15 Min Orange, Pistachio and Pomegranate Couscous Salad {Vegan}

So Now that we have got Thanksgiving out of the way, let’s tackle Christmas. Luckily this Orange Pistachio Pomegranate couscous salad works for both occasions.

• Christmas presents wrapped – tick.
• Guest bedroom tidied – tick.
• Christmas menu planned – tick.
• Train timetable sent to guests – tick.

You get the drift. It is full on Christmas mode Chez Recipe From A Pantry and I am loving every moment of it. I think I am even more excited than the kiddoes. I am the one who wakes up every morning and ticks the ‘it is only 30 more sleeps till Christmas’ calendar. Sad but true. And trying this Pistachio Pomegranate Orange Couscous salad makes it even more festive. I looooooooooove Christmas.

This colourful vegan Couscous Salad should be on both your Thanksgiving menu and Christmas menu every year as it is certainly full of all the right flavours – sweetness from the cranberries and the juicy pomegranate, nutty crunch from the pistachios and flavours from the oranges and mint.

It is super easy to make and so colourful and welcoming that it deserves its own song and dance moment in the festivities. You can make it a few hours ahead of time and easily triple the recipe to feed a crowd. Serve it as a main vegan and vegetarian dish or as a fun side dish.

Couscous Salad Tools

Ready for some fun? Then gather your ingredients and let me show you…

How To Make Couscous Salad

Orange Pomegranate Pistachio Couscous Salad Ingredients

So the ingredients of this Vegan Couscous salad are

• Couscous
• Salt
• Boiling water
• Lemon juice
• Orange juice
• Oranges
• Chopped  pistachio chopped
• Dried sweetened cranberries
• Spring onions
• Chopped mint
• Pomegranate seeds

All good stuff really and hopefully lots of stuff that you already have in your pantry or fridge.

Making Colourful Vegan Couscous Salad.

This is super simple and ceratainly one to add to your vegan couscous recipes.

Step 1.  Mix couscous, salt and water in a bowl, then cover with a plate and let it stand for 5 minutes.

Step 2. Then stir it again and cover for another 5 minutes.

Step 3. Using a fork fluff up the couscous and add everything and mix well and serve.

Chefs tip.  If you have time then let it stand for an hour for all the flavours to meld together.

Vegan Couscous Salad Tips

• The first thing is obviously making the couscous. You need the perfect fluffy couscous which forms the base of the salad. The secret to getting couscous right every time is the right couscous to liquid ration which volume wise is 1 to 1. So 1 cups / 180g couscous to 1 cup / 240ml of liquid. Read this post to find out more about how to cook couscous in 10 mins.
• For savoury couscous salads, you can use either hot water or stock as the liquid. However, for fruity couscous salads it is worth using only water as you get to add taste later on with salad dressings and fruit juices.
• My preference for dressing couscous is either adding in some citrus juice ie orange, lemon or lime juice or adding a bit of balsamic vinaigrette dressing. A little bit of citrus zest works wonder too.

What Else To Put in Couscous Salad?

• For a fruity couscous salad, you need to add fruits of course. Don’t be hesitant to add a mixture of fresh fruits, burst in your mouth juicy fruits and dried fruit for texture and taste.  Nuts also make a great addition along with spring onions (scallions)  which add a little bit of a bite.
• For more savoury couscous salads you can think about adding items like nuts, spices and spice pastes and you can also add in a few fruits for that little extra sweetness.
• If not vegan then you can add in grilled meats like chicken, grilled seafood like shrimps or salmon, cheeses.
• To make a vegetable couscous salad you can add things like roasted pumpkin or roasted beets, or finely chopped raw vegetables like peppers, zucchinis and more fresh herbs.

How Long Will Couscous Salad Keep in the Fridge?

Wondering how long this salad will keep in the fridge? Well, generally couscous salads keep for up to 3 days in the fridge depending on the ingredients you add. If you want to keep this salad I would omit the orange and the mint and add these in when you are ready to serve your salad.

Can Couscous Salad Be Frozen?

You can freeze your leftover plain cooked couscous and defrost when you need it. Then add the fresh ingredients to make the salad when you’re about to serve it. Most of the ingredients in this salad will not do well if frozen.

What to Serve with Couscous Salad

This recipe actually works well as a main dish by itself. However, if you want to serve it as a side here are a few ideas.

Easy Instant Pot Sweet Potato (vegan).

The Best Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipe (if not vegan).

More Easy Salad Recipes

If you want more quick and easy salad recipes then why not check out these below.

• 15 min vegetable rice quinoa salad.
• Lime, mint and olive quinoa salad.
• And if you want more vegan recipes, check out this list of 10 vegan Instant Pot recipes.

Thank you for reading my orange pistachio pomegranate couscous salad recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue dreaming up recipes, traditional African recipes, African fusion recipes, Sierra Leone recipes, travel plans and much more for you. Thanks for reading Recipes from a Pantry, UK food blog.

Get The Pistachio Pomegranate Orange Couscous Salad Recipe

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Print Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Orange Pistachio Pomegranate Couscous Salad

A colourful couscous salad - with cranberries, pomegranate, pistachios and flavoured with oranges and mint.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Total Time15 minutes mins

Course: Main

Cuisine: American, Mediterranean, Vegan, Western

Servings: 10

Calories: 233kcal

Author: Bintu Hardy

Ingredients

• ▢ 360 g (2 cups) couscous
• ▢ Salt
• ▢ 500 ml (2 cups) boiling water
• ▢ 2 tbsp lemon juice
• ▢ 8 tbsp orange juice
• ▢ 5 large oranges peeled, pitted and finely chopped
• ▢ 50 g (1/2 cup) pistachio chopped
• ▢ 100 g (1 cup) dried sweetened cranberries
• ▢ 4 large spring onions scallions, finely chopped
• ▢ 2 large handfuls of chopped mint
• ▢ Seeds from one pomegranate

Instructions

• Add the couscous, salt and water into a bowl mix very well, then cover with a plate and let it stand for 5 minutes.
• Then stir it again and cover for another 5 minutes.
• Using a fork fluff up the couscous and add everything and mix well.

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Video

Notes

Vegan Couscous Salad Tips

• The first thing is obviously making the couscous. You need the perfect fluffy couscous which forms the base of the salad. The secret to getting couscous right every time is the right couscous to liquid ration which volume wise is 1 to 1. So 1 cups / 180g couscous to 1 cup / 240ml of liquid. Read this post to find out more about how to cook couscous in 10 mins.
• For savoury couscous salads, you can use either hot water or stock as the liquid. However, for fruity couscous salads it is worth using only water as you get to add taste later on with salad dressings and fruit juices.
• My preference for dressing couscous is either adding in some citrus juice ie orange, lemon or lime juice or adding a bit of balsamic vinaigrette dressing. A little bit of citrus zest works wonder too.

What to Serve with Couscous Salad

This recipe actually works well as a main dish by itself. However, if you want to serve it as a side here are a few ideas.

Easy Instant Pot Sweet Potato (vegan).

The Best Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipe (if not vegan).

 

Nutrition

Calories: 233kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 2g | Sodium: 7mg | Potassium: 274mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 250IU | Vitamin C: 44mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 0.8mg

This post has been updated in Oct 2017. The previous picture from Dec 2014 is here.

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