Roasted cauliflower and sweet potato combine with deeply seasoned, curried couscous to create an aromatic salad that's a perfect side dish or lunch!
Table of Contents
This curried couscous salad recipe is an easy meal or side dish that's simple enough for a weeknight but special enough for a dinner party.
What I love about couscous is how quickly it cooks up! You just add it to boiling water, let it soak in the moisture for five minutes, and it's ready.
The key to this basil curried couscous is seasoning the liquid that you're cooking the couscous in and seasoning even more after cooking. The result is a dish that's packed with flavor from fresh herbs and lots of spices.
Toss in tender roasted vegetables, and you've got a real showstopper! If you want to add some extra protein and crunch, top this with a handful of chopped air fryer roasted almonds or toss in a drained can of chickpeas.
What I love about couscous is that it's a pasta that cooks like a grain. No need to drain after cooking! Like rice or quinoa, the couscous will soak up the liquid during the cooking process.
If you're serving this as a side dish, pair it with your plant based protein of choice! I love this alongside salt and pepper tofu or with a protein-packed soup, like carrot ginger lentil soup or sweet potato lentil soup.
🍠 Ingredients and substitutions
- cauliflower and sweet potato - Feel free to use your favorite roasted vegetables, if you like! Just make sure you end up with around four cups total. Different vegetables roast for different times, so check in on your veggies often, if you switch things up.
- extra virgin olive oil - Oil helps the veggies get browned and crisp on the edges in the oven. You can use spray oil, if you want to. In the couscous, the oil helps it get fluffier and adds moisture. You can use vegan butter or extra broth, if you want.
- soy sauce - This adds both moisture and salt to bring out the flavor of the veggies.
- garlic powder and onion powder - Dried spices amp up the flavor of the vegetables even more!
- vegetable broth - Cooking your couscous in broth instead of water makes it more flavorful.
- curry powder, garam masala, and ginger - These are your curry spices. I wouldn't omit any of these.
- dry couscous - You can find this at most grocery stores. Make sure you're getting couscous and not Israeli couscous (aka pearl couscous), because the cooking times and textures of these are very different. You can use whole wheat couscous, if you like.
- basil - Added after cooking, the fresh basil brings so much depth to the flavors in this curried couscous! You can use other fresh herbs of choice instead of or in addition to the basil, like fresh mint or cilantro!
- cashews - These bring protein and crunch. You can use other nuts or seeds, if you prefer, like sliced almonds or pumpkin seeds.
- fresh garlic - Adding fresh garlic after cooking gives this such a zippy flavor! If you don't like raw garlic, add it in with the broth instead of at the end.
- lemon juice - Brings in moisture and brightens up the flavors in the curried couscous salad. You can use lime juice, if you prefer.
🥣 How to make curried couscous salad
Preheat the oven to 450° F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Add the sweet potato and cauliflower pieces to the lined baking sheet. Sprinkle on the remaining roasted vegetable ingredients, then toss gently to coat the veggies in the oil, soy sauce, and spices.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once, until the sweet potato is soft and the cauliflower is nice and browned. I forgot to line my baking sheet for these photos, and as you can see, it left me with a lot more cleanup!
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan on high heat, bring the broth, olive oil, curry powder, garam masala, and ginger to a boil.
Turn off the heat, and stir in the couscous. Cover the pot, and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Just before serving, use a fork to mix in the remaining couscous salad ingredients, gently breaking up any clumps of couscous. Season to taste with more lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and black pepper.
Toss with the roasted vegetables, and serve warm or cold.
If you like, you can top with some vegan feta cheese for extra flavor!
💡Helpful tips
- When preparing the vegetables to roast, make sure you cut them to the sizes specified in the recipe, so they will cook evenly.
- Do not boil the couscous! Remove the pan from the heat before adding the couscous to the pan. That will prevent it turning mushy.
- Couscous tends to stick together when it's cooking, so fluff it well with a fork before tossing it with the vegetables.
- You can serve this without the extra lemon juice and/or olive oil. It's really up to your personal tastes!
🫙 Storage directions
Leftover curried couscous salad will keep for three to four days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Serve leftovers warm or cold.
💬 Frequently asked questions
A lot of people think that couscous is a whole grain, but it's actually teeny, tiny pasta! It has a pretty neutral flavor and a texture that's a bit finer than quinoa.
This recipe uses regular couscous, which is small and almost looks like a grain. It's different from pearl couscous, which is plumper. If you want a pearl couscous recipe, check out my kale and white bean salad!
Like other pastas, couscous gets mushy when overcooked. Because of its small size, you shouldn't boil it at all. Remove the pan from the heat before adding the couscous to the pan.
I haven't encountered gluten-free Moroccan couscous. To make a gluten-free version of this salad, you can use quinoa instead. Cook ⅓ cup quinoa with ⅔ cups broth and the same amount of spices listed below. This article shows you how to cook quinoa 3 ways, and any of these methods will work for this salad.
🥗 More hearty vegan salad recipes
📖 Recipe
Curried Couscous Salad
Ingredients
For the Roasted Vegetables
- 2 cups cubed sweet potato 1" cubes (see note)
- 2 cups cauliflower florets (see note)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Curried Couscous
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 cup dried couscous
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Curried Couscous Salad
- ¼ cup packed fresh basil leaves minced
- ⅓ cup roasted cashews
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 fresh lemon juiced
- black pepper for finishing
Instructions
Make the roasted vegetables.
- Preheat the oven to 450° F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Add the sweet potato and cauliflower pieces to the lined baking sheet. Sprinkle on the remaining roasted vegetable ingredients, then toss gently to coat the veggies in the oil, soy sauce, and spices. Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring once, until the sweet potato is soft and the cauliflower is nice and browned.
Make the curried couscous while the veggies roast.
- In a large saucepan on high heat, bring the broth, olive oil, curry powder, garam masala, and ginger to a boil. Turn off the heat, and stir in the couscous. Cover the pot, and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Just before serving, use a fork to mix in the remaining couscous salad ingredients, gently breaking up any clumps of couscous. Season to taste with more lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Toss with the roasted vegetables, and serve warm or cold. Optionally, you can top with some vegan feta cheese.
Got a question? Tried this recipe? Leave a reply!