Flavor-packed, rainbow-colored Tunisian Couscous Salad with roasted vegetables topped with almond slivers and fresh parsley. Perfect for lunch, dinner, or as a side!
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A show-stopping dish in less than 30 minutes? Uh yes please!
If I had to pick one savory dish to eat everyday for the rest of my life, it’s this one. Hands down. The flavors, the textures, the colorful vegetables, the turmeric and raisins cooked in with the couscous…. it’s perfect for any occasion, especially a quick weeknight meal!
Bit of a back story on this dish. I first ate a version of this sometime back in 2010 when I was traveling through Tunisia while studying abroad in Italy. The food in Tunisia blew my taste buds away, and this dish in particular ranked at the top of the list for best spice combination in a dish I ever had. Don’t forget, I was living in Italy at the time. I wasn’t short on amazing food options. But this one stood out to me, and I’m so glad I bought every spice the bedouin guide told me to use to replicate it at home. If you love North African cuisine, this recipe will be right up your alley!
How To Make This Recipe
1. Roast the Vegetables
My favorite combination for the roasted veggies are red onion, carrots, zucchini, and red pepper, but feel free to mix and match. Place the vegetables on a baking sheet. Coat vegetables with olive oil and season with salt, tossing to mix evenly. Roast the vegetables for 15 minutes until they’re nice and tender.
2. Make the Dressing
While vegetables are roasting you can mix up the dressing. Grab a small bowl and whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, coriander, and season with 1/4 salt. That’s it! Now onto the couscous.
3. Make the Couscous
Couscous is super fast to make and easy to jazz-up. For this recipe we’re going to throw in a little turmeric and raisins while we cook the couscous to sweeten the base of our salad and give it that bright yellow color that really makes the dish look like a show-stopper. In a medium sauce pan, bring the water (or broth), salt, and turmeric to a boil. Take the saucepan off the burner and stir in the couscous and raisins. Cover and let it sit for 5 minutes then gently fluff with a fork.
4.Finishing Touches
We’re almost ready to eat! Now we just need to combine the couscous, roasted vegetables, dressing, chickpeas, almonds, fresh parsley and toss it all together so it’s evenly coated. Serve it out on a plate and give it a taste! Best savory dish ever right?
Tunisian Couscous Salad FAQ & Tips
Coucous is made from semolina flour (or whole-wheat flour depending on the brand) which is also used to make pasta, so essentially it’s the same thing. You can think of it as tiny little pasta balls.
Absolutely! Pearl couscous (also called Israeli couscous) will also work great in this recipe. Just make sure to cook it according to the instructions on the package. Pearl couscous is also made using semolina flour and extruded to form the larger pearl-like shape it’s known for.
This recipe is very easily adaptable to whatever you have on hand, so if you have other vegetables, herbs, or beans to use up, go for it. I’ve swapped in broccoli, artichoke hearts, mint, cilantro – all great options. It’ll give the dish new textures and still taste just as amazing.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Freezing is not recommended (the veggies won’t hold up).
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Tunisian Couscous Salad
Ingredients
Roasted Vegetables
- 1 small red onion chopped
- 2 medium carrots halved through length and sliced thinly
- 1 medium zucchini halved through length and sliced thinly
- 1 large red bell pepper sliced into long strips
Dressing
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon paprika powder
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic about 2 cloves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Couscous
- 2 cup (473 mL) water or broth
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 10 ounces (1 box / 283 g) couscous uncooked
- ½ cup (80 g) raisins
Toppings
- 15.5 ounces (1 can / 439 g) chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ½ cup (55 g) slivered almonds
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 °F (232°C).
- Roast the vegetables. Spray an 18 x 13-inch rimmed baking sheet. Place the red onion, carrots, zucchini, and red pepper on the baking sheet.
- Coat vegetables with 1 TBSP of olive oil and season with salt, tossing to mix evenly.
- Roast vegetables for 15 minutes until tender, tossing once halfway through.
- Make the dressing. While vegetables are roasting, in a small bowl whisk together 3 TBSP olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, coriander, and season with 1/4 salt, set aside.
- Make the couscous. In a medium sauce pan, bring the water (or broth), 1/2 tsp salt, and tumeric to a boil. Take the saucepan off the burner and add the couscous and raisins, stir. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. After the couscous has cooked, take a fork and gently fluff.
- In a large bowl, add the couscous, roasted vegetables, dressing, chickpeas, almonds, and parsley to couscous and toss to evenly coat.
Notes
- Storage – Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Freezing is not recommended.
- Can I use Pearl Couscous instead of regular couscous? – Absolutely! Pearl couscous (also called Israeli couscous) will also work great in this recipe. Just make sure to cook it according to the instructions on the package.
- Mix and Match – This recipe is very easily adaptable to whatever you have on hand, so if you have other vegetables, herbs, or beans to use up, go for it. I’ve swapped in broccoli, artichoke hearts, mint, cilantro – all great options. It’ll give the dish new textures and still taste just as amazing.
