Not a summer goes by without me making this incredible Lemony Cucumber Couscous Salad. It’s so fresh and delicious, quick to make, AND it stays good in the fridge for days. What more could you want from a summer salad?? Plus, it’s a great dish to bring to all those summer potlucks and BBQs, too!
What is Couscous?
Couscous is a small, ball-shaped pasta. It cooks really fast, is a fun texture, and is a great way to bulk up salads. The variety used for this Lemony Cucumber Couscous Salad is a larger-sized couscous called pearl couscous, or sometimes Israeli couscous or giant couscous. If you can’t find pearl couscous, you can use regular couscous or even orzo in its place (orzo would be my first choice since it’s similar in size). Regular couscous cooks a little differently, so take a look at this couscous salad (made with regular-sized couscous) for cooking instructions and size reference.
Can I Use Bottled Lemon Juice?
Fresh lemon is key to achieving the powerfully fresh lemon flavor in this Lemony Cucumber Couscous Salad, so I do not suggest substituting the fresh lemon with bottled lemon juice. The lemon zest alone is responsible for most of the lemon flavor in this salad, and, unfortunately, you just can’t get that from bottled juice.
What to Serve with Lemony Cucumber Couscous Salad
This super fresh summer salad is a great side dish for anything you might cook on the grill, or you could serve it with something like Garlic Marinated Chicken, a giant Veggie Sandwich, or Mediterranean Turkey Burgers.
How Are the Leftovers?
I love this salad so much simply because it stays good in the fridge for days. The couscous sort of acts like a moisture regulator, keeping the cucumbers from getting soft or soggy and keeping the salad almost as perfect as it was on day one. So if you’re looking for something to meal prep for lunch this summer, this couscous salad is it!
And if you love cucumber salads, then you’ve got to try our Creamy Cucumber Salad recipe!
Lemony Cucumber Couscous Salad
Servings 6 1 cup eachIngredients
- 1.5 cups pearl couscous ($2.20)
- 1 fresh lemon ($0.89)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 English cucumber ($1.49)
- 1/2 cup parsley ($0.27)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked pepper ($0.02)
- 3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled ($1.23)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the couscous and continue to boil for about 5 minutes, or until the couscous is tender. Drain the couscous in a colander or wire strainer. Rinse briefly with cool water to cool off the couscous, then allow to drain while you prepare the rest of the salad.
- Zest the lemon and then squeeze the juice. You'll need about ½ tsp of zest and 3 Tbsp of juice.
- Add the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper to a bowl and stir to combine.
- Chop the cucumber into quarter-rounds and roughly chop the parsley.
- Add the cooled and drained couscous to a large bowl along with the cucumber, parsley, lemon zest, and feta. Pour the dressing over top, then stir to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Lemony Cucumber Couscous Salad – Step by Step Photos
This is what pearl or Israeli couscous looks like. It cooks exactly like pasta. For reference, check out this couscous salad to see the size of regular couscous. You’ll need about 1.5 cups of pearl couscous for this recipe.
To cook the couscous, bring a pot of water to a rolling boil, add the couscous, and then continue to boil until the couscous is tender. Since the couscous is small, it cooks very quickly (about 5 minutes). Drain the couscous and then rinse briefly with cool water to bring the temperature down.
While the couscous is cooking and cooling, prepare the rest of the salad. Start by zesting and juicing one lemon. You’ll need about 1 tsp zest and 3 Tbsp juice.
To make the lemony dressing, whisk together 3 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/4 tsp of garlic powder, 1/4 tsp of salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. If you’re a garlic lover, you can mince up a clove of fresh garlic instead of garlic powder. I decided that I wanted the salad to have just a hint of garlic flavor, so I added a touch of powdered garlic instead of fresh.
Roughly chop ¼ bunch parsley (about ½ cup chopped) and slice one cucumber into quarter-rounds.
Transfer the cooked and cooled couscous to a large bowl, then add the chopped parsley and cucumber, and about 3 oz. crumbled feta.
Pour the prepared dressing over the salad ingredients in the bowl.
Stir the salad until everything is evenly mixed and coated in dressing. You can give it a taste here and adjust the salt, pepper, or any other ingredients to your liking.
