This simple and delicious vegetarian couscous salad with beans is perfect for lunch or a quick evening meal. It also keeps rather well so perfect if you want to take it for lunch.

Couscous salad with beans

Couscous salad with beans

Whenever I am busy I like to make easy and simple salads. To be entirely honest I also sometimes just grab a quick sandwich but I prefer to eat salads for lunch. Normally I would say to add more vegetables to my meal, but in the case of this couscous salad it’s more about the beans than anything else. But whatever the case; you can still add additional vegetables to the salad easily.

For this particular salad I went with regular couscous, but pearl couscous would also be really good. In terms of the beans I went with white beans, borlotti beans and broad beans. But this would be equally good with black beans or cannellini beans. Basically any beans you have at hands. I love bean salads as they are so versatile and easy to put together.

couscous salad with beans

It’s all in the dressing

Now as with most salads it is all about the dressing. Without a good dressing any salad would get rather boring. In this case I originally made the dressing with coconut vinegar with nutmeg. Pretty specific and I’m sure it’s not readily available to most people, so I changed the dressing to more easily available ingredients. It’s simply extra virgin olive oil and some lime juice, combined with a little bit of honey, salt and pepper.

The lime juice can be replaced by red wine vinegar or lemon juice if you prefer. I sometimes add a bit of garlic powder to the dressing as well.

Making the salad

Now for making the couscous salad with beans you start by taking a large bowl. Make sure you rinse all the beans properly and leave them to drain before adding them to the bowl. The couscous is quickly cooked according to package instructions, fluff couscous and ad to the bowl as well. I like to add some pomegranate seeds as they look so pretty and I love the crunch they provide.

I also added some flat leaf parsley but you can definitely add other fresh herbs such as fresh basil or fresh mint as well.

You add the dressing and that’s the couscous salad taken care of!

Couscous salad with beans

Additions and variations

​Now the fun part about this simple recipe is that you can vary it very easily. I like to add simple additions such as red onion or green onions. Cherry tomatoes are also delicious and for a bit of spice you can add a red pepper. Or a red bell pepper that would also work great.

If you’re not a fan of pomegranate but still want to add a bit of crunch; roasted pine nuts would also work really well. You can also add additional fresh vegetables. Sometimes I add greens like spinach or lamb’s lettuce or I roast some courgette to add to the salad. A bit of sweet mango is also great a great addition.

Versatile couscous salad

I’ve made my share of couscous salad recipes already such as this pearl couscous salad with roasted pumpkin or this couscous salad with halloumi. This couscous salad with beans would be perfect for a summer barbecue as it keeps easily. You can save it in an airtight container and take with you for lunch. It’s a pretty healthy meal and you could even add some meat to it, if you’re not into vegetarian. Chicken would be a great addition too.

Couscous salad with beans

Couscous salad with beans

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Ganglunch, Salad
Keukenvegetarian

√Easy couscous salad recipe √with healthy beans √easy to vary √easy to take with you for work lunches √also perfect for summer barbecue
Cooking time 10 minutes
Total time 10 minutes

2 people

Ingredients

  • 150 gr couscous
  • 100 gr white beans
  • 100 gr broad beans cleaned and peeled
  • 100 gr borlotti beans
  • 50 gr pomegranate seeds
  • small hand of flat leaf parsley

DRESSING

  • 1 tbsp lime juice or red wine vinegar
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • pepper
  • salt
  • 1 tsp honey

  • Cook the couscous according to the package instructions, drain and leave to cool.
  • Rinse all the beans and mix together in a bowl. Add the pomegranate seeds and mix through. Chop the parsley roughly and add some as well. Leave a bit behind to sprinkle over the salad at the end.
  • Make the dressing by putting the ingredients together and mix well. Taste to see if it needs more honey or pepper and salt. Sprinkle over the dressing, mix and end by adding some parsley over the top

Nutrition Information per portion

Calories: 692kcal | Carbohydrates: 100g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Sodium: 15mg | Potassium: 794mg | Fiber: 16g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 8IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 5mg

Disclaimer

The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.

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Simone van den Berg

Food- and travel blogger from the Netherlands. Loves good food. Loves to taste good food the world over. She also loves to share travelstories, delicious recipes and ok, cat pictures too. She sometimes feels the need to get really healthy for a while, always mingled with periods of insanely delicious sweets and other decadent treats. Lives in the Netherlands with her two cats; Humphrey and Buffy. Profession: Food photographer, food blogger, recipe developer and nutritionist