Couscous Summer Salad

Couscous Summer Salad, because juicy nectarines and avocados and mint and cucumbers and chickpeas and cherries and couscous and fresh sweet corn definitely go together, right? (TRUST! THEY DO.)

You could describe this salad as confusing and delicious and can’t-stop-thinking-about-it all rolled into one.

Here’s who will especially enjoy this summer dream of a salad:

• Lazy summer people – and I say this with a lot of love because I GET YOU
• Healthy-ish people, where you at
• People who like sweet-leaning salads (think goddess curry chicken salad and similar)
• People who like to NOT turn on the oven right now
• People who like anything-you-have-on-hand recipes
• People who eat juicy nectarines like their life depends on it

If any of these apply to you, you are in for a treat.

A confusing, delicious, can’t-stop-thinking-about-it Couscous Summer Salad treat.

Okay, admittedly, we are working with a high number of chopped ingredients here, which does involve a small but worth-it time commitment.

The good news is that as you chop and sip your lemonade (duh), you will soak your couscous and cherries and spices in some hot broth for a total of, what, like, five minutes?

So… yeah. Lazy summer people unite.

Toss, drizzle, taste, drizzle, taste, taste, taste.

And I know it’s a short story, but that’s really all there is to it.

This salad is tastefully, texturally, and colorfully busy, which is just the most fun thing right now when all of our produce is so fresh and juicy and crisp.

I think I’ve made it at least four times in the last two weeks. I couldn’t love it more right now.

Dear summer, bringer of Couscous Summer Salads into our lives, WE LOVE YOU!

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Couscous Summer Salad

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4.8 from 36 reviews

• 
  Author: Lindsay
• 
  Total Time: 20 minutes
• 
  Yield: 6 servings 1x

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Description

Couscous Summer Salad! Spiced couscous, juicy nectarines, crunchy cucumber, avocado, chickpeas, cherries, sweet corn, and mint. It’s sunshine in a bowl!

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Ingredients

Scale
1/2x1x2x

Couscous Salad Base:

• 1 cup couscous (uncooked)
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 1/4 cups chicken or veggie broth, warm
• salt and pepper

Toss-Ins

• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2 pieces of fresh sweet corn, kernels cut off the cob
• 2 nectarines or peaches, diced
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 1 avocado, cut into chunks
• 1/4 red onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup pepitas, sunflower seeds, or something crunchy
• 2 cups arugula or spinach
• parsley / mint / basil / any herbs, really
• lemon juice, honey, olive oil for dressing

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Instructions

1. Combine couscous, cherries, cumin, coriander, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour warm broth over everything and let stand until the couscous is cooked, about 5 minutes. Let it cool.
2. Toss everything together and season to taste!

Notes

This keeps for about a day as leftovers, although keep in mind that the leftovers will be softer than the day before, obviously. If you want to make this farther in advance for meal prep or something like that, just prep all the elements separately and toss together just before serving.

• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins
• Category: Dinner
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: couscous salad, couscous summer salad, summer salad

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This recipe is part of our easy summer dinners page. Check it out!