And now you’re ready to eat! Or, you can chill it until it’s time for dinner. The flavors get even better as it chills and once it’s cold the salad is extra refreshing!
Seriously, this Lemony Cucumber Couscous Salad is my favorite summer treat. Sometimes I add a grilled chicken breast on top and make it a meal. A dollop of hummus is also good in there!
I’ve made this twice now, and I LOVE IT! So has everyone I’ve recommended it to. Next time I’m going to try it with chick peas so that I can take it to work as a full meal.
Very refreshing in this weather that’s slowly warming up.
Yum!!! Second time in a week making this. It’s so quick and the ingredients are easy to have on hand. For my one extremely lactose-intolerant partner, I threw in some kalamata olives I had laying around instead of the feta for a those tart-salty bites, and a bit of dill because… well, I put a bit of dill in nearly everything. Highly recommended if you need a vegan/dairy free option!! I’m eating it right now with my other partner who can have cheese with olives AND feta. It’s pretty decadent :)
I can’t make this recipe anymore because I literally eat the entire batch in one sitting…..
Thanks for another awesome recipe, Beth! I made this for the first time tonight and enjoyed it so much. I left out the parsley as I’m not a fan, but it was still really flavourful, and very easy to put together. Two thumbs way up.
Is there another cheese you could recommend? I am pregnant and cannot have soft cheeses like feta. I would LOVE to make this, but can’t think of a good substitute. Thanks!
Hmm, the flavors in this one definitely lend themselves to the light flavors of soft cheese. Honestly, I think I’d just skip the cheese and it will still be a fantastically flavorful salad. :)
Maybe sprinkle some grated Romano?
It’s been a few months so maybe you are no longer barred from soft cheeses, but I was feeding someone who can’t really have any cheese and used some tangy greek olives instead. We were pretty pleased with the result.
Just made this–so great. Took it up a notch to make it a little more Greek and added cherry tomatoes, chopped fresh mint, arugala, chopped fresh oregano, and grilled chicken pieces to have it as a lunch salad for the week. Incredible! The hits of salt from the feta really make this salad, and if you can swing it, buy block feta rather than feta crumbles and just slice off a piece to put on top. So much creamier and stronger flavor!
Would this recipe use extra virgin olive oil or regular olive oil? I know using extra virgin would change the taste. Thanks :)
I used extra virgin. :)
I made this with quinoa instead of couscous and it was YUMMY! We had it on the side of yogurt chicken (also your recipe) and it was a perfect summer meal.
I’ve been following your blog for years. Thanks for all your recipes that have become our favorites!
I’ve cooked a bunch of your recipes, all have been great. Very helpful. Just wanted to say thanks – I don’t naturally cook healthy food and you do a good job of having a number of easy, cheap healthy recipes. This was very good too. On the colander issue: I recommend a rice colander for situations like this. I cook mostly brown rice, so I use it to rinse that prior to cooking, and your rice comes out a bit less muddled. They’re not expensive – you can buy one off amazon for less than $5 below:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002641GCY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I made this for my wife on Monday night and it was excellent. I added fresh chopped cilantro and it was really delicious and filling. It’s going to be a weekly side dish to our meal. Thanks again for another great recipe.
BTW…I made the no knead pizza recipe Sunday night and last night the nacho baked potatoes. You can say i’m addicted to this site and my wife loves that. :>)
I’ve made this a couple times already and love it! I’m going to try using cilantro instead of parsley for a little extra kick tonight!
WOW yumminess! I added spinach to mine just to get the greens in. Definitely a keeper! Thanks much :)
Made this tonight, used regular cous cous instead of Israeli as that’s all my grocery store had. I found it a little bland, not much lemon flavor at all. Maybe the smaller cous cous sucked up the dressing faster than larger pieces. If I make it again, I’ll double the dressing.
Does anyone know how many calories in a cup of this?
YUM!! Trying this tonight with quinoa instead since my dumb grocery store didn’t have couscous and I was too lazy to go to a second one. grr.
And since nobody is answering… the song is from Outkast!! haha :) Love it!
xox