This couscous salad has a combination of Mediterranean flavors with olives, cucumbers, fresh herbs, feta cheese, and a tangy dressing. It’s a great side dish for potlucks, picnics, BBQs, and other summer get-togethers!

a scoop of Mediterranean couscous salad.

It’s summer salad season, so it’s time for a new recipe primed for all the summer parties. This Mediterranean couscous salad is the perfect take-along side dish when you need something to share. It serves a good amount of people, it’s easy to make, and you can prep it ahead so it’s ready to go.

How to Make It

You can use your favorite kind of couscous in this recipe, but I like the instant kind that cooks in five minutes. It makes things very easy. While it cooks, you can prepare the rest of the salad – from there, toss it all together and serve it with all of your favorite summer main dishes.

More Summer Sides

Orzo Pasta Salad | Green Bean Potato Salad | Mexican Fruit Salad | Black Bean Corn Salad

Mediterranean Couscous Salad

This couscous salad has olives, cucumbers, fresh herbs, feta cheese, and a tangy dressing. It’s a great side dish for potlucks, picnics, BBQs, and other summer get-togethers!

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Author: April Anderson

Servings: servings

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 30

Ingredients

For the Salad

1 cup water
1 ½ teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup instant couscous
1 (15.5-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 large English cucumber diced
1 bell pepper diced
1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
½ cup kalamata olives sliced
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

For the Dressing

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 clove garlic minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Combine the water, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, remove the pan from the heat, and mix in the couscous. Cover the pot for five minutes, and then fluff the couscous with a fork. Transfer the couscous to a large bowl to cool.
Whisk all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set it aside.
Once the couscous has cooled to room temperature, add the garbanzo beans, cucumber, bell pepper, tomatoes, feta, olives, parsley, and mint to the bowl. Pour the dressing over the top and toss to combine so everything is evenly coated. You can serve the salad right away or chill it for several hours before serving.

Video

Notes

If you make the salad ahead, give it a good stir before you serve it. I think it’s best within a day of making it, but leftovers will keep for a day or so longer. The salad will get drier the longer it sits in the fridge.