Couscous salad with feta and mint is a cold dish made with soaked couscous, crumbled feta, fresh vegetables and mint, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice. It takes about 20 minutes to prepare and serves 2 to 3 people. Below are the ingredients, the steps and the answers to the most frequently asked questions.
What ingredients do you need?
For 2 to 3 portions, you’ll need the following. Everything is available at the supermarket.
- 150 g couscous (fine or medium-grain)
- about 180 ml boiling water or vegetable stock
- 150 g feta, diced or crumbled
- 1 red pepper, finely diced
- 150 g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cucumber, diced
- 30 g pistachios, roughly chopped
- a handful of fresh mint, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
If you don’t have any pistachios to hand, roasted pine nuts or flaked almonds work just as well. They’re mainly there to provide a bit of crunch to contrast with the soft couscous.
How do you make the couscous salad step by step?
- Place 150 g of couscous in a large bowl and pour approximately 180 ml of boiling water or vegetable stock over it.
- Place a plate or lid on top and leave the couscous to soak for 5 minutes. Then fluff it up with a fork to prevent the grains from sticking together.
- Immediately stir the olive oil into the warm couscous. The oil coats the grains and keeps them separate.
- Meanwhile, dice the pepper and cucumber, halve the cherry tomatoes, dice the feta and roughly chop the pistachios.
- Leave the couscous to cool until lukewarm, then fold in the vegetables, the feta and most of the mint.
- Finish with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Taste, and sprinkle the rest of the mint and the nuts over the top just before serving.
Only add the feta once the couscous has cooled. In hot couscous, the feta softens and loses its cubed texture.
How do you prevent the couscous from becoming sticky?
Sticky couscous is almost always caused by too much moisture or waiting too long to fluff it up. Stick to a ratio of 150 g couscous to approximately 180 ml water, and fluff up the grains with a fork within a few minutes.
Couscous is not a grain but fine semolina granules made from durum wheat. These granules absorb moisture very quickly and stick together as soon as the starch on the outside expands and cools without any air trapped between them. Stirring with a fork breaks up these clumps before they set, and stirring in a tablespoon of olive oil keeps the grains separate afterwards. If you use stock instead of water, the couscous will absorb the flavour straight away and you’ll need less salt afterwards.
How can you make this salad higher in protein?
The simplest way is to stir a second source of protein into the salad: a tin of chickpeas (rinsed, about 7 g of protein per 100 g), grilled chicken breast, smoked salmon or cubes of marinated tofu. Feta itself provides about 14 g of protein per 100 g, so a generous handful of feta counts too.
If you want to supplement your meal, you could make a shake using an unflavoured protein powder (whey or vegan). This wouldn’t go well with a savoury salad, but it’s fine on the side or later in the day. Protein contributes to the maintenance of muscle mass. Protein contributes to a growth in muscle mass. How much you need each day depends on your weight and how active you are: we’ll work out how much protein you need per day. In this article on protein powder, you can read about the benefits of protein powder and the different types available (whey, casein, vegan). If you’re specifically looking for vegan options, these are listed in ‘Five plant-based protein sources’.
When is this salad a good choice?
The salad works well as a lunch, as a side dish for a barbecue and as a takeaway meal, as it’s eaten cold and doesn’t wilt like a leafy salad. For a larger group, simply double all the quantities and keep the mint and nuts separate until serving.
If you’re eating it on a hot day after exercising, make sure you stay hydrated. The article on exercising in hot weather provides practical tips for training in high temperatures.
Variations
The same base lends itself to further combinations; add a scoop of protein powder (whey or vegan) on the side if you want more protein:
- Aubergine and tomato: fry diced aubergine until golden brown and mix it into the cooled couscous along with the cherry tomatoes for a heartier, Mediterranean-style salad.
- Quinoa instead of couscous: cook the quinoa for about 8 to 10 minutes and use it as a gluten-free base; the rest of the recipe remains the same.
- Tomato, nuts and fresh parsley: replace the mint with finely chopped parsley and add roughly chopped walnuts for extra texture to contrast with the soft grains.
- Meal-prep bowl with aubergine and quinoa: combine cooked quinoa with grilled aubergine and tomato for a heartier dish that will keep well in the fridge, covered, for a few days.
Frequently asked questions
Can you make couscous salad a day in advance?
Yes. Prepare the couscous, vegetables and dressing a day in advance and store it, covered, in the fridge for up to 2 days. Add the feta, mint and nuts just before serving: mint discolours in lemon juice and nuts go soft if left to sit.
How can you make the salad vegan without feta?
Replace the feta with diced marinated tofu, a coconut- or almond-based vegan feta alternative, or leave it out and add chickpeas and an extra dash of olive oil instead. A pinch of extra salt and some lemon zest will capture the salty, fresh flavour that the feta would otherwise provide.
Do you serve couscous salad warm or cold?
Cold or at room temperature is most common, as this brings out the best in the mint and lemon juice. Serving it lukewarm is also an option: in that case, use stock instead of water and stir in the feta at the very end so that it doesn’t melt. Straight from the fridge, the salad tastes a bit flat, so take it out a quarter of an hour before serving.
Which couscous is best to use?
Fine or medium-grain couscous is the logical choice here: it plumps up in 5 minutes and remains light. Pearl couscous (also known as Israeli couscous) is larger and needs to be cooked like pasta, for about 8 to 10 minutes. It works fine in this recipe, but results in a firmer, chewier texture. Wholemeal couscous also works and requires a little more liquid and an extra minute’s cooking time.
More recipes and protein powders
You’ll find more recipes from this series in the recipe overview, including protein-rich smoothies for when you’re in a hurry. Our protein powders come in whey, casein and vegan varieties, with a short list of ingredients and no unnecessary additives. You’ll find them all in the protein collection.
