Fresh, colorful, and ready in 25 minutes, this Vegetable Couscous Salad is an easy make-ahead side dish with toasted couscous, crisp jicama, pine nuts, mozzarella, and a bright lemon and dill vinaigrette.
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A Quick Look at the Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Vegetable Couscous Salad with Dill Vinaigrette
⏲️ Ready In: 25 minutes
🥣 Main Ingredients: Moroccan couscous, spinach, peas, mushrooms, jicama, mozzarella, pine nuts, dill vinaigrette
📖 Dietary Info: Contains gluten, dairy, and pine nuts; use vegetable broth for vegetarian.
♨️ Method: Cooktop
🍽️ Yield: 6 servings
⭐️ Difficulty: Easy
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About This Vegetable Couscous Salad
This recipe came from my good friend Anne Draper, who found it in an out-of-print cookbook called Delitefully Healthmark. I liked it so much that I adapted it for my first cookbook, A Well-Seasoned Kitchen®.
Like my Cranberry Couscous Salad, this recipe takes couscous beyond a basic side dish. Instead of relying on roasted vegetables or heavy spices, this version is lighter and more salad-like, with toasted couscous, fresh vegetables, mozzarella, pine nuts, and a bright lemon-dill vinaigrette.
While couscous may look like a grain, it’s actually a tiny pasta made from semolina flour. For this recipe, use Moroccan couscous, and toast it before cooking it in broth – this step brings out its nutty flavor and gives the finished salad a more interesting base.
Table of Contents
- A Quick Look at the Recipe
- About This Vegetable Couscous Salad
- Why You’ll Love This Vegetable Couscous Salad
- Vegetable Couscous Salad Ingredients
- Dill Vinaigrette Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Vegetable Couscous Salad with Dill Vinaigrette
- Tips for the Best Vegetable Couscous Salad
- What to Serve with Vegetable Couscous Salad
- Make Ahead and Storage
- Vegetable Couscous Salad FAQs
- Vegetable Couscous Salad with Dill Vinaigrette Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Vegetable Couscous Salad
- Fresh and colorful with spinach, peas, mushrooms, and jicama.
- Great texture from crisp jicama, pine nuts, and creamy mozzarella.
- Ready in 25 minutes with quick-cooking Moroccan couscous.
- Easy to make ahead and then dress just before serving.
- Flexible with easy swaps for the vegetables, cheese, nuts, or herbs.
Vegetable Couscous Salad Ingredients
Several readily available ingredients make this couscous salad flavorful, colorful and unique; here are notes on a few:
- Moroccan couscous: Use the small, quick-cooking variety, not pearl couscous.
- Jicama: Adds crisp texture and makes this couscous salad more distinctive.
- Green peas: Fresh or frozen both work well.
- Mushrooms: White or cremini (baby bella) both will work.
- Mozzarella cheese: Adds a mild creamy bite.
- Pine nuts: Toast them for the best flavor, color, and crunch.
What is jicama?
Jicama is a crisp, juicy root vegetable with a very mild flavor and subtle sweetness. You can find it in the produce section at major grocery stores. Peel it first, then chop it into small pieces. In this couscous salad, it adds fresh crunch without competing with the dill vinaigrette.
Dill Vinaigrette Ingredients
This couscous salad dressing comes together quickly and tastes bright, herby, and subtly warm. A few ingredients are worth noting:
- Fresh lemon juice and zest: Add layers of brightness and freshness.
- Dijon mustard: Adds depth and tang.
- Ground cumin: A surprise ingredient that gives the vinaigrette a distinctive warm, earthy flavor.
- Fresh dill: Gives the dressing its fresh, herb-forward flavor.
Variations and Substitutions
- Make it vegetarian. Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
- Use feta instead of mozzarella. Feta adds a saltier, tangier flavor.
- Swap the nuts. Toasted almonds, pistachios, or walnuts can stand in for pine nuts.
- Change the vegetables. Try cucumber, zucchini, asparagus, red bell pepper, or cherry tomatoes.
- Add protein. Chickpeas, grilled chicken, shrimp, or salmon can turn it into a light main dish.
