Curried Couscous Salad with Broccoli, Chickpeas, and Feta

Curried Couscous Salad with Broccoli, Chickpeas, and Feta is a favorite because it’s consistently good. The crunchy carrots and fresh broccoli combined with the protein-packed chickpeas and spices make it one tasty meal or side. 

You seriously can’t go wrong with this easy Mediterranean dish. It’s just about as easy as boiling water!

It has such a unique and wonderful flavor and can be mixed in the same bowl you serve it in! It makes a great meatless Monday idea or summer salad to share with friends. 

Ingredients for Curried Couscous with Veggies

Yes, there are quite a few ingredients, but most are easy to add to the recipe, so it comes together quickly. Like 15 minutes!

• Water  – to make the couscous.
• Uncooked couscous – you can use whole wheat or regular couscous.
• Small broccoli florets – we prefer them chopped small.
• Shredded carrot – it gives the recipe a nice crunch!
• Finely diced red onion – a nice compliment to the other sweet and savory ingredients.
• Raisins – an optional ingredient, but their sweet and chewiness really make this recipe shine.
• Dry-roasted cashews  – chopped to add a little crunch.
• White wine vinegar – the vinegar gives the recipe a little tang.
• Olive oil – this makes sure the recipe isn’t too dry.
• Sugar – gives the recipe just a hint of sweetness.
• Curry powder – the hero spice of the dish.
• Fresh ginger – minced.
• Salt – sea salt if you have it.
• Chickpeas – aka garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed. 
• Feta cheese – crumbled over the finished salad. 

How to Make Curried Couscous Salad

Step 1

Bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil in a medium pan. Gradually stir in your couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Tip: for added flavor, you can toast your couscous before placing it in boiling water.

Step 2

Next, while couscous stands and finishes cooking, steam your broccoli florets, covered, for 3 minutes on the stove or in the microwave or until tender. Then, shred your carrots (unless you bought a bag of shredded carrots to use.)

Once cooled, chop broccoli smaller if necessary.

Step 3

In a large bowl, combine your couscous, broccoli, carrot, and next 10 ingredients (carrot through chickpeas), mix to combine.

Finally, sprinkle our salad with feta cheese and serve!

Tip: your mixing bowl can be the same as your serving bowl for one less dish to wash!

How to Make This Curried Couscous with Chickpeas Even Easier

To save on prep time, try using bagged broccoli florets and shredded carrots. It will make the recipe go that much faster!

Curried Couscous Salad Cooking Tips

• Toasting couscous gives it more flavor. You can melt a little butter or olive oil in the saucepan and stir in your couscous until it smells fragrant and toasty.
• This recipe can sometimes need a little extra olive oil to make it moist. Add as much as you’d like until you have the consistency you desire.
• Small broccoli pieces work best, so chop them smaller if you are cooking larger heads.
• If you don’t have regular raisins on hand, use currents and golden raisins in this recipe. They taste wonderful.
• For a heartier meal, this dish is wonderful with cooked chicken, shrimp, or thin strips of flank steak mixed in or on the side.
• This couscous is even better if you let it sit for a while before serving to allow the flavors to meld together.

Optional Add-in Ingredients

• Pine Nuts
• Dried Cherries
• Roasted Red Peppers
• Chopped Cooked Cauliflower
• Green Onion
• Sliced Almonds

Can Couscous Salad Be Frozen?

Couscous by itself can certainly be frozen, however, because of the fresh ingredients in this salad recipe, we don’t recommend it as it will change the texture of the grain. 

The salad will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Just thaw and reheat in the microwave.

Curried Couscous Salad with Broccoli, Chickpeas, and Feta

Curried Couscous Salad with Broccoli, Chickpeas, and Feta is an easy Mediterranean dish that's packed with flavor and texture.  You can't go wrong with this dinner or side dish recipe!

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

0 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 5

Calories: 329kcal

Author: Erin Henry

Equipment

• large bowl
• pot

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked couscous whole wheat or regular
• 1 1/2 cups small broccoli florets (chopped small if necessary)
• 1/3 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 cup finely diced red onion
• 1/4 cup raisins optional
• 1/4 cup dry-roasted cashews chopped
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed)
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

• Bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil in a medium pan. Gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
• While couscous stands, steam broccoli florets, covered, for 3 minutes or until tender. Once cooled, chop smaller if necessary.
• In a large bowl, combine couscous, broccoli, carrot, and next 10 ingredients (carrot through chickpeas), mix to combine. Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve.

Video

Notes

Curried Couscous Cooking Tips

• • Toasting couscous gives it more flavor. You can melt a little butter or olive oil in the saucepan and stir in your couscous until it smells fragrant and toasty.
  • This recipe can sometimes need a little extra olive oil to make it moist. Add as much as you'd like until you have the consistency you desire.
  • Small broccoli pieces work best, so chop them smaller if you are cooking larger heads.
  • If you don't have regular raisins on hand, I've used currents and golden raisins in this recipe with great results.
  • If you want to make it a heartier meal, this recipe is wonderful with cooked chicken, shrimp or thin strips of flank steak.
  • This recipe is even better if you let it sit for a while before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

Nutritional information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator.

★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!

Nutrition

Calories: 329kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 625mg | Potassium: 323mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1690IU | Vitamin C: 26.4mg | Calcium: 147mg | Iron: 1.6mg

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Tried this recipe?Mention @Suburban_Simplicity or tag #suburbansimplicity!

This recipe was originally published in 2017. It was updated with enhanced instructions in May 2020. 

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