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Israeli Couscous Summer Salad

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There’s nothing quite as delicious as a light Israeli couscous summer salad with roasted vegetables. This herb filled couscous is a must have for any summer Barbeque. It’s easy and quick to make and is the ideal side dish for summer.
Made with fresh mint leaves, fresh parsley, eggplants, fresh lemon and lots of spices. It’s so good and incredibly simple to make.
One of my favorite things about couscous is how incredibly versatile it is. It soaks up all the flavors you put in it and it’t so quick to make.
I like to make my couscous chilled, but this couscous summer salad can be served both hot and cold.

Quick tip:

If you don’t have any outdoor space or a BBQ you can use an idoor grill like I did… or you can simply grill the eggplants in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Variations on this salad

One of the amazing things about couscous is how many variations you can make. This recipe is my stripped down, super simple couscous summer salad, but I will regularly add extra veggies or fruits to the dish if I have something that needs to be used.
And you can do the same. Almost any type of veggies taste amazing in this dish.
Here are some of my favorite extras you can add:

  • Pears
  • Pomegranate
  • Tomatoes
  • Sundried tomatoes
  • Mango
  • Cucumber
  • Walnuts
  • Any type of berries – I’m especially partial to raspberries and blueberries

Which couscous should you use?

You can actually use any type of couscous for this recipe. I like to use whole wheat couscous, but it’s just as tasty with regular couscous, jumbo couscous and pearl couscous. There are no rules in this recipe, so just use your personal favorite.

What’s great about this Israeli Couscous Summer Salad with Grilled Eggplants:

  • It’s so easy to make
  • Ready in record time – under 30 minutes from start to finish
  • Delicious and loaded with herbs and spices
  • Healthy and low-calorie
  • Vegan, nut free and can be gluten free
  • Amazing side dish for BBQ’s
  • Easy to bring with you to-go

Gluten free salad option

Unfortunately couscous isn’t gluten free, but that shouldn’t stop you from making this recipe. Whenever I need to make this recipe gluten free, I just switch out the couscous for gluten free quinoa. Although, quinoa has a slightly different taste and texture to couscous, they are still amazing in this recipe.

How is this easy Israeli Couscous Summer Salad with grilled Eggplants made? It’s so quick and easy:

Cook the couscous as instructed on the package, but add the lemon zest, ground cumin and tamari as well.
Preheat your grill or oven and coat both sides of the eggplant slices generously with olive oil, salt, pepper and greek spice mix (if you don’t have a greek spice mix you can use, paprika, thyme, ground cumin and salt).
Grill the eggplants for 5 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown on the outside and soft on the inside.
Remove the eggplants from the grill and cut them into smaller chunks, being careful not to burn your fingers.
Next, use a fork to fluff up your couscous and add the diced red onions, fresh herbs, olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything together to combine and finally mix in the grilled eggplants.
Serve hot or cold and enjoy.

Israeli Couscous Summer Salad with Grilled Eggplants

There's nothing quite as delicious as a light summer couscous salad with roasted vegetables. This herb filled couscous is a must have for any summer Barbeque. It's easy and quick to make and is the ideal side dish for summer.
Made with fresh mint leaves, fresh parsley, eggplants, fresh lemon and lots of spices. It's so good and incredibly simple to make
Course Salad, Side Dish, Vegan
Keyword salad, vegan
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 4 people
Author Simone – Munchyesta.com

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Dry Couscous
  • 2 tsp Tamari
  • 1 tsp Ground Cumin
  • Finely Grated Lemon Zest from 1 Lemon
  • 1 Red Onion Finely Diced
  • 2 Eggplants Sliced
  • 1 tbsp Greek Spice Mix I use my Gyros Spice Mix
  • 1 bunch Fresh Parsley Chopped
  • 1 bunch Fresh Mint Leaves Chopped
  • Juice from ½ Lemon
  • ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 tbsp Sweet and Sour Chili Sauce Mild or hot as you prefer
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Cook the couscous as instructed on the package, but add the lemon zest, ground cumin and tamari as well.
  • Preheat your grill or oven and coat both sides of the eggplant slices generously with olive oil, salt, pepper and greek spice mix (if you don't have a greek spice mix you can use, paprika, thyme, ground cumin and salt).
  • Grill the eggplants for 5 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown on the outside and soft on the inside.
    Remove the eggplants from the grill and cut them into smaller chunks, being careful not to burn your fingers.
  • Next, use a fork to fluff up your couscous and add the diced red onions, fresh herbs, olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything together to combine and finally mix in the grilled eggplants.
    Serve hot or cold and enjoy.

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