Mediterranean Couscous Salad
on Apr 06, 2026
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Dressed in balsamic vinaigrette, this mediterranean couscous salad has chickpeas, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, baby spinach and feta. It’s a vegetarian salad that you can make in 20 minutes that’s great for meal prep for lunch or dinner as a side dish or a main no matter the season.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
There’s so much good variety in each bite of this salad. That’s why I always come back to chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes and olives. They are pantry ingredients packed with flavor. Extras like grated hard-boiled eggs and feta make this trio even better in this easy vegetable couscous recipe.
Because this salad has couscous as a base and not lettuce, there’s no risk of it wilting. That make it perfect for potlucks and for meal prep work lunches and quick dinners.
You can serve it as a main dish or a side dish because it’s a big salad. Made with semolina, couscous is technically pasta, but I think of this recipe as a satisfying grain salad.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Pearl couscous, also known as Israeli couscous, is round and bigger than regular couscous. Double check the recommended cook time on the package because those pearls can vary in size from brand to brand.
- Chickpeas: I take the time to pull the skins off the chickpeas after I rinse them so they don’t end up throughout the salad. You can substitute with a can of white beans.
- Sun dried tomatoes: Use sun dried tomatoes that come packed in oil rather than the ones that you have to soak and rehydrate. Take a fork to get them out of the jar, leaving the oil behind. Then chop them.
- Kalamata olives give the salad salty and briny bites. Make sure to use pitted olives.
- Hard-boiled eggs: You can make these a couple days in advance. Then you will have them ready to grate and mix into the salad.
- Baby spinach: You can follow the quantity in the recipe, or add more greens if you want more lettuce than couscous. This is also a simple way to stretch leftovers into another meal.
- Feta: You can buy crumbled feta cheese or crumble a block yourself with your hands if you want bigger chunks. Leave out the cheese or use a dairy-free, plant-based feta to make the recipe vegan.
- Red onions, finely chopped, give the salad a sharp accent.
- Parsley: I finish this Mediterranean salad with chopped fresh herbs.
- Balsamic vinaigrette: Besides balsamic vinegar, the dressing has garlic, whole grain mustard, kosher salt, black pepper and olive oil.
How To Make This Mediterranean Couscous Salad
1. Cook the couscous. Warm oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Toast the couscous for a couple minutes until it is golden. Pour in the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the couscous is tender and most of the water has been absorbed, about 10 minutes. Drain into a colander and rinse with cold water. Then put it into a big bowl.
2. Make the dressing. Stir the minced garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and oil in a small bowl.
3. Toss the couscous with half the vinaigrette.
4. Assemble the salad. Add the chickpeas, olives, sun dried tomatoes, red onions, hard-boiled eggs, baby spinach, feta and parsley to the couscous. Drizzle with additional dressing as desired as you toss everything together.
Serving
I think of pearl couscous salads as another version of pasta salads, so they work as a vegetarian entree or you can pair them with proteins such as chicken, salmon or shrimp. This recipe is also a good side dish with roasted cauliflower steaks, this lighter roasted eggplant casserole or these grilled vegetable pesto sandwiches.
Looking for more salad inspiration? Check out my seasonal salad guide with recipes and tips on ingredients, meal prep and more.
Mediterranean Couscous Salad
Ingredients
For couscous
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3/4 cup pearl couscous
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon water
For vinaigrette
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
For salad
- 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/3 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
- 1/3 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes, oil drained
- 1/4 cup finely diced red onions
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, grated
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
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Instructions
- For the couscous, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Toast the couscous stirring until it's golden, about 2-3 minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the couscous is tender and most of the water has been absorbed, about 10 minutes. Pour it into a strainer and rinse with cold water. Then transfer it to a large bowl.
- To make the vinaigrette, whisk the garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and 1/4 cup olive oil in a large bowl.
- Stir half the vinaigrette with the couscous.
- Fold the chickpeas, olives, sun dried tomatoes, red onions, eggs, spinach, feta and parsley, drizzling in more dressing as desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
