If you’re tired of your regular salads and side dishes, you’re gonna love this Southwestern Couscous Salad. Bursting with healthy goodness and bright flavor, this is the perfect side dish that’s hearty enough to be a main meal.
Why You’re Going to Love this Southwestern Couscous Salad
If you’ve never eaten couscous, you’re missing out! A staple of North African cuisine, couscous has a light, fluffy texture and a nutty taste.
In traditional cooking, couscous is served with a meat, fish or vegetable stew on top. Some countries make it a side dish. This Southwestern Couscous Salad makes it the star attraction.
Southwestern Couscous Salad Is a Fast, Easy Recipe
You won’t believe how quick and easy this is to make. There’s no heat, no cooking, no grease and almost no prep time.
For the best results, follow these tips.
- Use instant couscous. Making couscous from scratch is possible, but it’s time-consuming. Look for “instant” or “pre-steamed” on the label.
- Substitute the beans. If you don’t like black beans, you can use pintos, red beans or garbanzos.
- Make a vegan version. Your vegetarian and vegan friends will enjoy this filling, delicious salad. To make it vegan, just leave the cheese and bacon off, or use vegan versions.
How to Serve Southwestern Couscous Salad
Take this tasty salad along to a potluck, or enjoy it at home with friends. Serve this Southwestern Couscous Salad with light beer or a homemade lemon shandy. It’s a meal that tastes like sunshine.
More Recipes You’ll Love
- Honeycrisp Apple Broccoli Salad – loaded with crunch and full of healthy ingredients
- Cruncy Asian Kale Salad – chopped, crunchy salad with lots of fresh veggies
- White Bean and Farro Salad – farro is a delicious & chewy whole grain with a mild nutty flavor
- Tortellini Pasta Salad – the best side dish to take to your next BBQ
Southwestern Couscous Salad
This Southwestern Couscous Salad is bursting with healthy goodness and bright flavor. It's a perfect side dish, but also hearty enough to be a main meal.
Ingredients
- 1 cup couscous I used Near East Brand
- 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 15-16 oz can black beans
- 1 sweet onion chopped
- 3 green onions chopped
- 1 red pepper chopped
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes chopped
- 1 14-16 oz can southwest corn I used Del Monte
- 1 4.5 oz can green chiles chopped; I used El Paso Brand
- 2 tbsp taco sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic salt course ground
- 1 tsp seasoned pepper
Instructions
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In a medium saucepan, add the chicken broth and butter. Bring to a boil.
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Stir in the couscous. Remove pan from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. (I prepared the vegetables during the 5 minutes of waiting)
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Remove lid and fluff with a fork, breaking up any chunks of couscous.
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In a colander or strainer, drain and rinse the black beans. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, add the sweet onion, red pepper, green pepper, parsley, cherry tomatoes and green onions.
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Drain the corn and then add to the bowl.
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Add the green chiles and black beans to the bowl. Stir to blend.
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In a separate small bowl, add the taco sauce, olive oil, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, garlic salt and seasoned pepper. Whisk all ingredients to blend well.
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Pour the mixture from the small bowl over the vegetables. Make sure the vegetables are coated in the sauce.
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Add the couscous to the vegetables. Stir well to blend the salad together.
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Cover and chill in the refrigerator for an hour.
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Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS - Crumbled bacon or shredded cheese.
