Greek Israeli Couscous Salad

Plump Israeli couscous gets tossed with fresh veggies, hot peppers, and salty feta cheese and kalamata olives to create a unique twist on the classic Greek salad.

Summer isn’t over just yet, and I’m willing to bet you have some summer veggies still lingering in the garden.

This Greek Israeli Couscous Salad is light, filling, and loaded with fresh veggies, hot pepper rings, and salty feta cheese and kalamata olives.

The entire salad gets drizzled with homemade Greek salad dressing made with a few pantry staples you probably have handy.

Now that I work from home full-time, I’m always looking for new ways to add pizazz to lunch–I’m so not a ham sandwich kind of gal. Since I don’t always have time for a real lunch break, I usually reach for items that I’ve made ahead and stored in the fridge for easy access during the week.

I do all of my prep work on Sunday so that all I have to do during the week is scoop and dump. After I grab a fork, napkin, and a bottle of my favorite root beer, I head back to the office to put in some hard labor at the computer search Pinterest and stalk old high school friends on Facebook.

Print Recipe

Greek Israeli Couscous Salad

Plump Israeli couscous gets tossed with fresh veggies, hot peppers, and salty feta cheese and kalamata olives to create a unique twist on the classic Greek salad.

Yield: 4 servings

Total Time: 20 minutes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

Salad

• 1 and 1/4 cups water
• 1 cup Israeli (Pearl) couscous
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped seedless cucumber
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1/4 cup hot banana pepper rings
• 1/3 cup chopped kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Dressing

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

Salad

1. Bring water to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the couscous and a pinch of salt. Turn the heat down to low and cover the pot. Simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until the couscous has absorbed most of the water. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the couscous to rest with the lid on for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
2. Transfer the couscous to a large bowl. Fold in the remaining salad ingredients.
3. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and gently stir to combine. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator to chill.

Dressing

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar, mustard, honey, garlic, and oregano.
2. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while you continue to whisk the mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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