- Use other fresh herbs. Parsley, basil, or mint can be added with or in place of dill.
How to Make Vegetable Couscous Salad with Dill Vinaigrette
- Make the vinaigrette. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, lemon zest, cumin, garlic, and dill. Season to taste with salt. Cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
- Toast the couscous. Place couscous in a large skillet and toast over medium heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir constantly after about 2 minutes.
- Add broth. Stir in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover, remove from the heat, and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes, until the broth is absorbed.
- Fluff cooked couscous. Remove the lid and fluff the couscous with a fork.
- Assemble the salad. Place cooked couscous in a large mixing bowl. Add spinach, mushrooms, peas, jicama, pine nuts, onions, and mozzarella.
- Dress and serve. Toss the salad ingredients, then add the vinaigrette and gently toss again until everything is well coated. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Tips for the Best Vegetable Couscous Salad
- Watch the couscous carefully when toasting. It can quickly become too brown or even burn.
- Fluff the couscous with a fork. This keeps it light and prevents it from clumping together.
- Don’t skip toasting the pine nuts. Toasting gives them better flavor, color, and crunch.
- Use fresh baby spinach. Its softer texture works best in this recipe.
What to Serve with Vegetable Couscous Salad
Serve this salad with BBQ chicken baked in the oven, grilled ribeye steak, oven poached salmon, or braised baby back ribs.
This salad works well for a picnic or buffet because it can be prepared in advance and served cold or at room temperature for up to 1 hour.
Make Ahead and Storage
- Earlier in the day: Prep the salad ingredients and make the vinaigrette, but don’t toss them together yet. Leave out the pine nuts until tossing so they stay crunchy.
- Storage: Cover and refrigerate the couscous mixture and dressing separately. Just before serving, add the pine nuts and vinaigrette, then toss gently.
👉 Lee’s Pro Tip: To keep the mushrooms from browning, brush the slices lightly with lemon juice before adding them to the salad.
Vegetable Couscous Salad FAQs
As written, it’s not vegetarian because it uses chicken broth. To make it vegetarian, use vegetable broth instead.
Yes, you can, but I prefer serving it at room temperature for the best flavor.
Use Moroccan couscous, the small quick-cooking type. Pearl couscous is larger and requires a different cooking method.
More Easy Make Ahead Side Salads
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Vegetable Couscous Salad with Dill Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Dill Vinaigrette
- 2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- Kosher salt, to taste
Vegetable Couscous
- 3/4 cup Moroccan couscous
- 1 1/8 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup sliced fresh baby spinach
- 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms, large slices cut in half
- 1/3 cup green peas, fresh or frozen, thawed and drained
- 1/4 cup peeled and chopped jicama
- 2 1/2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
- 2 large chopped green onions, white, light green and some of the dark green portion
- 2 ounces chopped mozzarella cheese, low moisture, part-skim
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Fresh ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
Dill Vinaigrette
- Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, lemon zest, cumin, garlic and dill. Season to taste with salt.
- Cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes, to allow the flavors to blend.
Vegetable Couscous Salad
- Place couscous in a large skillet and toast over medium heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir constantly after about 2 minutes.
- Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.
- Cover, remove from heat and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes, until the water is absorbed. Remove lid and fluff couscous with a fork.
Assembly
- Place couscous in a large mixing bowl with spinach, mushrooms, peas, jicama, pine nuts, onions and cheese. Toss to combine.
- Add vinaigrette; toss until all ingredients are well coated.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Notes
- Watch the couscous carefully when toasting. It can quickly become too brown or even burn.
- Fluff the couscous with a fork. This keeps it light and prevents it from clumping together.
- Don’t skip toasting the pine nuts. Toasting gives them better flavor, color, and crunch.
- Use fresh baby spinach. Its soft texture works best in this recipe.
Storage: Cover and refrigerate the couscous mixture and dressing separately. Just before serving, add the pine nuts and vinaigrette, then toss gently.
Tip: To keep the mushrooms from browning, brush the slices lightly with lemon juice before adding them to the salad.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
