Moroccan Couscous Salad
This easy and flavor-packed Moroccan Couscous Salad is vibrant, colorful, and fresh. Made with tender couscous, roasted veggies, chickpeas, raisins, carrots, parsley, almonds, and a delicious cumin and coriander spiced dressing.
Servings: 8 people
Ingredients
Couscous
- 1 1/2 cups couscous (not Israeli couscous)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 3/4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 cup raisins
Roasted Vegetables:
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cups diced eggplant
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- Salt and pepper to taste
Toppings and mix-ins:
- 2 medium carrots, grated (use a box grater)
- 1 can (14 oz) chickpeas, drained and peeled (see note below)
- 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley, plus more if desired
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Make the couscous: In a medium saucepan, combine chicken broth, turmeric, and olive oil. Bring to a boil and stir in the couscous. Cover with a lid and remove from heat immediately. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Then fluff couscous with a fork. Add raisins, cover again, and set aside to let the couscous cool slightly.
- Roast the vegetables: On 2 large sheet pans (to avoid overcrowding), add the diced red bell peppers, diced eggplant, diced zucchini, and diced red onion. Toss with salt (about 1/2 teaspoon per sheet pan), ground black pepper, and minced garlic. Roast for about 15 minutes or until softened, tossing halfway through.
- Make the dressing: In a mason jar, combine the Dressing ingredients: olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and shake well to combine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, toss prepared couscous with the raisins, the roasted vegetables, chickpeas, grated carrots, chopped parsley, and almonds. Add the dressing and toss to combine a few more times. If needed, season with more salt and pepper. Enjoy!
Notes
- Special equipment: 2 large sheet pans.
- Couscous: use the small grain couscous, not Israeli or pearl couscous.
- Peeling canned chickpeas: Simply rinse and rub the skin off with your fingers. It should come off easily.
- Make ahead: 1. cook the couscous the day before and store in the refrigerator, and warm up the next day before using, 2. dice the veggies (for roasting) and store in the fridge, except for the eggplant as it will get brown when exposed to air, 3. make the dressing up to 1 day in advance, 4. carrots can be grated up to 1 day in advance.
- Meal prep: If you're packing these up for lunch, don't add the dressing until you're ready to eat.
- Storing: store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge.