetables, or any other spicy sauce
    Nutrition Facts
    Couscous Salad with Chickpeas
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 307 Calories from Fat 9
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 1g2%
    Sodium 16mg1%
    Potassium 427mg12%
    Carbohydrates 63g21%
    Fiber 8g32%
    Sugar 15g17%
    Protein 10g20%
    Vitamin A 1025IU21%
    Vitamin C 41.7mg51%
    Calcium 42mg4%
    Iron 2.9mg16%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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    Hi, I'm Daniela,the blogger behind My Gorgeous Recipes, welcome to my kitchen! I absolutely love cooking and baking. I love good food that is healthy (and not so healthy), delicious and nutritious.

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