Basil Curried Couscous Salad with Sheet Pan Vegetables

Roasted cauliflower and sweet potato combine with deeply seasoned couscous. Serve this aromatic curried couscous salad as an entree or a side dish!

Table of Contents

• Making the Roasted Vegetables
• Making the Basil Curried Couscous
• Putting the Curried Couscous Salad Together
• Basil Curried Couscous Salad with Sheet Pan Vegetables

More Simple Salads: Warm Brussels Sprout Salad, Israeli Couscous Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing

Making the Roasted Vegetables

I love these roasted vegetables, because they come together all on a single pan! The key to making roasted cauliflower and sweet potato together on one sheet pan is to cut each veggie to the right size.

For the sweet potato, 1" cubes are what you're going for. Wondering whether you need to peel the sweet potato? That's your call! I skip peeling, but if you don't like the texture of the peel, feel free to remove it.

Cauliflower cooks up more quickly than sweet potato, so go for florets that are about the size of two baby carrots, sitting side-by-side. These larger florets will cook up perfectly alongside the smaller pieces of sweet potato.

Toss the veggies with the oil, soy sauce, and spices right on the sheet pan to save yourself having to wash an extra mixing bowl when supper is served.

Making the Basil Curried Couscous

Every time I cook with couscous, I wonder why I don't cook with it more often. It's the fastest grain to cook.

While it looks like a whole grain, like quinoa, couscous is actually more like tiny pieces of pasta. Its miniature size is the reason that it cooks up so quickly.

Actually, you don't even really cook it!

Just boil your water or broth, turn off the heat, add your couscous, and wait 5 minutes for it to soak up the liquid. It's almost impossible to mess it up, as long as you have a 1:1 water to couscous ratio.

This spiced couscous is just as easy. Instead of water, it uses vegetable broth as the base and adds in some dried spices. Bring these to a boil, then add the couscous and give it a few minutes to soak in the liquid and flavors.

Once the soaking time is up, fluff the couscous to break up any clumps.

Then, add fresh basil, roasted cashews, raw garlic, and fresh lemon juice to the mix. The raw garlic does make the finishes couscous a bit spicy. If you prefer a more mild dish, add the garlic to the pot before boiling instead of after.

Putting the Curried Couscous Salad Together

Once the vegetables and couscous are ready, it's time to toss them together.

You can do this right in the same pan you used to make the couscous. Why dirty another dish, right?

I find this recipe very flavorful without adding any dressing, but you can certainly dress it up, if that's your thing. Add a sesame vinaigrette or even just a squeeze of extra lemon juice, if you like.

This salad is lovely served warm right away, or you can serve it cold the next day. That makes it perfect for meal prepping!