Pearl Couscous Salad with Tomatoes and Feta
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A cool and satisfying pearl couscous salad with feta, tomatoes and cucumber, with a dressing that has perfect tangy-spicy flavors. This tasty salad is a warm weather staple, perfect to serve for lunch or an easy dinner.
This is a fresh and summery Mediterranean salad with tomato and cucumber, combined with the pleasant chew of whole grain pearl couscous. It never fails to get devoured every time I make it.
The salad has that magically delicious combo of crunchy, vibrantly colorful veggies, green herby-ness and tender couscous pasta, all mixed with a punchy lemon-garlic vinaigrette. If you prefer a more substantial dressing, I suggest my recipe for lemony tahini salad dressing, which is thick and creamy.
You can pack couscous salad into a container and take to work, on a picnic, or a trip to the beach (I very highly recommend the latter).
Info and cooking tips for pearl couscous
- Israeli pearl couscous is a type of pasta made with durum wheat or semolina flour (so it’s not gluten-free). The grain is shaped into small, pearl-size balls that are toasted and then dried.
- Pearl couscous are shaped like tiny globes and look different from the more minuscule grains of Moroccan-style couscous that you may be familiar with.
- One major difference between fine instant couscous and pearl couscous is the way it’s cooked. Instant couscous can be cooked by the absorption method, which means it’s soaked in a ratio of hot water until the grains have absorbed all the water and become moist and fluffy.
- On the other hand, Israeli couscous or pearl pasta cooks just like regular pasta in a pot of boiling salted water, and then it’s drained and ready to eat or toss in a salad.
- Cooking time: Check the directions on your package, but count on cooking pearl couscous 10-12 minutes. Test and taste to be sure it’s nicely al dente, because you don’t want the grains to turn mushy.
The inspiration for this delicious fresh salad came from a friend from Tel Aviv. She taught me a few things about what to do when you have people over. It goes something like this:
Arrange some chairs around a table, then open a bottle of wine — chilled rosé is perfect. Put out some glasses, plates and napkins so everyone can help themselves. Set a bowl on the table full of chopped tomatoes, cucumber, fresh herbs and some olive oil, with some fresh pita on the side. Get busy talking and sipping, and eating!
Pearl Couscous Salad with Tomatoes and Feta
Ingredients
Lemon Dressing
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 small garlic clove, grated or finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon crushed red chili, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
Couscous Salad
- 1 cup (142 g) pearl couscous
- Kosher salt
- 1 pint (300 g) cherry tomatoes, quartered
- ⅓ cup (60 g) thinly sliced red onion
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon chopped jalapeño or serrano chili
- 2 or 3 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup each fresh cilantro. parsley and mint leaves, torn if large
- 4 ounces (125 g) feta cheese, crumbled
Instructions
Make the dressing
- Whisk the lemon juice, garlic, cumin, chili, and salt in a serving bowl. Drizzle in the oil while whisking to emulsify.
Prep the couscous salad
- Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon salt. Cook the couscous (or chosen grain) until tender or according to package directions. Drain and cool for 10 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, red and green onions, chili, cucumber and couscous to the bowl and toss gently to mix. Sprinkle the herbs and feta over the salad. Serve and enjoy.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- You can cook the couscous a few days ahead. Keep it in a container in the refrigerator. Assemble the rest of the salad when you’re ready to serve so it doesn’t become soggy.
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
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Light, summery salad that is perfect alone, as a side accompaniment or a protein added to it like shrimp, chicken, salmon, tuna, etc. The lemon dressing light and tart with the jalapeño giving it a bit of spice. I found Jersey tomatoes and cucumbers from the farm market and added a fresh ear of white silver queen corn to it (parboiled and milked the cob). I also added dill along with italian parsley instead of cilantro as that’s what i had in the house. On a scale of 1-10, it was a 12!
Love the silver queen corn! So delicious 🙂
Karen, I just made this the other night, it was delicious! Hope all is well, you are missed in St. Louis!
Christy you are the sweetest! I’m so happy to see your comment. I miss you guys! Wednesday workouts are just not the same…
This is the perfect summer salad, love the fresh herbs!